Diploma Framing for Rutgers Graduates
Archival Framing for Rutgers Alumni, 15 Minutes from New Brunswick
Custom diploma framing for Rutgers University graduates and alumni from all Rutgers campuses including College Avenue, Busch, Livingston, Cook, Douglass, Mason Gross, and the Newark and Camden campuses. Our Somerset frame shop is 15 minutes from New Brunswick and specializes in Rutgers' distinct diploma traditions: scarlet-and-black school colors, the official Rutgers University seal with the 1766 founding date, the Latin motto "Sol iustitiae et occidentem illustra," and the diploma sizes that match Rutgers' standard format.
We frame undergraduate diplomas, graduate degrees from Rutgers' schools of business, education, engineering, and medicine, doctoral dissertations with academic hood displays, and degrees from professional programs including Rutgers Law and the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Archival materials are standard: acid-free mats so the diploma never yellows, non-glare acrylic so signatures and the gold seal stay clearly readable on display, kiln-dried hardwood moulding built to last. Most diploma framing orders finish in 3-5 business days. Rush service available for graduation ceremonies and alumni reunion deadlines.
Rutgers University (New Brunswick) graduates trust CustomPictureFrames.com for diploma framing. Located in Somerset, NJ, we serve Rutgers University (New Brunswick) and surrounding areas with custom-cut frames in any size, non-glare acrylic glazing, and 3-5 business days turnaround on standard orders. We size diploma frames to standard certificate dimensions (8.5x11, 11x14, and 14x17) with single, double, and triple openings for tassels, photos, or honor cords. Acid-free matting and archival mounting protect ink and paper for decades, and non-glare acrylic glazing cuts reflections. Local pickup at our frame shop is available by appointment for customers who prefer to skip shipping. Open the frame designer to enter your exact dimensions.
Start your Rutgers diploma frame design here. Walk in to finish at our Somerset showroom, just 15 minutes from New Brunswick campus.
The live frame designer with real-time pricing is ready. It covers every configuration this page describes:
Diploma Frames
Custom Picture Frames
Shadow Boxes
Canvas Frames
What Makes Rutgers Diploma Framing Different
Rutgers diplomas carry specific traditions and physical characteristics that generic frame shops do not address. Four things drive a Rutgers diploma build, and we walk through each one with you in person.
Colors and matting
Rutgers' scarlet-and-black combination is the defining visual element of any Rutgers diploma display. The wrong scarlet (too pink, too orange-red, too dull) reads as generic and clashes with the diploma. We carry archival scarlet mat board in Rutgers' specific shade plus complementary black accent matting. Double mat with a thin scarlet inner border and broader black outer border is the traditional Rutgers alumni preference. Triple mat with V-groove accents is available for honors graduates, doctoral degrees, and Rutgers Law diplomas where the additional formality reads appropriately.
Seal clearance and typography
Rutgers diplomas feature the embossed university seal prominently, including the 1766 founding date and the Latin motto. Standard mat cutting compresses or crushes the seal, which damages the diploma over time. Our mat cutting builds in seal clearance so the embossing sits flush within the mat opening. The diploma's formal academic typography also requires careful framing that respects the document's layout without cropping or covering signature sections from the President and Dean.
Archival materials
Rutgers diplomas are heirloom documents intended to last decades. The diploma may be the only physical artifact of years of academic work and financial investment for a graduate. Acid-free, lignin-free mat board prevents yellowing over time. Non-glare acrylic keeps glare off signatures and gold seal foil under bright lighting. Archival mounting uses T-hinges so the diploma can be removed for restoration, appraisal, or rehousing if the frame style changes years later. Standard frame shop materials degrade within 10 to 15 years. Archival materials maintain integrity for the document's full lifetime.
Configuration options
Single diploma framing for undergraduate degrees. Double diploma framing for stacked degrees, common for Rutgers alumni who completed graduate work at the same institution (BA plus MEd, BS plus PhD, BA plus JD from Rutgers Law). Dissertation hood framing for doctoral graduates pairs the diploma with the Rutgers academic hood and dissertation in a shadow box format. Engraved nameplate options in brass or silver. Multi-generation displays for families with multiple Rutgers alumni across decades, common given Rutgers' long history and large in-state alumni population.
