Graduation is always an exciting time for the students and their families. Each year countless students eagerly await the day that they finally get their diploma. On their graduation day, they don the traditional robes, sashes, and graduation caps โ with tassels to boot. But lately those traditional graduation caps have been getting some fantastic, and hilarious, upgrades.
Weโre here to countdown the 50 best graduation caps that deserve be at the top of their class. These caps are worth keeping, instead of tossing in the air.
1. Legend of Zelda (and Diplomas)
Unless youโve been hiding under a rock for last few years, youโre probably familiar with the mind-bending puzzle game from Nintendo. As the story goes, a little green man fights increasingly difficult monsters to save the princess โ not so different from college, it turns out.


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2. Nowโs Thatโs Punny
Who doesnโt love a good pun? This student would be getting top marks in our book for that sense of humor.


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3. For The 90โs Kids
If you grew up in the 90โs, you are very familiar with SpongeBob SquarePants. This graduation cap is the perfect tongue-in-cheek reference to the famed kidโs cartoon and we love it.


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4. An Artsy Take
Weโre guessing that this student might have been studying art โ that, or they just appreciate a good Edvard Munch reference. And donโt worry โ we all scream when we see our student loans.


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5. Thanks, Mom!
Weโre hoping that this mom was too proud of their kid to notice their graduation confession. This studentโs courage is definitely something to be admired.


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6. For All You Engineers Out There
If youโve ever met an engineer, this might be a phrase youโre overly familiar with. Weโre glad to see this future engineer isnโt breaking the trend.


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7. Crafty Potter-fan
You might be noticing a theme โ turns out all of the kids of the 90โs graduated together. Our hats are off to this craft Harry Potter graduation cap!


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8. Mischief Matriculated
This is another well-executed Harry Potter themed graduation cap. The pearl details give it a nice touch and the lettering is totally spot on.


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9. How Many Quarters?
Somehow, we have a feeling that paying your student loans back in bags of quarters might be a bad idea.


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10. Perfect Game of Thrones Pun
Who doesnโt love Game of Thrones? And who doesnโt love puns? And who doesnโt love making light of crippling debt?


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11. A Valid Question
This graduating student is really asking the hard questions. Weโre guessing a journalist major, for sure.


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12. In Case You Were Wondering
We had a feeling the fictional school of magic might not accept student loans for tuition. Thanks for clearing that up!


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13. A Marvel Idea
We love that this cap drew inspiration from the wonderful Marvel Universe and of course, the Amazing Spider-man! (Plus, the little shout-out to Mom is so adorable.)


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14. Come on grab your friendsโฆ
Weโre going to distant (adult) lands, with a new diploma and student loans โ the fun will never end. This graduation cap is too cute, and weโre totally here for it.


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15. A Little Pixie Dust
This Peter Pan-themed graduation cap is beautifully made and actually quite subtle. Congratulations to this proud Disney fan!


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16. The Most Honest Cap
Frankly, most people canโt get through their day without a cup of coffee โ I know I canโt. Really, shouldnโt we all be thanking coffee for the miracle of its existence?


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17. Everyone Needs Some Time to Wine
Sometimes you just need to sit down with a glass of wine after a long day, or after a long 4 years in pursuit of a diploma. We definitely think this student earned her chance to โwineโ at little.


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18. For All You Dragonball Z Fans
In case you arenโt familiar with this reference, Dragonball Z was a famous 90โs anime that took the United States by storm. Looks like this studentโs loans are just as powerful as Goku!


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19. Under the Sea
As kids, we all related to Arielโs plight of wanting to be on the surface and dreaming of this better life. We also, on a very real level, relate to this student just wanting to be employed.


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20. Worldโs Favorite Food
Weโve all been there โ you order a pizza, thinking that youโll just eat a couple of slices. And then you end up eating the whole dang pie. At least this student celebrated their love of pizza in the best possible way.


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21. โI am the one who graduates!โ
If you havenโt watched the binge worthy Breaking Bad, you are not living life to the fullest. We can only hope that this lucky grad is also an aspiring chemist.


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22. Oh, South Park
Eric Cartman is obnoxious, loud and entitled โ the perfect role model for any graduating student. Regardless, we love this crafty and unique graduation cap as a way to show your love for one of the worldโs most infamous cartoon shows.


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23. Calvin & Hobbes
Arguably one of the best newspapers comics ever, Calvin & Hobbes captured audiences for decades ever since it was first published in 1985. This graduation cap is a beautiful homage to these two best friends and we love the motivational message.


