Cap and gown are required to participate in the ceremony. We encourages students to wear culturally significant garb and regalia to celebrate their heritage and achievements.

Jostens 2026 WOU Grad Fair at the Wolfstore

Get ready for the big day! Visit the Werner Center to purchase your regalia and diploma frames or to order your custom announcements and class rings.

Event Hours:

• March 30: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
• March 31: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Missed the Fair?

Don’t worry! If you can’t make it to the Grad Fair, you have options. We recommend finalizing your preparations earlier rather than later to ensure you are fully ready for the ceremony.

• Stop by the Wolfstore during regular business hours to purchase your regalia.
• The WOU Official Collection is available online. Visit the Jostens online store or call 800-854-7464 to order:
• • Official Class Rings: Commemorate your journey with a custom WOU design.
  • Personalized Announcements: Featuring the official WOU seal.
  • Etiquette Tips: Check out the Announcement Etiquette FAQ.

Military Service Cord

Western Oregon University would like to recognize veterans participating in commencement with a red, white and blue cord to be worn during the ceremony. The student must have previously served or is currently serving in one of the five branches of the armed forces: Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Navy, or Marines, including the National Guard and Reserves. The individual must have either been discharged under honorable conditions or currently serving in the armed forces and not pending disciplinary separation under dishonorable or other than honorable conditions. Graduates may bring a photo ID and a copy of DD Form 214 showing character of service in box number 24 as “Honorable” or a current armed forces ID card to the Registrar’s Office in the Welcome Center, Room 145. For questions or more information, call 503-838-8183 or email veterans@wou.edu.

Honor cord

Graduates who have earned honors distinction and attend the Commencement ceremony are eligible to wear an honor cord at the ceremony. Pending graduates attending Commencement are eligible to wear an honor cord at the ceremony if they meet qualifications as of the end of the Winter Term immediately preceding the Commencement ceremony.

To qualify for the honors distinction, students must have earned 45 letter-graded hours, (graded A through D) from WOU. Honors distinctions are categorized as follows:

• Cum Laude for those students with a cumulative GPA between 3.50 and 3.64
• Magna Cum Laude for a cumulative GPA between 3.65 and 3.79
• Summa Cum Laude for a cumulative GPA between 3.80 and 4.00

Other cords

There are more than two dozen organizations, honor societies, programs and organizations at WOU that bestow recognition cords or stoles to graduates. Graduates are responsible for gathering appropriate regalia from each organization before the Commencement Ceremony. A full description of each recognition piece will be listed in the Commencement Program.