Updated September 2026 · Sources listed at the end
Nearly every diploma, whether high school, college, graduate or equivalency, carries the same seven elements. They are the institution or authority awarding it, a formal sentence conferring the credential, the graduate’s name as the records hold it, the credential itself, the date it was awarded, an institutional seal, and the signatures of the officers who stand behind it. What changes between levels and countries is the wording, the language, the size of the sheet, and how much detail the issuer chooses to print.
The surprise for most people is how little a diploma says. It is the thinnest document in your education file, carrying no grades, credits or course list, and at many universities not even your major. All of that lives on the transcript.
The seven elements of a diploma
Registrars publish what goes on their diplomas, so this is checkable and not a matter of opinion. The examples below come from the offices that print the documents.
| Element | What it does | Documented example |
|---|---|---|
| Issuing body | Names the school, college or public agency that awards the credential | Colorado’s equivalency credential is issued by the Colorado Department of Education, not by the company that writes the test |
| Conferral statement | The formal sentence granting the credential, and the authority behind it | Penn’s diploma reads, in translation, that “by authority of the Trustees committed to us, following approval of studies by the Faculty, we have admitted [name] to the degree of [degree]” |
| Name of the graduate | Usually the legal name held in the student record | Temple prints “the legal name of the individual as it appears in our official records”. Northwestern allows accented characters but not parentheses, quotation marks, commas, titles or degree suffixes |
| The credential | The degree or diploma awarded, sometimes with the program name | Temple prints “the degree/program earned”. Florida State prints the primary major’s program name, which is not always the same string as the major |
| Date | The date the credential was conferred, not the date of the ceremony | Temple prints “the date the degree was awarded”. Penn’s Latin text names the city, the day and the year, plus the year of the University |
| Seal | The institutional mark, embossed, foil-stamped or printed | Temple embosses the University seal in gold foil on card stock. Brown places the Seal of the Corporation in the lower center |
| Signatures | The officers who sign for the institution | Temple lists “signatures of presiding academic officers”. Brown names the President and the Secretary of the Corporation. Penn names the Secretary, the President and the Dean |
| Honors (sometimes) | Latin honors or distinctions, where the institution prints them | Northwestern prints the university-level honors cum laude, magna cum laude and summa cum laude for undergraduates. Departmental honors appear only on the transcript. Penn uses “with Distinction”, “With Great Distinction” and “With Highest Distinction” |
Two details separate a real document from a template. First, the conferral sentence is a legal statement about who granted the credential, so it names a governing body such as trustees, a board of education or a state agency, and not just the school. Second, the seal and the signatures belong to offices and not to individuals. They are the institution’s mark, and a replacement diploma issued twenty years later carries the signatures of whoever holds those offices today.
Size, paper and seals have no standard
People expect a single “diploma size”. There is not one, even within a single university, and the variation is wide enough to matter when you buy a frame.
| Institution | Document | Size |
|---|---|---|
| Temple University | Undergraduate and graduate | 8.5 × 11 in (since April 2023) |
| Temple University | Dentistry | 11 × 14 in |
| Northwestern University | Bachelor’s, master’s, PhD | 8.5 × 11 in |
| Northwestern University | MD | 14 × 11 in (landscape) |
| Florida State University | All diplomas | 11 × 14 in |
| Brown University | All diplomas | 12.25 × 9.75 in |
Stock is equally varied. Temple prints on card stock and embosses the seal in gold foil, while the heavy cotton or parchment-style sheets many people picture are a tradition and not a rule. What a diploma is printed on, and why the paper is often the first thing to give a fake away, is covered in what paper are diplomas printed on. The seal itself, raised, embossed, foil or printed, is covered in diploma seals explained.
High school diploma examples
A high school diploma is a local document. It is awarded by a district or a state, so the names on it are local too, starting with the school, the district or board of education, and the officials who sign for them. Graduation requirements are set state by state, so diploma types differ as well. Some states issue a single diploma, others several tiers, with endorsements or seals added for a course of study, a language or a civics requirement.
For a walk through a real high school document line by line, including how the state and district appear, see what does a high school diploma look like. Homeschool diplomas follow the same layout, with the supervising parent or umbrella program standing in the issuer’s place.
College and university diploma examples
College and university diplomas are longer on ceremony and shorter on data. The conferral sentence names the governing body, the degree is spelled out in full, as Bachelor of Arts, Master of Science or Doctor of Philosophy, and the sheet is often larger than a high school diploma. What they leave off is the surprising part.
- Your major usually is not on it. Florida State states plainly that minors, additional majors, tracks and specializations do not appear, and that “only the transcript reflects all majors”. Northwestern says most majors and minors appear on the transcript instead of the diploma.
- Honors sometimes are. Northwestern prints university-level Latin honors for undergraduates but keeps departmental honors on the transcript. Penn’s three distinctions are limited to undergraduate and law graduates.
- A digital diploma can say more than the paper one. Temple’s digital versions display majors, minors, concentrations, distinctions, honors designations and thesis titles, none of which are on the printed sheet.
- A reissue announces itself. Florida State prints “Replacement Diploma issued on [date]” on replacements. This is normal and expected. It is also why a replacement never passes as the original, and why registrars are relaxed about issuing them.
- Some of them are in Latin. Brown’s diploma is “produced entirely in Latin (except for name of graduate)”, and Penn has printed in Latin for more than two centuries. Universities that do this publish an English translation for employers and foreign authorities.
For the undergraduate document line by line, see what a college diploma looks like. If you are trying to place a credential in the sequence instead of reading the document, start at the how long each degree takes hub.
GED and high school equivalency examples
An equivalency credential looks different from a school diploma because a different body issues it: the state, not a school. The test company does not award anything.
