Winter Graduation

Students must apply to graduate to attend the ceremony and receive their diploma. Students who do not apply to graduate will not see their name in the printed program. The deadline to apply to graduate and have your name appear in the Winter 2024 Commencement program is October 25, 2024.

Students wishing to have their name listed in the commencement program with diacritical marks can email commence@chancellor.wisc.edu and request for those marks to be included.

Visit the student center’s instruction page and the Office of the Registrar’s webpage  for detailed instructions on how to apply to graduate.

All graduate students should apply for graduation in the MyUW Student Center to note their preferences for commencement. Visit the Graduate School’s website for additional information about completing your Doctoral degree.

For Winter 2024 Commencement, orders can be placed through the University Book Store starting on September 23 until November 14 for an early Badger pricing. After November 14, you can place your order up until the day of commencement.

Reserve your Cap & Gown

Regalia Scholarship

The regalia scholarship opens on October 1, 2024 at 12 AM. Eligible applicants will be able to view and submit the scholarship via the Wisconsin Scholarship Hub (WiSH). Deadline to apply is November 8, 2024 11:59 PM.

Caps & Tassels

BSN: Undergraduates wear a black mortarboard cap with the School of Nursing tassel color, apricot. First degree candidates wear the tassel on the right side of the cap until the degree has been conferred. Second degree candidates wear the tassel on the left side.
Doctoral: DNP/PhD candidates wear an 8-sided black tam with a gold tassel on the left side.

Gowns

BSN: Undergraduates wear a gown made of black material with a closed front and long, pointed, open sleeves.
Doctoral: DNP/PhD candidates wear a gown with an open front, bell-shaped sleeves, and velvet trim in the form of crossbars on the sleeves.
Marshals: Commencement marshals wear cardinal gowns with white bars.

Hoods

The hood hangs to the back from the neck. A cord on the hood is fastened to a button on the front of the candidate’s clothing, or with a safety pin to the candidates clothing. To avoid wearing the hood inside out, make sure that the velvet facing of the hood is visible under the chin and lies flat over the shoulders.

Doctoral Candidates are hooded during their School of Nursing Hooding Ceremony. There is no hooding ceremony during Campus Commencement; candidates wear the hood throughout the commencement ceremony.

BSN: Undergraduates who previously received a baccalaureate degree may wear a bachelor’s hood. The bachelor’s hood is short with narrow velvet edging in the School of Nursing color, apricot, and a Wisconsin-cardinal color lining.
DNP: DNP hoods have a wide velvet edging in the School of Nursing color, apricot. There are wide panels at either side of the hood and a fully exposed Wisconsin-cardinal color lining.
PhD: PhD hoods have a wide velvet edging in the Doctor of Philosophy color, blue. There are wide panels at either side of the hood and a fully exposed Wisconsin-cardinal color lining.

Honors & Distinctive Scholastic Achievement (BSN only)

Bachelor’s candidates graduating with honors or distinctive scholastic achievement wear stoles, which are worn over the fronts of their gowns. Bachelor’s candidates from an honors program wear white stoles with three cardinal bars. Candidates that have distinguished themselves scholastically by ranking in the top 20% of their school or college wear solid cardinal red stoles.

Deans’ offices will notify students who are selected for Distinctive Scholastic Achievement and Honors. Stoles may be obtained at the University Book Store. Candidates will receive an indication of their achievement with a symbol next to their name in the commencement program.

Diplomas

Your diploma will be mailed after grades have been entered, six to eight weeks after commencement, to the permanent home address listed in the MyUW Student Center. Ensure that your address is up-to-date so that it delivers to the correct location. Review these Diploma FAQs for more information.

Steps you can take to make sure your diploma is delivered in a timely manner:

1. Add/update your diploma address in MyUW > Student Center > Profile > Addresses. The diploma address should be an address where you can receive your diploma when it is mailed in January or February (for most students). Instructions are available here.
2. Verify that you don’t have any Holds in MyUW > Student Center > Tasks that will prevent the release of your diploma. These holds will be marked as “Hold Records”. Instructions are available here. Please note that the “FRA – Financial Responsibility Agreement” hold for a future term will not prevent release of the diploma and can be ignored.

Note for International Students: F-1 and J-1 students must have a “Diploma” address on file in order for their diploma to be ordered. Students with international diploma addresses are encouraged to view these diploma address tips.

Diploma Covers

At Winter Commencement, all candidates will receive a diploma cover when they walk across the stage. The Office of the Registrar has diploma covers available for pickup for students who are unable to participate in regular commencement events. Check here for location and office hours before visiting.

UW-Madison nursing graduates are given the opportunity to order a nursing alumni pin through our partners at J. Brandt Recognition. You can learn more about the nursing pin’s symbolism and history HERE.

J. Brandt only manufactures the UW-Madison specific nursing pin once a year; if Winter graduates are interested in ordering a pin they should contact the Academic Affairs Office by early February of the semester following their graduation in order to be included on the Nursing Pin Online Order Instructions email.

If you have any questions about ordering, you can contact Alicia Brandt Thoms at alicia.brandt@jbrandt.com.

Click HERE for UW-Madison’s full Graduate Checklist