At ODU, participation in commencement requires graduates to wear “proper academic regalia (cap, gown, hood and academic tassel).”
The university hosts a “Grad Fair” at its University Village Bookstore in early March where students can order or pick up their regalia, including gowns, hoods, caps, and tassels.
Faculty and staff who participate are also expected to supply their own academic attire, purchased via the bookstore or from the regalia vendor.
ODU divides commencement into multiple ceremonies by college/school — for undergraduate and advanced‑degree graduates.
However — and this is important — none of the publicly accessible ODU documents or webpages provide a published “color‑chart” for tassels, hoods, honor cords or stoles. Searches of ODU’s Commencement site, registration guidelines, and bookstore/regalia vendor pages (e.g. via their regalia supplier) did not reveal any mapping of academic disciplines to velvet trim or tassel/cord colors.
Because of this, while ODU mandates regalia and offers a structured procurement process, there is no verifiable public record of what exact colors (for tassels, hoods, cords, or stoles) correspond to degree level, academic discipline, or honors status. Thus, any color assignment would be speculative, not official.
In short: ODU enforces the traditional academic regalia system — graduation gown, cap, hood, and tassel for all graduates; faculty provided their own regalia for ceremonies — and supports formal commencement with multiple ceremonies per year for different colleges. But ODU does not publish a detailed public code for hood colors, tassel colors, or honor‑cord/stole colors tied to academic fields or honors.
Note: To confirm the exact colors of the graduation gown, cap, tassel, honor cords, and stoles for your specific program at Old Dominion University, you can reach out directly to the college's administration or the office responsible for commencement and student services. They can provide you with the most accurate and up-to-date information regarding academic regalia.