You may return your rented gown and hood at any designated return location across campus or at the Coliseum through May 16. We will handle the return shipment to Herff Jones on your behalf. Alternatively, you can return your items by mailing them directly to Herff Jones using the original box they arrived in. All rental shipments included a prepaid return label inside the box. If you need a replacement return label, you can print one

To check the status of your order, please visit the Herff Jones Track Order page. You’ll need your provide your entire CPA order number, which looks like this: CPA11224-11100110 .

Please email our USC Grad Shop at: gradproducts@usc.edu or call the USC Grad Shop at 213-740-7414.

To participate in the May 2025 Commencement ceremony, you will need to either rent or purchase a cap with tassel, gown, and hood*. Please visit USC Commencement Academic Regalia for more information about the required regalia.

*Hoods are only for master’s and doctoral graduates.

Grad Packs are a convenient package of the most popular graduation items. Most Grad Packs include USC gown/hood rental with a souvenir cap & tassel, announcements, and a diploma frame. Free shipping on diploma frames, announcements and rentals are available through April 13th when you order a Grad Pack that includes a diploma frame. Grad Pack information and pricing is available on our USC Grad Packs page.

You have two options:

Option 1: Order online for HomeShip.

With this option, the rental will be shipped directly to your home. Shipping is free for HomeShip orders. The deadline for this option is April 13th. Rentals take 10-14 days to process and an additional 5-7 days for delivery. In some cases, the process may be faster, but these timelines represent full capacity. Orders placed by April 12th will be delivered by May 11th.

*Note: HomeShip is the only option available to pre-order cap and gown rental through April 12th. The other rental opportunity is through in-person distribution, which starts May 11th.

Option: 2 In-Person Distribution.

Starting May 11th, customers can come to USC Bookstore to rent their cap, gown, and hood. For in-person distribution, please come to USC Bookstore, complete an order form, pay for the rental, and receive your regalia.

Pre-ordering or reservations for in-person distribution pick-ups are not available. Please see more information about cap and gown rentals on our Rent Regalia page.

*Note: Doctoral rentals include a red cap with a gold USC Signet Tassel. . If you wish to purchase a tam, please visit our Purchase Regalia page.

For Undergraduate students graduating with a double major, the cap and gown are the same for all programs.

For Graduate students graduating with a dual degree, the same cap and gown can be used for both program ceremonies, but the proper hood color must be worn for each separate program ceremony.

If both of your programs require the same color hood, you only need one.If your programs require different color hoods, you will be required to rent or purchase both hood colors.

Please refer to the USC Hood Color Chart

If you are renting your regalia and require two different hood colors, you have two options to complete your rental.

○ OPTION 1: HomeShip. You can place your initial rental online, choosing only one of your program hood colors and the rental will be shipped to your home. To rent the second hood color, you will need to come to in-person distribution to rent your second program’s hood.

○ OPTION 2: In-Person Distribution. Starting May 12th, you can come to USC Bookstore to rent your cap, gown, and hood(s) in person. There is no shipping fee for this option. For in-person distribution, you come to USC Bookstore, complete an order form, pay for the rental, and receive your rental regalia. Pre-ordering or reservations for in-person distribution pick-ups are not available. Pre-ordering or reservations for in-person distribution pick-ups are not available.

If you are Purchasing your regalia, you can add the two hoods that you need to your cart while shopping online. If both programs require the same hood color, you only need to purchase one.

Reservations and pre-orders are not available for in-person distribution. You will simply visit in-person to complete your rental. There will be plenty of regalia available for in-person distribution, you do not have to be concerned about USC Bookstore running out of regalia.

Online orders for regalia will be shipped directly to your home, shipping is free. There is no in-store pick-up option for online rentals. Please see more information about cap and gown rentals on our Rent Regalia page.

*Hoods are only for master's and doctoral graduates.

USC Bookstore will have in-person distribution of caps, gowns & hoods* beginning May 11th. For more information on in-person distribution, please visit our Rent Regalia page.

*Hoods are only for master’s and doctoral graduates.

To reduce our carbon footprint, we use rental gowns and hoods that must be returned following your ceremony. You can keep your cap and tassel as a souvenir. Please see more information about cap and gown rentals on our Rent Regalia page.

*Hoods are only for master’s and doctoral graduates.

