Winter Graduation

All graduating 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 2026 Commencement program is October 23, 2026.

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.

DNP/PhD: All doctoral 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.

Academic attire (also known as regalia or cap & gown) is required to participate in the UW Madison Commencement Ceremony. For information on rental timelines, review the Caps & Gowns page on the Commencement website.

CAPS & TASSELS
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.

GOWNS
Undergraduates wear a gown made of black material with a closed front and long, pointed, open sleeves.

HOODS
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.

Honors & Distinctive Scholastic Achievement
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 Graduation Checklist.

All graduating students must apply to graduate to attend the ceremony. 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 2026 Commencement program is October 23, 2026.

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.

Doctoral students should visit the Graduate School’s website for additional information about completing their Doctoral degree.

DNP & PhD students must submit a Final Warrant Request.

Degree conferral date will appear on a student’s official transcript approximately three to four weeks after graduation.

Contact the Graduate Advising Manager, Lynaye Stone, with any questions regarding eligibility to graduate.

Academic attire (also known as regalia or cap & gown) is required to participate in the UW Madison Commencement Ceremony. For information on rental timelines, review the Caps & Gowns page on the Commencement website.

CAPS & TASSELS
Doctoral candidates wear an 8-sided black tam with a gold tassel on the left side.

GOWNS
Doctoral candidates wear a gown with an open front, bell-shaped sleeves, and velvet trim in the form of crossbars on

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

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.

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.

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.

Click HERE for UW-Madison’s full Graduation Checklist.