Framing my Diploma

June 27, 2007 1:21 PM

Should I have my diploma from my university put into a custom frame, or should I just buy one of the pre-made frames available at the college bookstore and do it myself?

I'm also in a graduate program. If I were to get a custom frame, I would like to at least have the frames match.

Thank you for your help glorious hive mind!

posted by debit to Education (16 answers total)

This is really a matter of personal tastes and finances. Mine's in a file cabinet somewhere, for the record.
posted by thirteenkiller at 1:25 PM on June 27, 2007

I had mine custom framed. Considering the cost of the diploma, it was pretty much required. :)

Cost me ~$80 or so. Very nice.
posted by unixrat at 1:26 PM on June 27, 2007

From my experience the school charges way more for this service than if you took the diploma to a craft store and had it done by them. (At least my school did)
posted by MayNicholas at 1:27 PM on June 27, 2007

I used to have mine nicely framed in the university frame - but ended up ditching the frame and just taking the diploma when I moved around a lot. After a while it looks really pretentious and/or loserish, IMO, to have your diploma prominently displayed. Kind of like wearing your high school letterman jacket.

Unless you're going into a field (medicine, law) where displaying diplomas is a shorthand way of presenting your credentials, I'd say hold off for now. I can almost guarantee you you won't care in a few years.
posted by widdershins at 1:29 PM on June 27, 2007

A lot of this will depend on what the bookstore frame looks like, whether you like it, how much it costs, and how lazy you are. The frames I got from my university ("brass" metal moulding with glass front and matting in the school colours) were easy to install a degree in, look good, match (more important for the second degree), and cost $50 apiece, which was competitive with custom-framing for price and convenience.

This is one of those YMMV situations though.
posted by cardboard at 1:33 PM on June 27, 2007

why not go with a cheap frame or just keep it in a filing cabinet for a couple of years until you are permanently established somewhere and have decided if you would in fact like to display your diplomas for others to see? if you then do, you can invest in something nicer.
posted by modernnomad at 1:59 PM on June 27, 2007

Mine is in a frame I bought at an Umbra sale, hanging in the guest room of my parents house. It was under the bed in there for a good while. You should spend as little or as much as you feel like. If you are going to hang it somewhere prominent, I suppose spend more. Don't do it through the school because they will rip you off.
posted by chunking express at 2:08 PM on June 27, 2007

Personally, I like the look of diplomas in floating frames. Many nice-looking styles of which are available for cheap at your local craft/housewares store. To ensure proper matchiness with your advanced degree, buy two now. If you need really snazzy ones for an ego wall sometime down the line, you can always change the frames. I will also second the notion that anything done for you by the school (or an affiliated business -- see class rings) will be a ripoff.
posted by Rock Steady at 2:36 PM on June 27, 2007

It sounds like you want to frame it, so the idea of storing it to see if you want to frame it later doesn't seem to apply. My college bookstore's frames had my school's emblem on it, something that the frame store frames won't have. It's also less likely to change too frequently from the style you bought. (I don't work in a frame store, but I buy them frequently. About every two or three years, I find a reason to buy a matching frame to a style I already have -- most often, I can't find one. I presume it's because the styles change.)

For these reasons, I'd recommend going with the campus bookstore frame.
posted by parilous at 3:20 PM on June 27, 2007

(by the way, I never framed mine. Now that I live on the opposite coast of my university, I kind of wish I had. So, take my thoughts for what they're worth.)
posted by parilous at 3:21 PM on June 27, 2007

This would depend significantly on whether or not you graduated from framing school.

however, the real answer is "it depends on where you're going to hang it." If it's in a conspicuous, well-lit place, pay the extra money to have it well done, and if not, don't sweat the small stuff. In fact, if I were you, I'd self-mount now, then when you earn the other diploma, splurge on two professional mounts in matching expensive frames.
posted by davejay at 3:53 PM on June 27, 2007 [1 favorite]

I got one of the bookstore frames for my diploma, and it was really simple--just put the thing in, insert the fome-cor backing, and bend some tabs over that. That's it! And it's got the school seal and all that.

The one oddity in my situation, however, is that my school has (or at least had) outrageously large diplomas, on the order of 16"x22". That ain't fitting in no file, and would be hard to find a frame for if I waited until well after the fact and moved away from school (I'm now 2500+ miles away). So, if you're in a similar situation with a non-standard diploma, I'd just get the bookstore version.

For reference, the school is UVa. Everyone in my major wore tuxes for commencement as well. They don't fuck around.
posted by LionIndex at 4:23 PM on June 27, 2007

I bought the university-branded frame for my first degree. I figured that, after $40k, I couldn't quibble over $100. I have it in my home office. However, I haven't yet popped for the custom frame for my MBA, even though it cost more and came from the same school. Getting married meant that, with four degrees between us, there was less wall space. I haven't yet put it up, although I mean to do so. I don't think it's over-the-top to display your degree in a home office. I'm not sure I'd put them up at work, if I worked outside the home.

My husband got basic frames from a framing store. His look great and coordinate well. If I had it to do again, I'd probably do that instead.
posted by acoutu at 4:33 PM on June 27, 2007

I had mine custom framed. Considering the cost of the diploma, it was pretty much required. :)

Cost me ~$80 or so. Very nice.

And for the frame?
posted by dhartung at 8:46 PM on June 27, 2007

Ask your parents. They're the one's who will be proudest of it. :)
posted by -harlequin- at 11:32 PM on June 27, 2007

The "drop-in" frames offered by my university were cheaper than custom frames of comparable quality, but in the end I went with a custom frame to avoid the university logo on the frame. It's already on the diploma, so I didn't see the point of having it stamped on the frame in gold foil.

As for having your two degree frames match, I'd recommend waiting for a few years if you can safely store your undergrad diploma. I tried several frame shops and none could quite match my undergrad diploma's frame and matting, though they did get pretty close. If having matching frames is very important to you (for example, if they will be hanging side-by-side instead of on different walls), perhaps wait a bit.
posted by Mock Turtle at 5:29 PM on June 28, 2007