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24. Oh You Fancy
This graduation cap is a clever parody of rapper Drakeโs mixtape, If Youโre Reading This Itโs Too Late. Our hats are off to this creative cap for showing their love to their favorite artist on their big day.


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25. Donโt Let Mom Read This
The message on this graduation cap may be not so family-friendly. Just donโt go explaining this double meaning to your parents โ or worse, grandparents.


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26. Classic Pokemon Battle
If youโre a fan of classic Pokรฉmon, then this cap will definitely be your favorite. We love the funny and smart battle options to either apply, beg, run or โntwkโ (network).


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27. Poor Kitty
This is a cute and darkly funny take on Hello Kitty. It looks like the famous cat has seen some better days โ thatโs for sure.


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28. Jurassic Park
This cap is another brilliant shout-out to a 90โs classic film, Jurassic Park. This student is absolutely a clever girl, especially with that shiny new diploma.


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29. Fallout: New Graduate
Bethesdaโs Fallout series has a long legacy of being most gamerโs favorite, if not most memorable, gaming experience. That sure was a lot of caps just for that +1 intelligence perk.


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30. Homage to Certain Sponge
Who doesnโt love SpongeBob SquarePants? This graduation cap is a cute and unique way to show your love for your favorite cartoon sponge, and we are definitely here for it.


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31. Aspiring Beauty Guru
There was always that one person in class who looked like they just stepped out of the salon, rather than rolling out of bed. Guess weโve found the next beauty guru!


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32. The Truth Hurts
This graduation cap might be the most honest of the bunch. Hopefully this student got some help with their money situation.


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33. Queen Bey
Looks like a member of the bey-hive is graduating โ and we love that they chose to decorate their graduation cap with arguably the worldโs favorite person. The Queen would be proud.


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34. Finally Done!
This graduation cap is a fun take on a clock โ it looks like this student is happy to be graduating just in the nick of time.


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35. Simple Yet Oh So Delicious
Clearly, one student wanted to make a clear, simple statement: they love pizza. And what better way to do that than plastering a giant pizza on your graduation cap?


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36. Let It Go!
We all remember when Disneyโs hit film Frozen was all anyone could talk about, and for good reason. Elsaโs character is definitely a great role model and weโre glad to see this student is still a child at heart.


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37. Iconic Grad Cap
Kim Kardashian crying is definitely a mood, and weโve all been there. Your college years are always filled with plenty of ugly-crying.


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38. Board-game Night
There is not better board-game than monopoly to represent the struggle of college โ stressful, relationship-ending, and you never seem to have enough money.


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39. Never Too Old
We love that this student is celebrating that youโre never too old to go back to school and learn. Congratulations to this dedicated student!


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40. Bachelor of Science
This graduation cap is a classic bachelor of science pun and we are here for it. Itโs good to finally be done with all theโฆstuff.


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41. Disney Classic
This graduation cap is another homage to Ariel, the Disney princess who also happens to be a mermaid. We would also rather stay under the sea, down where itโs better.


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42. The Happiest Place on Earth
We all love Disney, and of course, the best place on earth โ Disneyland. We love that this student is sharing their love of Disney.


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43. Parks & Rec
Parks & Rec was an absolutely iconic TV show and debatably the best character was Chris Prattโs portrayal of hilarious, bumbling Andy Dwyer. Rep that Parks & Rec!


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44. U Is Special
This graduation cap is perfect for anyone who wants to really demonstrate all that theyโve learned in college. Weโre betting their parents are pretty darn proud.


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45. Inspiring Aspirations
First of all, this dog is literally too cute. We love this sweet innocent graduation cap and the student whoโs just trying to be the best boy they can be.


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46. You were in school for how long?
Either this person is counting all the way back to kindergarten or they took that extra 5th year and somehow turned it into 13 years. Uhโฆcongrats?


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47. Shia LaBeouf would be proud.
โJust do itโ turned into โjust did itโ. This graduation cap is clever and somehow we canโt help but feel that somewhere Shia LaBeouf is smiling.


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48. 99 Problems
Thatโs definitely a long list of problems โ maybe itโs time to start taking a crack at the other 99 now that youโve finally graduated?


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49. Graduated You Have
Finally, a graduation cap celebrating everyoneโs favorite little green alien who speaks strangely. We were wondering when we might see some Star Wars fans.


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50. Hey Girl
We all know the โhey girlโ Ryan Gosling meme, but we love that this student turned it into a wholesome and motivational graduation cap. Our hats are off to you!


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Thank you to all of the graduating students who shared their unique and creative graduations caps. Hopefully that creativity carries them off into the new (and a little scary) world ahead โ adulthood.
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