Spring Graduation

Academic Attire is required for UW Commencements Ceremonies and School of Nursing Celebrations. To ensure your academic regalia is reflective of the University’s current specifications, please place your order through the University Book Store.

Feb 10 – April 1, 2025 – Receive the early Badger discount of $20 off academic attire rental (online)
May 6, 2025 – Deadline to rent academic attire online
May 10, 2024 – Deadline to rent academic attire in person (Lower Level Service Counter of 711 State St. store)
May 13, 2025 – Deadline to return rented attire

Review the University Book Store’s May 2025 Timeline for additional instructions and deadlines.

Undergraduate Students

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.

Honors Stole: The honors stole is a white stole with three cardinal bars. Undergraduate students in the Honors Program are eligible to wear an honors stole. Stoles are not yet available but will be purchase-only through the University Book Store.

Scholastic Achievement Stole: The scholastic achievement stole is a solid cardinal red stole. Undergraduate students ranking in the top 20% of their class will graduate with Distinctive Scholastic Achievement and are eligible to wear a scholastic achievement stole. SoN will notify students who qualify for Distinctive Scholastic Achievement by the end of April. Once notified, those who qualify can purchase the Graduation Stole of Distinction through the University Book Store.

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. Information on how to obtain a cord will be provided at a later time.

Bachelor’s Hood: BSN students who have a previous bachelor’s degree and will be earning 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 second bachelor’s degree came from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and an apricot velvet trim indicating the graduate’s second degree was in Nursing. The 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.

Rent vs. Purchase

Gowns and hoods can be rented or purchased. The majority of graduates choose to rent. For Bachelor’s attire, gowns and hoods are rented separately. A cap and tassel comes with the gown rental but graduates keep them (i.e., do not return cap or tassel). Stoles must be purchased.

After deciding on your preferred rental package you should click “ADD TO CART,” then you will receive a pop-up menu. Under School/College select “School of Nursing-Apricot” and enter “Nursing” under Subject of Studies.

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, 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.

Doctoral Students

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

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. Information on how to obtain a cord will be provided at a later time.

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).

After deciding on your preferred rental package you should click “ADD TO CART,” then you will receive a pop-up menu:

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

Diploma Covers

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

Diploma Covers for Doctoral Candidates: Diploma covers will be available at the May 9 Kohl Center Ceremony. They are also available for pick up at the UW Bookstore State Street location.

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, verify that you do not have any holds on your account in MyUW > Student Center > Tasks 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/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.

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

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 here.

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 here. 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 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.

2024 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: Tuesday, March 5, 2024 @ 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 sent from academic.affairs@nursing.wisc.edu on 2/8/2024)
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!

Students graduating in Spring 2025 will NO LONGER have indefinite access to their netid@wisc.edu email account, calendar, contacts, and tasks. After graduation, students will have access to their email account for 9 months. Beginning 90 days before their account is deactivated, DoIT will send periodic emails to their netid@wisc.edu email notifying them of the date they’ll lose access. Students are encouraged to move files and data before they lose access. Visit DoIt’s article, “What happens to students’ email and other IT services after graduation?” for more information and recommended steps to take before graduation. Students are encouraged to reach out to the Help Desk with any questions.

Continuing as Faculty or Staff at UW upon graduation?
As long as you will be converted to faculty or staff 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

View communications regarding Campus Commencement here!