The tradition of academic regalia and its use in American graduation ceremonies dates back well more than a century. It is a University policy that students wishing to participate in the morning ceremonies in the Yard must wear regalia, and it is a policy we have extended to the HGSE exercises. In addition, all students must wear the regalia appropriate for their degree program and that adheres to university guidelines as illustrated below. If your religious beliefs or traditional customs prohibit you from wearing academic regalia, please contact the Office of Student Affairs.
The Harvard Coop Required Information & Important Dates- Pre-registered Regalia ordering has closed.
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Ordering dates: January 16 to DEADLINE of 11:59 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 7
- April 7th is a hard deadline, necessary to manage production, processing, and shipping timelines. If you are unsure about your attendance at Commencement, you should still place your order before the deadline. The Harvard Coop will issue a full refund for unopened, and unused Regalia orders at any time, through May 22, 2024.
- HUID number is REQUIRED to order, and to pick up your regalia.
- If you missed the order deadline, the Harvard Coop will have a limited number of extra gowns available for rental between May 14th and May 23rd, Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Coop is not able to take any “reservations” or prepayment for these EXTRAS. They will be available at the Harvard Coop and payment will be made at that time. Someone else may purchase for you, but they will need a copy of YOUR Photo ID, and will need to know your exact school, degree, height, and weight to do so.
- All regalia rented through The Coop must be returned no later than Friday, June 7th.
HGSE Rental Fees:
Ed.M. Masters Package:
Two options:
Rental Package that includes the cap and tassel for you to keep as a memento of your achievements. The Master gowns and hoods are RENTALS and need to be returned to The Coop after Commencement. - $106.00
Rental Package that includes the hood, cap and tassel for you to keep as a memento of your achievements. The Master gowns are RENTALS and need to be returned to The Coop after Commencement. - $195.60
Our policy in the past has been to ensure that students for whom renting regalia is a genuine economic hardship that would otherwise make participation in Commencement a challenge have access to caps and gowns at no cost. We are committed to that policy continuing this year. The Office of Student Affairs has a limited number of sets of regalia available for students with economic hardship. If you would like to request assistance with your academic regalia we ask that you be in touch directly with Kevin Boehm, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs and Student Life.
Regalia Pick-Up Information
Required information to pick up your regalia:
Harvard Student ID. HUID is required to pick up your regalia. Someone else may pick up your regalia for you BUT they must have a copy (printed or digital) of YOUR HUID.
Regalia will be available for pick-up will take place from Tuesday, May 14th through Thursday, May 23rd.
Purchasing Regalia
Graduates wishing to purchase their regalia may do so through The Coop here. Note that the processing time for custom regalia orders is 8 weeks. The deadline for domestic orders is March 8, 2024.
Ph.D. Graduates
Full Doctoral Regalia consists of a crimson doctoral gown, crimson hood, and doctoral velvet tam.
Ed.L.D Graduates
Full Ed.L.D. Regalia consists of a black doctoral gown, crimson hood, and mortarboard cap.
Masters/CAS Graduates
Full Master's Regalia consists of black master gown, crimson hood, and mortarboard cap.