- Colorado issues the Colorado High School Equivalency Diploma through the Department of Education, and accepts two approved tests, the GED (GED Testing Service) and the HiSET (PSI Services). The state is explicit about what the document shows: “The Diploma does not indicate which exam the person took; the transcript does.”
- Texas issues the Texas Certificate of High School Equivalency through the Texas Education Agency, recognizing the GED, HiSET and TASC. The official PDF contains two things: “a diploma-style certificate suitable for framing” and “an official transcript with test dates and scores”. It costs 5 dollars, and TEA no longer sends physical certificates by mail, fax or email.
So the name on the document depends entirely on where you sat the test, and the words “GED” may not appear on the credential at all. A closer look at the layout is in what does a GED diploma look like.
How diplomas differ between countries
The US pattern is a ceremonial single sheet, with the detail held on a separate transcript, and it is not universal. Two things change abroad: who issues the document, and whether an explanatory companion document comes with it.
| Where | Who issues it | What the graduate receives |
|---|---|---|
| United States | The district, the institution, or a state agency for equivalency credentials | A ceremonial diploma plus a separate transcript ordered from the registrar |
| Canada | The province. Ontario awards the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) | A provincial diploma. Ontario’s requirements for students who started Grade 9 in 2023 or earlier: 18 compulsory and 12 optional credits, the literacy requirement, at least 2 online learning credits and 40 hours of community involvement. From 2024: 17 compulsory and 13 optional credits, plus a financial literacy requirement |
| United Kingdom | The university | A degree certificate, plus a transcript showing units, grades, credits and “degree awarded, degree classification and date of award”. Students who registered at Reading after autumn 2004 also receive a diploma supplement containing the transcript and contextual information |
| European Higher Education Area | The institution, to a common standard | The national degree document plus the Diploma Supplement, produced to standards agreed by the European Commission, the Council of Europe and UNESCO. Graduates in the Bologna Process “have the right to receive the Diploma Supplement automatically, free of charge and in any major European language”. The supplement has eight sections covering the holder, the qualification, its level, content and results, its function, certification, and the national higher education system |
This is why a US graduate applying abroad is often asked for something that does not exist in their file, and why a European graduate’s paperwork looks so much heavier. More on the comparison, including how each system handles recognition abroad, in US vs UK vs EU diplomas.
What a diploma never shows
No diploma carries grades, a GPA, a credit count or a course list. Most do not carry your minor, your concentration or your second major. None of them prove anything on their own. Employers and licensing boards confirm credentials against school records instead of the document in your hand, so a diploma photo is treated as a convenience rather than as evidence.
The document that answers those questions is the transcript. See what a transcript looks like and diploma vs transcript, which sets out which of the two an employer or a school actually wants.
Replica diplomas for display
Once the official records are in hand, some people want a clean copy to frame, because the original was damaged, or it is in a safe deposit box, or a prop is needed for a photograph or a stage set. That is what a replica is for. ValidGrad’s diploma maker produces novelty replicas for display and commemoration, using generic seals and signature styles instead of any institution’s marks.
A replica is not an official document and proves nothing. It must never be used to claim a credential you did not earn, and never sent in answer to a verification request from an employer, a school or a government agency, because the Terms and Conditions forbid it. The answer to a verification request is always a record that comes from the school.
Frequently asked questions
How does a real diploma look?
Formal and sparse. The institution’s name across the top, a conferral sentence naming the authority that granted the credential, the graduate’s legal name, the credential, the date, a seal and two or more signatures. Sizes run from 8.5 by 11 inches to 11 by 14, and the printing is typically a single color with a foil or embossed seal. If a document shows grades, a GPA or a course list, it is a transcript, not a diploma.
Is a diploma the same as a degree?
No. The degree is the qualification a school awards you. The diploma is the piece of paper that records it. You keep the degree if the diploma burns in a fire, and a replacement is just a reprint of the record the registrar already holds.
What size is a diploma?
There is no standard. Northwestern prints bachelor’s, master’s and PhD diplomas at 8.5 by 11 inches and MD diplomas at 14 by 11. Temple uses 8.5 by 11 for undergraduate and graduate degrees and 11 by 14 for dentistry. Florida State uses 11 by 14 throughout, and Brown uses 12.25 by 9.75. Measure before buying a frame.
Do diplomas show your GPA, your major or your honors?
GPA, never. Major, usually not. Florida State and Northwestern both keep additional majors, minors and specializations on the transcript. Honors, sometimes. Northwestern prints university-level Latin honors for undergraduates, and Penn prints one of three distinctions. Temple’s digital diploma carries majors, minors and honors that its paper diploma does not.
Does a GED certificate look like a high school diploma?
It is designed to. Texas issues “a diploma-style certificate suitable for framing” alongside an official transcript of test dates and scores. The difference is in the names. An equivalency credential is issued by a state agency and names that agency, while a high school diploma names a school and a district. Colorado notes that its diploma does not even say which test was taken, and only the transcript does.
Sources
- Temple University, Office of the University Registrar, Diploma Contents.
- Northwestern University, Office of the Registrar, Diploma FAQs.
- Florida State University, University Registrar, Diploma Information.
- Brown University, Office of the Registrar, Diplomas.
- University of Pennsylvania, Office of the University Secretary, Diploma Translation.
- Colorado Department of Education, High School Equivalency.
- Texas Education Agency, Certificate of High School Equivalency.
- Government of Ontario, High school graduation requirements.
- University of Reading, Transcripts, certified copies and other requests.
- European Commission, Diploma Supplement.
Registrar pages, state agency pages and fees were read on September 13, 2026. Institutions change dimensions, printing rules and fees without notice, so confirm with the issuer before relying on a detail.