Spring Graduation

Academic Attire is required for UW Commencement and the School of Nursing BSN Graduation Celebration. To ensure your academic regalia is reflective of your degree, please place your order through the University Book Store.

Feb 3 – April 3, 2026 – Receive the early Badger pricing of $15 off academic attire rental (online)
May 5, 2026 – Deadline to rent academic attire online
May 10, 2026 – Deadline to rent academic attire in person (711 State Street store)
May 13, 2026 – Deadline to return rented attire

Review the University Book Store’s May 2026 Timeline for additional instructions and deadlines.

Rent vs. Purchase

Gowns and hoods can be rented or purchased; the majority of graduates choose to rent. Bachelor’s gowns and hoods are rented separately. A keeper cap and tassel comes with the gown rental (i.e., do not return cap or tassel). Stoles and most cords must be purchased.

Cap and gown packages for bachelor students can be found on the University Book Store website. Students can choose any package that starts with ‘Bachelor Degree Cap and Gown Rental .’ After selecting your preferred rental package, click ‘ADD TO CART.’ In the pop-up menu, select “School of Nursing-Apricot” under School/College and enter “Nursing” under Subject of Studies.

Cap & Gown

All graduates must wear a cap and gown to participate in Campus Commencement as well as the School of Nursing Baccalaureate Graduation Celebration. BSN students should receive a 4-sided mortarboard cap with an apricot colored tassel and a bachelor’s style gown.

Stoles

Excellence in Nursing Education Stole: coming soon…

Honors Stole: The honors stole is a white stole with three cardinal bars. BSN students in the Honors Program are eligible to wear an honors stole. Honors stoles are purchase-only through the University Book Store.

Stole of Distinction: A UW-Madison recognition, to be eligible for Distinction students must complete 60 or more credits at UW-Madison and earn a cumulative grade point average that places them within the top 20 percent of their graduating class. Students who receive this award are eligible to wear the Distinction Stole (solid cardinal red) during commencement exercises. “Graduation with Distinction” will appear on student transcripts. SoN will notify students who qualify for Distinction by the end of April. Once notified, those who qualify can purchase the Stole of Distinction through the University Book Store.

Bachelor’s Hood

BSN students who will be earning their nursing degree as a second (or third, or fourth…) bachelor’s degree are eligible to wear a bachelor’s hood as part of their academic attire. The hood has a red lining indicating the graduate’s most recent bachelor’s degree came from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and an apricot velvet trim indicating the graduate’s most recent degree was in Nursing. The nursing bachelor’s hood can be rented through The University Book Store for $40. This price and ordering process is in addition to your chosen academic attire (cap & gown) package.

Cords

• N3 (…): Students who volunteered as a Nursing Knowledge Network leader may wear an N3 cord. Students will collaborate to purchase cords.
• Sigma Honors (purple & white): Students in Sigma may wear an Honors cord as part of their academic regalia, signifying their membership in the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. Cords can be obtained through the UW-Madison Sigma representative.
• Student Council (…): Students participating on Student Council may wear a Student Council cord. Students will collaborate to purchase cords.

Double majoring and want a keepsake tassel in each major’s color?

No problem! If you would like to get a tassel in both the School of Nursing apricot color and your additional major’s color (colors are listed under the ‘Academic colors’ tab), you can order one tassel with your gown rental and one tassel through the Book Store’s “tassel only package” for $10. You should still only wear one tassel during Commencement and the SoN event, but you will have one tassel from both majors as a keepsake if desired.

Academic Attire is required for UW Commencement and the School of Nursing Hooding Ceremony. To ensure your academic regalia is reflective of your degree, please place your order through the University Book Store.

Feb 3 – April 3, 2026 – Receive the early Badger pricing of $15 off academic attire rental (online)
May 5, 2026 – Deadline to rent academic attire online
May 10, 2026 – Deadline to rent academic attire in person (711 State Street store)
May 13, 2026 – Deadline to return rented attire

Review the University Book Store’s May 2026 Timeline for additional instructions and deadlines.

Cap & Gown

All graduates must wear a cap and gown to participate in Campus Commencement as well as the School of Nursing Doctoral Hooding Ceremony.

• DNP students should rent/purchase an 8-sided tam with a gold tassel, a doctoral style gown, and a doctoral hood in apricot
• PhD students should rent/purchase an 8-sided tam with a gold tassel, a doctoral style gown, and a doctoral hood in blue

Rent vs. Purchase

Gowns and hoods can be rented or purchased; the majority of graduates choose to rent. A keeper tam and tassel comes with the gown rental (i.e., do not return tam or tassel).

Rental: Cap, gown, and hood packages for doctoral students can be found on the University Book Store website. Students should choose any package that starts with ‘Doctoral and MFA Cap and Gown Rental.’ After selecting your preferred rental package, click ‘ADD TO CART.’ In the pop-up menu:

• DNP students – select “Doctor of Nursing Practice-Apricot” under School/College and enter your population track under Subject of Studies
• PhD students – select “Doctor of Philosophy-Blue” under School/College and enter “Nursing” under Subject of Studies

Purchase: Academic Attire is available for purchase through Herff Jones and will take approximately six weeks to manufacture. It is significantly more expensive (~$950). The only time we would recommend purchasing over renting is if you plan to go into Academia and anticipate needing to wear your regalia at least once a year for the foreseeable future. You may always purchase at a later date if desired. Contact the UW Book Store for academic attire purchasing information.

