Learn more about academic dress, military recognition, and the process of ordering academic regalia for upcoming commencement.

Academic regalia, or the dress uniform of one of the U.S. Armed Forces, is required to participate in the commencement ceremony. Advanced degree candidates wear the tassel of the cap on the left front edge. Doctoral candidates should carry their hoods over their left arms during the processional; master’s candidates should wear the hoods over their shoulders (velvet toward chin).

Ordering Regalia

The deadline to order regalia for the summer semester is Thursday, July 3. Please ensure you choose the proper hood color for your degree program (see hood colors below).

Military Recognition

All Penn State students who have met graduation requirements and have served on active duty, in the Reserve/National Guard, or who will be granted a commission through Penn State Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) are eligible to receive a red, white and blue honor cord to wear with approved academic dress at commencement ceremonies. Students should contact the Office of Veterans Programs at veteran@psu.edu or 814-863-0465 to coordinate a pickup inside the Penn State Student Veteran Center. ROTC personnel may pick up their honor cord from their representative/office. Students who have not yet submitted the required proof of service to receive an honor cord should visit Priority Registration / Honor Cord for specific guidance.

Students receiving commissions in the armed forces will stand with their classmates when the academic degree is conferred, and when receiving acknowledgment as a group.

Please note - Military cords received through the University is University-recognized commencement attire. Additional ornamentation is not permitted.

Choosing Your Hood Color

You will choose a hood color based on your degree type and your graduate program.

For all Ph.D. Programs

Select Royal Blue for your regalia color.

For all Master's Programs and Professional Doctorate Programs

Find your program below to determine your regalia hood color.

Master's and Professional Doctorate Regalia Colors

College of Arts and Architecture

Brown:

  • Architecture
  • Art Education
  • Art
  • Art History
  • Geodesign
  • Landscape Architecture
  • Theatre

Pink:

  • Conducting
  • Composition-Theory
  • Music Education
  • Performance
  • Music
  • Pedagogy & Performance
  • Piano Performance

College of Agricultural Sciences

Maize:

  • Agricultural & Biological Engineering
  • Agricultural and Environmental Plant Science
  • Animal Science
  • BioRenewable Systems
  • Energy, Environmental, and Food Economics
  • Ecosystem Management and Administration
  • Entomology
  • Food Science
  • Plant Pathology
  • Soil Science
  • Turfgrass Management
  • Wildlife & Fisheries Science

Peacock Blue:

  • Community & Economic Development
  • Education, Development, and Community Engagement

Russet:

  • Forest Resources

Golden Yellow:

  • Pathobiology

White:

  • Rural Sociology

Smeal College of Business

All Smeal programs use drab.

Drab:

  • Accounting
  • Business Administration
  • Business Analytics
  • Business Administration
  • Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship
  • Business Administration
  • Finance

Drab:

  • Accounting Analytics
  • Business Administration
  • Marketing and Analytics
  • Real Estate Analysis and Development
  • Supply Chain Management
  • Strategic Management and Executive Leadership
  • Taxation

Penn State Behrend

Drab:

  • Accounting
  • Business Administration
  • Project Management
  • Quality & Manufacturing Management

Penn State Harrisburg/Capital College

White:

  • Applied Behavior Analysis
  • Clinical Psychology
  • American Studies
  • Communications
  • Criminal Justice

Peacock Blue:

  • Health Administration
  • Homeland Security
  • Public Administration

Light Blue:

  • Teaching and Curriculum

Drab:

  • Business Administration
  • Accounting (World Campus)
  • Information Systems

Orange:

  • Civil Engineering
  • Computer Science
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Engineering Management
  • Engineering Systems
  • Mechanical Engineering

Bellisario College of Communications

White:

  • Mass Communications
  • Media Studies
  • Strategic Communications

College of Education

Light Blue:

  • Curriculum & Instruction
  • Counselor Education
  • Educational Leadership
  • Educational Psychology
  • Educational Theory & Policy
  • Education
  • Education Policy and Leadership
  • Higher Education
  • Learning, Design, & Technology
  • Lifelong Learning and Adult Education
  • Special Education
  • School Psychology
  • Workforce Education & Development

Drab:

  • Organization Development and Change

College of Earth and Mineral Sciences

Golden Yellow:

  • Geography
  • Geosciences
  • Geographic Information Systems
  • Meteorology and Atmospheric Science

Orange:

  • Energy & Mineral Engineering
  • Materials Science & Engineering
  • Renewable Energy & Sustainability Systems

College of Engineering

All engineering programs use orange.

Orange:

  • Acoustics
  • Architectural Engineering
  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Additive Manufacturing and Design
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Civil Engineering
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Computer Science & Engineering
  • Engineering Design
  • Electrical Engineering

Orange:

  • Engineering Leadership and Innovation Management
  • Engineering Mechanics
  • Engineering
  • Environmental Engineering
  • Engineering Science & Mechanics
  • Industrial Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Engineering, Law, and Policy
  • Engineering at the Nano-scale
  • Nuclear Engineering

Penn State Great Valley

Golden Yellow:

  • Data Analytics

Orange:

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Engineering Management
  • Software Engineering
  • Systems Engineering

Drab:

  • Accounting
  • Business Administration
  • Finance
  • Information Science
  • Leadership Development

College of Health and Human Development

Salmon Pink:

  • Biobehavioral Health
  • Communication Sciences & Disorders

White:

  • Human Development & Family Studies

Drab:

  • Hospitality Management
  • Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management

Peacock Blue:

  • Health Policy & Administration

Citron:

  • Social Work

Golden Yellow:

  • Kinesiology
  • Nutritional Sciences

School of International Affairs

Peacock Blue:

  • International Affairs

Intercollege (Huck/Fox)

Golden Yellow:

  • Bioinformatics and Genomics
  • Ecology
  • Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Biosciences
  • Integrative and Biomedical Physiology

Maize:

  • Plant Biology

College of Information Sciences and Technology

    Drab:

    • Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations
    • Enterprise Architecture and Business Transformation
    • Informatics

    College of the Liberal Arts

    White:

    • Ancient Mediterranean Studies
    • Anthropology
    • Applied Linguistics
    • Communication Arts & Sciences
    • Criminal Justice Policy and Administration
    • Comparative Literature
    • Criminology
    • English
    • French and Francophone Studies
    • German
    • History
    • Political Science
    • Psychology
    • Psychology of Leadership
    • Russian & Comparative Literature
    • Sociology
    • Spanish

    Copper:

    • Economics

    Drab:

    • Human Resources & Employment Relations
    • Labor and Global Workers' Rights

    Royal Blue:

    • Philosophy

    Peacock Blue:

    • Public Policy

    Light Blue:

    • Teaching English as a Second Language

    College of Medicine

    Golden Yellow:

    • Anatomy
    • Biostatistics
    • Biomedical Sciences
    • Clinical Research
    • Epidemiology
    • Neuroscience

    Gray:

    • Laboratory Animal Medicine

    Salmon Pink:

    • Public Health

    Nese College of Nursing

    Apricot:

    • Nursing

    Eberly College of Science

    Golden Yellow:

    • Applied Statistics
    • Astronomy and Astrophysics
    • Biology
    • Biotechnology
    • Biochemistry, Microbiology, & Molecular Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Forensic Science
    • Mathematics
    • Neuroscience
    • Physics
    • Statistics

    University College

    Sage Green:

    • Occupational Therapy