"Dr. Rich" Cap and Gown Loan Program

Graduating soon? Does expense of a cap and gown make you want to skip your graduation ceremony?

Never fear: the Graduate and Professional Student Senate's "Dr. Rich" Cap and Gown Loan Program (named for GPSS's previous Director of Finance, Richard Rodrigues, who began the program) will loan a limited number of graduation gowns and caps to graduate students participating in our upcoming graduation ceremonies. Go to that graduation ceremony and bask in the glory of your accomplishments!

Fall 2024 Update: Are you graduating this December? Planning on taking photos or walking at the in-person ceremonies, but need a cap and gown? GPSS has caps and gowns for students to borrow! Fill out the form below by November 18th at 11:59pm and we will try to make those memories happen while saving you money! If you do borrow from us, please note that you will need to return the gown dry cleaned, with receipt. Hoods are not included. Please contact Julia Shapiro (juliams22@vt.edu) with any questions.

Deadline: October 18th at 11:59pm
Link to form: https://forms.office.com/r/Gj3FtsWPKY

Return Instructions: As graduation is very close to the holiday, the cap and gowns will need to be returned by Friday, January 24th. Caps and gowns can be returned to the following: (1) to the graduate school with a note including your name/size of graduation gown (2) to Julia Shapiro (juliams22@vt.edu) during the first week of the spring semester. Note that items could be dropped off by a friend or family member on your behalf. 

Each student who wins the lottery will be eligible to rent a gown in their respective size (based on their height) AND one cap (caps are one-size-fits-all). The hood and tassel are NOT provided by GPSS and should be purchased by the student. Since this is a loan program, students will be held fully responsible for returning the gown and cap in fair condition to the GPSS. Please keep in mind that these caps and gowns may have been used in previous years, but have been cleaned prior to hand out. Remember, however, this is only a loan program.

Application openings and deadlines for each semester will be announced on this page, our Twitter account, our Instagram account, and through the weekly Graduate School listserv email.

You will be charged $100 if: you do not return your cap and gown by the closing date, or if the cap and gown are damaged and no longer usable.

Note that we accept CASH OR CHECK ONLY as forms of payment. If you do choose to pay with a check, be sure to make it out to "Treasurer of Virginia Tech" - this is the only way your check will be accepted.

Please be aware: Application to the lottery does not guarantee you a cap and gown

TLDR:

• Cost: The Cap & Gown program is free, but you MUST have the cap & gown dry cleaned before returning!
• What you get: One cap and one gown (either Master’s or PhD) necessary for commencement. We DO NOT provide tassels, hoods, or other required items
• What you need to do: Click the link above to be taken to our Google Forms survey to submit your lottery application.
• Lottery is first come, first served!
• When: Watch this page and our social media accounts for updates on relevant dates!

Example Volunteer opportunities: examine existing inventory for quality, update inventory, move new caps/gowns into circulation, clean existing caps/gowns, distribute caps/gowns to successful lottery applications, collect caps/gowns from graduates after commencement.