For doctoral graduates from Rutgers School of Graduate Studies, we offer specialty framing that pairs the diploma with the academic hood, dissertation title page, and commencement photograph in a single composition display.
What Rutgers Alumni and Families Bring to Our Shop
A short list of the Rutgers diploma projects that come through the door most often. Categories overlap, and many projects combine two or three.
Undergraduate diplomas
Standard four-year Rutgers degrees from all undergraduate colleges including the School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers Business School, School of Engineering, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Mason Gross School of the Arts, and the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy. The most common diploma framing project. Often gifted by parents at graduation or kept by graduates as the first piece of office decor in their professional life.
Graduate and professional degrees
Master's degrees from Rutgers' graduate schools including the Graduate School of Education, Rutgers Business School graduate programs (MBA, MQF, MFIN), the School of Social Work, Edward J. Bloustein School, and the School of Communication and Information. Often framed alongside the undergraduate diploma in stacked configuration. Engraved nameplate identifying degree type and graduation year adds context for office display.
Doctoral diplomas and dissertation displays
PhD diplomas from the School of Graduate Studies covering disciplines from biomedical sciences to humanities. Professional doctorates including JD from Rutgers Law, MD and DO from Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and New Jersey Medical School, EdD from the Graduate School of Education. The most ceremonial framing in our catalog. Shadow box format pairs the diploma with the academic hood and dissertation. Archival materials throughout.
Reunion and commemorative framing
Class reunion gifts, milestone anniversary commemorations, retirement displays for Rutgers faculty and staff. Recognition pieces for alumni who have made contributions to the university through volunteer work, donations, or notable achievements in their fields.
Multi-generation family displays
Families with multiple Rutgers graduates across generations sometimes commission group displays featuring diplomas from parent, child, and grandchild together. Given Rutgers' long history and large in-state alumni population, multi-generation Rutgers families are common in New Jersey. We design these displays to honor each diploma while maintaining visual coherence as a single family piece.
Professional certification additions
Many Rutgers graduates accumulate additional professional certifications throughout their careers: bar admission, medical board certifications, professional engineering licenses, teaching credentials. We frame these as companion pieces to the Rutgers degree or as separate displays in matching style.
If you graduated from Rutgers or are framing a Rutgers diploma as a gift, bring the diploma to the showroom or send a high-resolution scan. We will design a framing approach that respects Rutgers' traditions and matches your personal display style.
Why Rutgers Alumni Choose Our Somerset Shop
Why drive 15 minutes from New Brunswick to Somerset for diploma framing instead of using a closer New Brunswick shop? A few reasons that bring Rutgers alumni back for second and third projects.
Proximity
We are 15 minutes from the Rutgers New Brunswick campus via Route 27 or Route 1. For Rutgers students still on campus, Rutgers staff and faculty, and recent graduates living in New Brunswick or Piscataway, the trip to our Somerset facility is shorter than navigating to most Princeton-area framers. Many Rutgers alumni who have moved out of state return to New Brunswick for events and use that visit to drop off or pick up their diploma framing.
On-site manufacturing
We manufacture every diploma frame on-site at our Somerset production facility. Most New Brunswick-area frame shops order finished frames from wholesalers, which limits size flexibility and extends turnaround for non-standard requests. Our production handles single, double, and triple diploma configurations, dissertation hood shadow boxes, and multi-generation family displays without requiring weeks of wholesaler lead time.
Rutgers diploma experience
Rutgers' scarlet-and-black tradition requires specific matting colors that not every frame shop carries. We stock archival scarlet mat board in Rutgers' specific shade plus complementary black matting. Our framers understand the diploma format variations across Rutgers' multiple campuses and schools, the seal clearance requirements, and the formal academic typography that affects mat opening dimensions.
Archival materials as standard
Rutgers diplomas are typically framed once and displayed for decades. Archival materials are standard practice in our diploma work, not upcharges. Acid-free mat board, non-glare acrylic, and reversible mounting techniques mean the diploma is preserved properly the first time.
