Graduation Tassel Meaning: Which Side & When to Turn It

What the tassel symbolizes

The tassel is a small but potent symbol: moving it from one side of the cap to the other marks your transition from candidate to graduate. It's a physical, shared gesture that a whole class performs together — a moment that turns a long ceremony into a genuine rite of passage.

Which side does the tassel start on?

• High school: candidates typically begin with the tassel on the RIGHT side of the cap, then move it to the LEFT once they graduate.
• College (undergraduate): practices vary by school, but many undergraduates also start on the right and turn to the left. Some institutions have the whole class start on the left.
• Always defer to your school's specific instructions — the announcer or program will tell you, and school tradition wins over any general rule.

When do you turn the tassel?

The timing depends on the level. At many high school ceremonies, the entire class turns their tassels together at the end, often on a cue from the principal or a class officer, after diplomas have been conferred. At college ceremonies, undergraduates frequently turn theirs as a group once degrees are conferred, while graduate-degree candidates may have the hood — not the tassel — as the central gesture.

Master's and doctoral distinctions

For advanced degrees, the hooding ceremony often carries the symbolic weight the tassel turn does at lower levels. Doctoral candidates may wear a tam (a soft cap) with the tassel, and some already wear it on the left throughout. If you're earning a graduate degree, check your program's regalia guidance — the customs differ meaningfully from undergraduate ceremonies.

Keeping the tassel after the ceremony

The tassel is one of the few pieces of regalia you keep. Many graduates hang it from a rearview mirror, frame it with the diploma, or seal it inside a keepsake ornament. If you want it to look sharp for years, store it flat or hanging so the strands don't kink.