REGALIA (cap-gown-hood)

Click here for interesting facts about the tradition of academic regalia.

Regalia must be worn to participate in our in-person commencement ceremony. All graduates should wear the style of cap, gown, and hood that corresponds with their most recently earned - or soon to be earned - degree (Master's or Doctor's).

You may purchase from any vendor of your choice, as long as it follows these color standards:

  • gown must be predominantly black (for DNP only, an optional contrasting velvet trim in blue* is fine)
  • hood should be black with a white with blue* satin lining (represents FNU) and an apricot-colored velvet trim (represents the Nursing field)
  • Master's mortarboard-style cap should be black and can have a black tassel or a blue*-and-white tassel
  • Doctoral (DNP) tam (multi-sided hat) should be black velvet and have a black or gold tassel
For 2026, we're partnering with two regalia vendors who have set up FNU online stores. See below for details...

You are not required to purchase from either of these vendors.

  • Oak Hall is a new, affordable option offering good-quality products for anyone not planning a career in academia. They offer one Master's package ($65) and one Doctoral package ($120).

Oak Hall's FNU site will open on April 30 and remain open through Aug 26, ensuring on-time home delivery for those traveling to KY for our ceremony on Sept 19.

  • Jostens has been serving FNU graduates for years. They offer a variety of regalia packages at several price points. See details below:
  1. Go to "Find My School."
  2. Type "Frontier Nursing University - Versailles, KY" in the search bar and hit "Enter" for the FNU dashboard.
  3. Click "Shop This School" to open a dropdown menu of the entire product line, all queued to FNU specifications.
  4. To view standard regalia packages, click "Graduation Products" then "Graduation Caps & Gowns."
  5. If you anticipate wearing regalia multiple times, such as those working in academia, you may wish to invest in one of the longer-lasting "Fine Quality Regalia" packages.

NOTE: Choose "Nursing" in the field that asks for "major/curriculum." This will get you the apricot-colored velvet hood trim. If purchasing elsewhere, please ensure your gown is black and that your hood is black with white with blue* satin lining and apricot velvet trim. 

*FNU's official blue shade is "Pantone #280" or "Hexidecimal #13377C" in case your vendor has more than one shade of blue to choose from.

SPECIALTY CORDS

FNU graduates may wear relevant specialty cords if applicable. This may include cords representing affinity groups, professional associations, etc. We especially encourage you to wear an FNU Alumni Association cord - those details are below.

FNU Alumni Association

Click on the image below for details:

Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI & the Chi Pi local chapter)

Members of Sigma Theta Tau International are eligible to wear their honors cord or stole (your choice of which item). Those are available for purchase here on their website.

Members of Chi Pi, Frontier Nursing University's local chapter of STTI, will also be recognized as Chi Pi members in our annual commencement ceremony publication. You can click here to learn more about Chi Pi.

US Military Veterans 

FNU graduates who are also military veterans will be offered complimentary veteran honors cords at the ceremony venue on 09.19.26. Ask for yours in the Graduate Dressing Room that morning after you complete check-in. We thank you for your service!