Pricing without metro markup
New Brunswick and Edison area framers tend to charge retail-storefront rates to match local commercial real estate overhead. Our Somerset facility operates on industrial real estate at a fraction of those costs, which keeps direct pricing on the same materials and conservation work meaningfully lower than the central-Jersey retail average. Real-time pricing on your exact configuration comes from the designer above.
The trip: 15 minutes via Route 27 or Route 1. Easy access from Piscataway, Highland Park, Edison, East Brunswick, North Brunswick, and South Brunswick. For graduation season rush orders, the proximity advantage means we can usually handle even tight timelines that other shops would turn down.
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Traditional office display
The classic Rutgers presentation: a single diploma in a quality black wood moulding with conservation scarlet-and-black double matting. The format reads as professional rather than ceremonial, appropriate for a law office, medical practice, engineering firm, or executive workspace. Most Rutgers alumni who order their first diploma frame land here.
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Doctoral hood shadow box
A specialty configuration for Rutgers doctoral graduates that pairs the diploma with the academic hood and dissertation title page in a deep shadow box format. The piece reads as ceremonial and serves as the centerpiece of a professional office display. Archival materials throughout: archival mat board, non-glare acrylic, reversible mounting on T-hinges.
How Diploma Framing Works at Our Somerset Shop
Every diploma framing project is designed in person after we see the document. Rutgers diploma dimensions are standardized but framing preferences vary widely: single mat versus double or triple, scarlet-and-black configuration versus alternative color schemes, traditional moulding versus modern profiles, single diploma versus stacked multi-degree displays, standard framing versus dissertation hood shadow box format. The combination of choices affects both the build and what it costs.
Use the designer above to configure a diploma frame with your specific matting preferences, moulding selection, and glazing tier. The designer calculates real-time pricing as you build, so you can see exactly what your configuration costs before you commit. Bring the diploma to our Somerset showroom or send a high-resolution scan. We discuss matting, moulding, and conservation considerations in person, write up a quote and timeline, and you approve the design before we build.
Process & timing
Walk in any weekday between 9am and 4pm, or book an evening or Saturday slot for dedicated consultation. Standard turnaround is 3-5 business days. Rush service available when you book ahead.
Payment
Cash, check, all major credit cards. 50% deposit on larger orders. Balance due when you pick up the finished piece.
Drive Times from New Brunswick and Middlesex County to Our Somerset Shop
Our shop at 6 Shirley Avenue sits just off Easton Avenue (Route 527), 5 to 30 minutes from most of the Rutgers New Brunswick area and greater Middlesex County via Route 27, Route 1, and Route 287. Approximate drive times during off-peak hours:
For Rutgers graduation in May and December, we recommend booking your diploma framing 2 to 3 weeks before the ceremony to ensure delivery as a commencement gift or to display at graduation parties. Rush turnaround is available but design flexibility decreases under tight deadlines. For Rutgers alumni who have moved out of New Jersey, shipping the diploma to our Somerset facility is straightforward; we frame and ship the finished piece back nationwide.
Common Questions About Rutgers Diploma Framing
What size frame fits a Rutgers diploma?
What are Rutgers' traditional diploma framing colors?
Do you frame diplomas from all Rutgers campuses?
Can you frame a Rutgers doctoral diploma with the academic hood?
How long does Rutgers diploma framing take?
Can you frame diplomas from Rutgers Law or Rutgers Medical?
Can you frame multiple Rutgers diplomas in one display?
Do you offer rush service for Rutgers graduation deadlines?
Bring Us Your Rutgers Diploma
Walk in any weekday between 9am and 4pm at 6 Shirley Avenue, Somerset, NJ. We are 15 minutes from the New Brunswick campus. Bring the diploma, or a high-resolution scan if you would rather scope the project first. Book an evening or Saturday slot through our online scheduling if you need a quieter consultation, or start the design online and finish in person. For doctoral hood displays, multi-diploma stacks, or graduation-deadline commissions, calling ahead lets us pull scarlet matting and the right depth options before you arrive.