Honor Society Tassel Colors: A Quick Reference for Each Society

Honor society tassel colors are part of an honors student’s ceremony regalia and aren’t something to guess at. Each major society has a defined color (or color combination) that signals membership and distinction. This guide is a quick reference for the major societies and how to order the right tassels for an honor cohort.

Why Society Tassels Differ From School Tassels

School-color tassels represent the institution; honor society tassels represent academic distinction within a specific society. The two serve different purposes at commencement — some honors students wear both (school tassel during the procession, society tassel during the ceremony itself), while many ceremonies have students wear society tassels in place of the school tassel.

Each society has defined colors based on its founding traditions, historical references, or practical visibility. Mixing up the colors is a common rookie mistake on a bulk order.

National Honor Society (NHS)

NHS uses gold and white as its colors. The standard NHS tassel is two-tone gold and white, with a 2026 charm and the NHS emblem either embroidered on the tassel cord or stamped on the year charm.

NHS chapters at the high school level typically order tassels matched to the NHS stoles — gold satin stole with the four-pillar emblem, paired with the gold-and-white tassel. The combination reads as a complete honor regalia kit.

Phi Beta Kappa

Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest academic honor society in the United States, uses navy blue and pink as its colors. Tassels for Phi Beta Kappa members are two-tone navy and pink, with a gold or silver year charm.

The pink color sometimes catches new members off guard — it’s a specific historical reference, not an arbitrary choice. Pair the tassel with the matching navy-and-pink Phi Beta Kappa stole.

Phi Theta Kappa (Community College)

Phi Theta Kappa, the honor society for community colleges, uses gold and blue. The standard tassel combines gold and royal blue, often with the PTK emblem on the year charm.

National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS)

NSCS uses red and silver as its primary colors. Tassels are typically red and silver two-tone, paired with the NSCS stole or cord.

Latin Honors Conventions

For Latin honors at universities (cum laude, magna cum laude, summa cum laude), the most common tassel convention is gold for cum laude and above, with additional accents for the higher honors. Some schools use:

• Cum laude: solid gold tassel
• Magna cum laude: gold tassel with a second color band
• Summa cum laude: gold tassel with two additional color accents

Other schools use cords (rather than tassels) for Latin honors and reserve tassels for general school regalia. Check with your registrar for institutional convention.

Honor Tassel Code in Practice

For a graduating class with multiple society members and Latin honors graduates, the bulk order plan is:

• Standard school tassels for everyone (one per graduate)
• Society-specific tassels for each society as separate add-on orders
• Honors-distinguishing tassels (cum laude, magna, summa) as additional add-ons

Each variant ships in its own batch with the right colors and emblem. The senior advisor distributes them to the right students before the ceremony.

Ordering Honor Society Tassels

For most honor societies, the chapter has a published color spec available through the national organization’s website. We’ll match those specs from our standard yarn library. Less common societies may require a sample to confirm color match before bulk.

Want to order the right honor society tassels for your class? Request a quote with the society name and member count. Free artwork in 24 hours.