Yearbook & Convocation Services (YCS) is chiefly responsible for producing the Tricolour Yearbook, organizing graduate photography, and supervising hoods and gowns rentals at convocation. YCS also provides prints and commercial licenses for photos in our archive.

The Yearbook

The Tricolour Yearbook is released in September every year. It is a high quality, 300 plus page hardcover coffee table book, with photos of student life, events on campus, and athletics. It also contains a section for organizations and team photos, as well as graduate photos from all faculties under the Alma Mater Society banner. Everything in the yearbook is produced by talented student volunteers.

The Tricolour Yearbook is paid for by an optional AMS student fee of $19.41. (To opt out of your yearbook, visit the opt out page.) If you have paid the fee and are eligible to receive a yearbook, all you have to do to receive one is show your student card at the Used Book Store or the YCS office (located in room 032 of the JDUC). If you have opted out or are not an undergraduate student, recent yearbooks can be purchased for $20.

If you have graduated and would like to receive your final yearbook, you can either return to Queen’s at any point in the next four years and pick one up at the Used Book Store or YCS office, or you can fill out a mailing form and mail it to us along with a cheque or cash payment in the amount specified for shipping to your region ($20 Canada, $25 US, $30 international). Our mailing address is listed on the form.

Purchasing Photos

Yearbook & Convocation Services has a large archive of stock photos available for print and commercial purchase. Our photos cover everything from Queen’s buildings, to campus events, to team and clubs photos. If you are interested in ordering a print or purchasing a license for commercial reproduction of a photo, please contact us at ycs[at]ams.queensu.ca. Our photo purchasing website is currently under construction and should be operational this fall.

Getting Photographers at Your Event

To have your event recorded for the yearbook, please email ycs[at]ams.queensu.ca to request photographers, or select the option to have photographers at your event on the AMS event sanctioning form. This is absolutely free of charge, and even if the photos we take do not make it into the yearbook, they are available in our archive for purchase as prints for attendees or for promotional use for future events. Photo prints make a great speakers’ gift.

Volunteering With Tricolour

If you are interested in photography or layout design, Yearbook & Convocation Services provides valuable volunteer training and work experience in a professional environment. Our staff is close-knit, experienced, and knowledgeable, and we provide volunteers with free photography training in partnership with Taylor Studios, as well as free online training in the use of InDesign, Photoshop, and various other design software. The work you do with us will be published at the end of the year.

Volunteer staff positions, held by more experienced photographers and layout staff, receive honouraria once per semester, and are expected to work an average of 10 hours per week. Applications can be found online at the AMS Get Involved page or can be picked up at the AMS offices in the JDUC. Positions are open in photography, layout, and marketing. If you have any questions about the positions open, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

If you would like to casually volunteer, please either email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit us at Clubs Night on September 22-23 to be added to the volunteer mailing list, and we will notify you of open meetings and training sessions.

Convocation Services

Yearbook & Convocation Services organizes hoods and gowns rentals each year for fall and spring convocation. For inquiries about convocation, please visit the registrar’s website or phone Queen’s Records and Services at (613) 533-2040.

If you are looking to rent or purchase regalia for an event outside of convocation, please contact Mary Sawchuk at our regalia production company, Gaspard, by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by phone at 1-800-380-8214.

Graduate Photography

Queen’s graduate photography is handled by Taylor Studios, which is located downtown at 285 King St E, at the foot of the Four Points Sheraton. Sittings can be done at any time during the year at Taylor Studios, or in the Red Room of Kingston Hall during the month of March. To book a graduate photo appointment, please visit www.queensgradphotos.ca.

Contact Us

The YCS Manager, Jeff Fraser, oversees the service and is your resource for questions about volunteering, photo purchasing, and convocation services.  Contact Jeff at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (613) 533-2738 for information.