No, you do not need to know your cap or hat size. All rentals will come with a SureFit Cap, which is one size fits all. If you need a larger size cap, please contact Wesley Mitchell via email at wdmitche@usc.edu..

No, you do not need to purchase a tassel. All regalia rentals of caps, gowns, and hoods* come with the standard USC signet tassel. Please see more information about regalia rentals on our Rent Regalia page.

*Hoods are only for master’s and doctoral graduates.

Information about purchasing regalia is available on our Purchase Regalia. Please allow 6-8 weeks for manufacturing and an additional 1-4 business days for shipping. Be sure to choose the proper expediting options to ensure your purchased regalia arrives in time for your ceremony.

*Hoods are only for master’s and doctoral graduates.

The initials will be on the back of the gown, on the tag. This is to help identify the owner of the gown in case there are multiple gowns hanging together. There is no extra cost to add your initials to the gown and we recommend adding them for this reason.

Yes, graduation regalia can be purchased year-round. Please see information about purchasing regalia on our Purchase Regalia page.

Yes, master’s and doctoral graduates can purchase hoods as individual items. Please allow 6-8 weeks for manufacturing and an additional 1-4 business days for shipping. Be sure to choose the proper expediting options to ensure your purchased regalia arrives in time for your ceremony. Please see information about purchasing regalia on our Purchase Regalia page.

Please refer to the USC Hood Color Chart

If you’re renting doctoral regalia, but wish to purchase a tam, you can do so on our website. We have sizes 6 7/8 to 8. Shipping is currently free. If you wish to purchase a doctoral tam, please refer to our Purchase Regalia page.Tams are also available on the 3rd floor of the Bookstore in the Grad Shop.

If your tam size isn’t available through our website, you can order a doctoral tam directly from Herff Jones.

HomeShip Rental Orders will be shipped within 7-10 business days of your order placement. Please allow 2-3 weeks for delivery. Orders will be delivered by May 12th.

Regalia Purchases will ship in 6-8 weeks unless you choose expedited manufacturing or shipping when placing your order.

Diploma Frame will ship in 4-5 weeks.

Announcement Orders will take 7-10 days for manufacturing and ship in 3-5 business days (excluding Sunday) unless you’ve selected the expedited option.

Yes, USC Bookstore sells diploma frames year-round. Please visit the store or our USC Diploma Frames page for more information.

The standard size for most diplomas is 8.5” x 11”, except for these four degrees: Dental – DDS, Pharmacy, MD, and Juris Doctorate – JD. Diplomas for these four degrees are 11” x 14”. Please visit our USC Diploma Frames page for more information.

Sashes are optional and are only available for purchase, not for rent. Many students choose to purchase a customized sash to commemorate their collegiate honors and accomplishments.

There are three ways to order a sash.

Option 1: Come to USC Bookstore and purchase a standard non-customized sash. These standard sashes cost $54.99.

Option 2: Order a standard non-customized sash on our Graduation Sash page and have it shipped to your home.

Option 3: Order a customized sash through our partner Pride Sash’s Builder.page. The starting price for a customized sash is $75. Customized sashes take up to 6 weeks to be delivered. The deadline to order a customized sash to receive it by USC Commencement is April 12th. Customized sashes can be ordered year-round. Customized sashes ship directly to your home from Pride Sash.

NOTE:If you have purchased a standard non-customized sash and would like to have it customized, you have the option of personalizing your sash at the USC Custom Shop located on USC Bookstore’s 3rd level. For more information, please visit USC Custom Shop in-person.

If you graduated in a previous year or are graduating in a later year but want to join friends in photos for this year, you can customize a sash with the year of your choosing. More information is available on our Graduation Sash page.

After choosing your school, your graduation month and year will appear, then you will choose your degree type (bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate). When filling in the Cap & Gown Student Information “Area of Study,” you will see either the option “All Majors” or an option to choose your specific major. If you receive the option “All Majors,” do not worry. That simply means that within your school, every master’s and doctoral Student receives the same velvet hood color.

*Hoods are only for master’s and doctoral graduates.

Honor Cords are overseen by each school’s department and are available in late April. Each school will distribute more information regarding Honor Cords to their respective students. Honor Cords are for bachelor’s graduates only.

For those graduating as part of a PDP program, we recommend ordering master’s regalia. If you plan to attend both ceremonies, you can walk in the bachelor’s ceremony with the master’s cap and gown, then add your program’s hood for the master’s ceremony.