
Graduating with an advanced degree is a major milestone, and it deserves to be celebrated in a major way! Finding the perfect gift for your favorite grad student is a great way to honor their achievement and encourage them as they start their next chapter. Here’s our list of thoughtful and practical grad gift ideas for master’s, PhD, and graduate students.
Our Top Master’s Degree Graduation Gift Ideas

1. Commuter Backpack
All working professionals need a versatile bag to carry workout clothes for later in the day or a casual outfit for an evening out with friends. For a fashion-forward and functional option from a woman-owned company, Pretty Pokets’ Small Backpack is a perfect choice. These graduate student gifts are made with vegan leather and designed with plenty of pockets for keys, a wallet, a tablet, a charger, and so much more.
2. Custom Diploma Frame
Celebrate your grad student’s achievement with a luxury diploma frame that will not only showcase their hard-earned degree but also protect it for years to come. A Church Hill Classics frame is the perfect addition to a future office or home workspace, offering a professional display of their academic success. Church Hill Classics offers many styles of frames, all of which can be customized to suit the graduate student’s unique personality and style preferences.
Shopping with Church Hill Classics means no measuring or guesswork. We already know exact frame and mat dimensions based on their graduation year and school, thanks to our extensive database of more than 1,600 institutions. You can even add personalizations to their frame like graduate school-specific embossing. Or, choose to design a one-of-a-kind piece with our Create-A-Frame® online tool. Select from various wood mouldings, mat colors, engraving options, and UV-protective glass upgrades. A custom diploma frame is a timeless gift that honors their achievement and inspires every step of their journey ahead.
3. Do It Weekly Planner
The Do It Weekly Planner is a great gift for grad students as they finish their master’s degree. A well-designed planner can help them organize their lives as they transition from a school schedule to a professional one. The Do It Planner has a vegan leather hard cover and no start date, so you can start on page one and get a whole year’s worth of pages. It also features a space to “Brain Dump” and record ideas once a month. There are also spots for monthly and yearly goals, and a space to evaluate them.
4. Gourmet Food Subscription
After years of late-night study sessions and eating countless affordable meals (aka ramen noodles), your grad deserves a delicious reward for their hard work. A food subscription is a thoughtful way to treat them to chef-made meals or curated snacks delivered right to their door. Browse various meal delivery services online and select one that works best for your graduate’s schedule, location, and personal tastes.
5. Desk Photo Frame
Help your grad personalize their new workspace post-graduation and frame their memories with a custom photo frame. A museum-quality picture frame can brighten up an office and allow your graduate to keep their favorite moments close at hand. A framed family photo, a selfie with their best friends, or a snapshot from their commencement day can provide the encouragement your loved one needs to work hard throughout their day.
6. Travel Tote Bag
From the woman-owned company MinkeeBlue, a Madison Puffer Tote Bag is a convenient gift for the grad student who likes to travel. This spacious carry-on bag for the airport boasts an insulated lunch box, a padded slip pocket that fits up to 16” laptop, a front zipper shoe compartment, and expandable side pockets for a water bottle, umbrella, and phone. Special features include a key fob, coin pouch, inside zipper pocket, two patch pockets, and back hidden zipper pocket that easily slips over the handle of a rolling suitcase.
7. Personalized Desk Tray
Woman-owned company Paper Anniversary takes pride in creating deeply meaningful and personal gifts. Led by a team of female artisans and designers, their Personalized Leather Graduation Tray is a handsome catch-all for watches, jewelry, coins, and keys. This product is handcrafted in San Francisco and can be laser-engraved with their name, university seal or college logo, specific degree, and year of their master’s graduation.
8. Jewelry & Accessories
As they transition into their chosen career field, grad students will want to upgrade their fashion game for the professional world. Help commemorate this major milestone with artisanally crafted jewelry and fashion accessories from female-founded Rebel Nell. This Detroit-based company handcrafts one-of-a-kind pieces from repurposed layers of locally sourced fallen graffiti paint. Shop their curated women’s jewelry, unisex/gender neutral products, or their men’s collection for cufflinks, dog tags, bracelets, tie clips, rings, and money clips.
9. Money
While perhaps not as sentimental, you can’t go wrong with gifting cash to a recent graduate student. Whether it’s writing a check or sliding a bill into a congratulatory card, gifting money is a great way to recognize their hard work and help support their next chapter. And, it gives them the freedom to spend it how they’d like!
How much money should you give for a master’s graduation gift? For a master’s or doctoral graduation, anywhere from $50 to $200 is considered appropriate, depending on your relationship to the grad and your personal budget.
Find the Perfect Grad Student Graduation Gift
When it comes to master’s graduation gifts and the best gifts for graduate students, help them celebrate their amazing accomplishment with intentional presents designed to celebrate their bright future. From office desk accessories and commuter bags to one-of-a-kind jewelry and food subscriptions, no matter what you choose to celebrate the completion of their graduate school program, make sure it includes an officially licensed Church Hill Classics degree frame featuring their university name, school seal, and grad school embossing!