Sigma Honor Cords

Students in Sigma Theta Tau can wear an honors cord as part of their academic regalia, signifying their membership in the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. Cords can be obtained through the UW-Madison Sigma representative.

Diplomas

Diplomas will be mailed to the designated Diploma Address in your MyUW Student Center 6-8 weeks after Commencement. Update your Diploma Address in MyUW to ensure these items reach you. The Diploma address can be the same as your home address, but there must be an address listed in Student Center with an address type of “Diploma.”

To avoid a delay in receiving your diploma, varify you do not have any holds on your account that will prevent the release of your diploma. These holds will be marked as “Hold Records.”

Questions? View the Office of the Registrar’s comprehensive list of frequently asked questions regarding diplomas.

Student Name on Diploma

When applying for graduation, you can select whether you would like your name in use/preferred name or your legal name printed on your diploma. If you don’t complete an application for graduation, your diploma name will default to your legal name. 

Please note that changes to name in use or legal name after the apply to graduate deadline will not impact the name that appears on the commencement program. 

If you have any questions about the name that will print on your diploma, please contact the Office of the Registrar directly.

Diploma Covers

Undergraduates: Diploma covers are available for pick up at the UW Bookstore State Street location and can be obtained when you pick up your academic attire order. Covers will not be handed out at the Camp Randall or Shannon Hall events.

Doctoral Candidates: Diploma covers will be handed out at the May 8 Kohl Center Ceremony. If you are not attending the Kohl Center Commencement Ceremony, you may pick up a cover at the UW Bookstore State Street location.

NOTE: The information on this page does not pertain to the Graduation Alumni Pin Recipient Award; this information is regarding YOUR alumni pin. Information about the Graduation Alumni Pin Recipient Award can be found on the Graduation Awards page.

Students graduating with their BSN can order their alumni pin through our partners at J. Brandt Recognition! Learn more about the nursing pin’s symbolism and history on the School of Nursing Alumni page.

J. Brandt Recognition only manufactures the UW-Madison nursing pin once a year; if you do not order the pin during the spring semester before your graduation but decide you would like to order in the future, you can contact the School of Nursing Advancement Manager and they will provide you with a timeline and details on ordering a pin.

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Information will be updated with 2026 information when it becomes available.
2025 BSN Alumni Pin Ordering Instructions

Celebrate your UW Madison nursing degree with a custom nursing pin! Ordering is quick and easy following the instructions below.

DEADLINE: Wednesday, March 5, 2025 @ 5:30pm CST
SET A REMINDER – LATE ORDERS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED

1. Visit:  https://jbrandt.com/student-customer-login/
2. Enter Customer Code: BSN students can find this code in an email from academic.affairs@nursing.wisc.edu (2/12/25) or a Canvas announcement from Morgan Lewis (2/12/25)
3. Make your pin selection!
4. After you “Add to Bag,” review your order and “Checkout” (or “Keep Shopping”)
5. Type in your email address.  You may set up an account, but it is not necessary.
6. Complete Shipping & Billing details with your personal information.
7. Complete payment details and place order! You will receive an Order # on the screen after you submit your payment. If you don’t receive this your order might not have processed.

Pins will ship to your desired shipping location to arrive before May 9, 2024!

THE INFORMATION BELOW IS FROM SPRING 2024 AND WILL BE UPDATED WHEN DETAILS BECOME AVAILABLE

Undergraduate Students

Guest tickets are REQUIRED for a seat in Shannon Hall. All graduating BSN students are guaranteed 4 guest tickets to the ceremony if desired. YGraduating students must claim their allocated guest tickets through the RSVP survey, due end of day March 21, 2024.

The ceremony will be livestreamed – guests who attend the reception but do not have a ticket for the ceremony are welcome to remain in Memorial Union and watch via livestream on their own device.

NOTE: If making plans for dinner following the ceremony, we recommend making reservations that start no sooner than 6:30pm.

Graduate Students

Guest tickets are REQUIRED for a seat in the Auditorium and the School of Nursing Doctoral Hooding Ceremony. All graduating Doctoral students are guaranteed 4 Auditorium guest tickets if desired. Graduating students must claim their allocated guest tickets through the RSVP survey, due end of day March 21, 2024.

After all graduates have claimed their desired number of Auditorium guest tickets, there will be a ticket lottery where graduates may be able to get additional tickets based on how many are remaining. Guests without a ticket are still welcome to attend the Hooding Ceremony and will be able to watch via livestream in viewing rooms throughout Cooper Hall.

The ceremony will be livestreamed to the School of Nursing YouTube page so support people who are unable to attend in person are able to watch the ceremony from elsewhere!

When you leave the university, you will lose access to these core IT services: Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Box, Qualtrics, and Zoom Workplace.Review DoIt’s Leaving the University – Access to IT Services article for more information, recommended steps to take before graduation, and access timelines. Students are encouraged to reach out to the Help Desk with any questions.

Continuing as Faculty or Staff at UW upon graduation?
If  you will be converted to faculty or staff status immediately upon graduation, or are already working in an employment position that will not end following your graduation, you will continue to be eligible for the same IT services as when you were a student.

Undergraduate Students

Doctoral Students

Faculty & Staff

Campus Communications