Saint John's College

St. John’s College — Commencement & Academic Regalia Summary

St. John's College (Annapolis & Santa Fe) holds its annual Commencement ceremony each May (and for summer Graduate Institute graduates in August). The ceremony gathers graduates, faculty, tutors, and invited guests for a formal academic procession culminating in degree conferral.

For undergraduates earning Bachelor’s degrees, the standard academic attire comprises a gown and cap appropriate for degree conferral. Graduate‑level candidates (from the Graduate Institute) wear academic gowns and hoods, in keeping with traditional academic‑dress customs.

The hood worn by graduate recipients is silk‑lined with institutional colors and trimmed with velvet in a color that signifies the graduate’s field of learning — a standard academic tradition adopted by St. John’s. Velvet hood trim colors follow a color‑code by discipline (for example, White for Arts/Letters/Humanities; Light Blue for Education; Drab for Business; Brown for Fine Arts, etc.)

St. John’s College does not maintain a publicly available, centrally enforced color‑chart for honor cords, stoles or tassels tied to honors status or extracurricular affiliations. As such, cords or stoles (if any) are generally optional and managed internally by tutor‑societies or student groups.

Faculty participating in the Commencement procession wear traditional academic regalia appropriate for their highest earned degree and academic discipline, reflecting classical academic‑dress heritage, with gowns, hoods, and caps as per standard regalia rules.

Summary: St. John’s College preserves a traditional academic regalia system for its commencement ceremonies: undergraduates wear standard gowns and caps; graduate‑level graduates add silk‑lined hoods with velvet trim denoting their field of study; faculty wear appropriate regalia; and additional adornments such as honor cords or stoles remain optional and institutionally unspecific. This ensures a dignified, unified academic dress standard while allowing flexibility for individual honors or affiliations.

Short Description

Official‑style St. John’s College academic regalia — cap, gown, tassel, and hood (when applicable) — suitable for both undergraduate and graduate commencement ceremonies.

Long Description – Graduation Gown, Cap & Academic Regalia Details

St. John’s College requires graduating students to wear formal academic regalia for Commencement. Undergraduate candidates wear a black gown and mortarboard cap with tassel. Graduate Institute recipients wear gowns plus a silk‑lined hood trimmed with velvet, where the velvet color corresponds to the graduate’s field of study — following traditional academic‑regalia conventions.

The hood’s velvet trim indicates discipline (Arts, Humanities, Education, etc.), providing visual clarity of academic achievement. The gown and cap are standard for undergraduates; advanced‑degree students receive the hood to distinguish their graduate status. Accessories such as honor cords, stoles, or special tassels are managed by student or tutor societies rather than by the College — these remain optional and are not covered by a universal color code.

Regalia Packages by Degree Level

• Bachelor’s / Undergraduate Set: Black gown + mortarboard cap + standard tassel
• Graduate (Master’s) Set: Academic gown + hood (discipline‑trim) + cap + tassel
• Accessory Add‑Ons (Optional): Honor cords, stoles, custom tassels — available via tutor‑society or student group authorization, not provided by default

Note: To confirm the exact colors of the graduation gown, cap, tassel, honor cords, and stoles for your specific program at Saint John's College , 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.