Commencement is an academic ceremony, and as such, academic regalia is required to participate in the ceremony. Only those students in full academic regalia will be permitted to process in their designated ceremony. The only exception are graduates in military uniform.
Regalia Pick Up Pre-Orders (until March 1)
Pre-order your regalia through the Herff Jones website. All pre-orders through Herff Jones will be available for pick up at the La Salle Outpost beginning at the Grad Fair on April 9 up until the day of Commencement.
Regalia Home Ship (until April 8)
Order your regalia through the Herff Jones website and have it shipped directly to your home for a fee. All gowns arrive 2-3 weeks (or sooner) after order date.
In-store Purchase (on or after April 9)
Regalia that was not pre-ordered can still be purchased in-person at the La Salle Outpost up until the day of Commencement. Doctoral regalia must be ordered in-person at the La Salle Outpost at least two weeks prior to the Graduate Commencement Ceremony since it is a rental and can be picked up at the Outpost up until the morning of the ceremony. All rentals must be returned immediately following the ceremony.
Prices are:
Payment must be made at the time of purchase by cash, check, American Express, MasterCard, Visa, or Discover. Sizing charts and order forms are available through the La Salle Outpost.
Students are permitted to decorate their graduation cap (mortar board) and stole to positively represent their La Salle University experience. All decorated content must represent the values and core principles of La Salle University. Mortar boards, stoles, pins and other regalia items are prohibited from including any images, symbols or words that represent/show the following:
Students who have achieved academic honors distinction (summa, magna, or cum laude as determined by the University) do not receive individual cords, but are recognized as such in the Commencement program. Individual academic honor societies, program or organization cords and stoles are typically ordered directly through the academic department, program, or organization sponsoring them. Please contact those areas directly for information related to the specific requirements needed to receive cords and/or additional ordering information.
| Discipline | Color |
| Arts | White |
| Sciences | Gold |
| Business | Drab |
| Education | Light Blue |
| Nursing | Apricot |
| Public Health | Salmon |
| Social Work | Light Yellow |
Academic dress dates back to the 12th and 13th centuries, when universities were taking form. The ordinary dress of the scholar, whether student or teacher, was the dress of a cleric. With few exceptions, the medieval scholar had taken at least minor orders, made certain vows, and perhaps been tonsured. Long gowns were worn, and may have been necessary for warmth in unheated buildings. Hoods seem to have served to cover the tonsured head until superseded for that purpose by the skull cap.
A statute of the University of Coimbra in 1321 required that all “doctors, licentiates, and bachelors” wear gowns. In England, in the second half of the 14th century, the statutes of certain colleges forbade “excess in apparel” and prescribed the wearing of a long gown. In the days of Henry VIII of England, Oxford and Cambridge first began prescribing definite academic dress, and made it a matter of university control.
The assignment of colors to signify certain faculties was to be a much later development, and one which was to be standardized only in the United States in the late 19th century.