After graduation, the tassel goes on the left side of your cap. For high school and bachelor’s degree graduates, the tassel starts on the right side and moves to the left at a specific moment during the ceremony. If you’re earning a master’s or doctoral degree, the tassel stays on the left side the entire time.
Right to Left for High School and Bachelor’s Degrees
Before the ceremony begins, place your tassel on the right side of your mortarboard, hanging near your right temple. It stays there through the opening remarks, speeches, and the procession of graduates receiving diplomas. Near the end of the ceremony, typically right after degrees are officially conferred, the speaker or university president will ask graduates to move their tassels from the right side to the left. This single, coordinated gesture is the symbolic moment that marks your transition from candidate to graduate.
The exact timing varies by school. Some ceremonies have everyone move their tassels together after all diplomas have been handed out. Others do it section by section or after the presiding official makes a formal declaration. Listen for a prompt like “graduates, please move your tassels” or “by the authority vested in me, I confer upon you…” followed by the instruction. If you miss the cue, just follow the people around you.
Left Side From the Start for Graduate Degrees
If you’re receiving a master’s or doctoral degree, you wear the tassel on the left side from the moment you put on your cap. There is no turning of the tassel during the ceremony. The tradition recognizes that you’ve already completed an undergraduate degree, so the tassel stays in the “graduated” position throughout. Doctoral candidates typically wear a tam (a soft, round cap) rather than a flat mortarboard, but the rule is the same: tassel on the left, near your left temple.
What Tassel Colors Mean
Your tassel color usually corresponds to your field of study, especially at the graduate level. These colors follow a standardized system used across American universities. Some of the most common pairings:
- White: Arts, letters, and humanities
- Golden yellow: Science
- Orange: Engineering
- Light blue: Education
- Drab (a grayish brown): Business, commerce, and accountancy
- Purple: Law
- Royal blue: Ph.D. degrees
- Scarlet: Theology and divinity
- Brown: Fine arts
- Pink: Music
Many high schools and undergraduate programs simplify this by issuing tassels in the school’s colors rather than discipline-specific ones. Some schools attach a small charm with the graduation year to the tassel as well.
How to Attach and Position the Tassel
Most mortarboards have a small button or loop at the center of the flat top. The tassel hooks or loops onto this button so it hangs over the edge of the cap. Position it so the tassel drapes to the correct side (right for undergrad and high school before the ceremony, left for graduate students). It should hang roughly at your temple, not straight down over your face or off the back of your head. If your cap keeps sliding, a few bobby pins along the edges can hold it steady without affecting the tassel’s position.
When the moment comes to move the tassel, use your right hand to reach up and swing it from the right side to the left in one smooth motion. You don’t need to detach it or reattach it. Just flip it over the top of the cap to the other side.
After the Ceremony
Once the tassel is on the left, it stays there for photos, celebrations, and the recessional walk out of the venue. Many graduates keep the tassel as a keepsake, hanging it from a rearview mirror, pinning it to a bulletin board, or storing it in a shadow box alongside their diploma. If your tassel has a year charm, it makes a convenient memento without needing any additional framing or display.