Caps, Gowns and Regalia
What to expect at the Bucks County Community College Commencement Ceremony:
- All graduates must order and wear a cap and gown. Graduates will wear royal blue caps and gowns with a black hood.
- Phi Theta Kappa (International honor society of two -year college) graduates wear gold stoles and tassels.
- Kappa Beta Delta (Business honor society) graduates wear blue stoles.
Where do I place my order for a cap and gown?
Place your cap and gown order online at www.herffjones.com/college/bucks. >You can choose to pick up your cap and gown up at the Lower Bucks, Newtown, or Upper Bucks campus. Please be sure to fill in all of the requested information – especially your height and weight data since this is how Herff Jones determines the correct size gown to send you. All orders for the May 17, 2018, graduation ceremony must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, April 3, 2018.
Students can also place their diploma and cap and gown orders in-person at the following locations:
- Newtown Campus, Office of Admissions, Records, and Registration (Monday-Friday 8:30am-4:30pm)
- Lower Bucks Campus, Front Desk (Monday-Thursday, 7:30am-7:00pm and Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm)
- Upper Bucks Campus, North Desk (Monday-Thursday, 7:30am-10:00pm and Friday 7:30am-4:00pm)
Note: there are no evening hours between semesters or during breaks.
What is the fee for a cap and gown?
There is a cap and gown fee of $10.00. Students ordering on-line through Herff Jones must submit credit card payment at the time of the order. Students ordering their cap and gown in person at one of our campuses will not need to make payment when the order is placed. We will notify Student Accounts that an order has been placed and they will post the charges to your account. You may then make you payment through Bucks Self-Service, in person at Student Accounts, or by mailing your check or money order to BCCC Student Accounts, 275 Swamp Road, Newtown, PA 18940. Please make sure that you put your name and ID number on your check or money order.
Where do I pick up my cap and gown?
When ordering your cap and gown, you must indicate where you want to pick up your cap and gown. Students must go to their chosen destination to pick up their cap and gown on Monday, May 7th or Tuesday, May 8th:
- Newtown Campus, Office of Admissions, Records and Registration, Linksz Pavilion; 9:00am-8:00pm
- Lower Bucks Campus, Front Desk; 7:30am-7:00pm
- Upper Bucks Campus, North Building Front Desk; 7:30am-10:00pm
Academic Costume Background Information:
The academic costume, or combination of gown, cap and hood, worn by graduates and College officials reflect the wearer's degree and status. Such attire dates back to the Middle Ages, when in addition to denoting scholastic achievements, the gowns and hoods served the practical purpose of keeping warm in the damp and drafty twelfthcentury castles and halls of learning.
Today, four academic degrees are reflected by costume: the associate, bachelor, master, and doctor. One who holds several degrees wears the costume of his or her highest degree.
The gown worn by those receiving the associate degree, earned after 60-70 credits of undergraduate study, has a semi-stiff yoke, pleated front and shirring across the back and shoulders. The gown for the bachelor's degree, earned after four years of undergraduate study, is similar to the gown for the associate degree. However, the bachelor's gown may be worn either open or closed and is distinguished by its long, pointed sleeves.
The recipient of the master's degree, earned by postgraduate work, wears a gown with the same yoke effect as the bachelor's, and it may be worn open or closed. The very long sleeve is square and closed at the end. Some are designed to allow the forearm to come through a slit near the elbow. With others, the arm is covered to the wrist.
The gown for those who have earned a doctorate is also worn open, but has broad velvet bars on the full, round, open sleeves. This velvet trimming may be either black or the color distinctive to the field of learning to which the degree pertains. In addition, the hood may be lined with the official colors of the institution conferring the degree.
The appropriate cap for all degrees is the familiar black mortarboard. A tassel, black or of a color signifying the field of specialization, is moved from right to left upon graduation. Those with a doctorate may wear a soft velvet cap of a color indicating the field of study, or with a mortarboard, may wear a tassel, in whole or in part, of gold thread.
A hood is often worn with the gown. A black shell of varying size depending on the degree and of material to match the gown, is lined with the color or colors of the institution conferring the degree. The hood is then bordered with velvet of the proper width, to indicate the degree and of the color signifying the field of learning to which the degree pertains.
Some colors indicative of the various fields of learning are: arts - white, business - olive drab, education - light blue, fine arts - brown, law - purple, music - oxford pink, nursing - apricot, science - golden yellow.