Top 10 Best Aggie Grad Student Halloween Costume Ideas

Serina Taluja

Ladies and gentlemen- spooky season is upon us. Halloween is less than a month away and I already know there’s at least a handful of you trying your very best to answer the age-old annual question: what should I be for Halloween?!

Maybe you have an office party to go to with people in your research group, maybe your program has a costume party, or maybe you and your friends have a full-blown murder mystery party planned- whatever level of commitment your Halloween celebrating involves, you’ll definitely need a costume.

So, to help you out- I’ve come up with the top 10 Aggie Graduate Student Halloween Costumes. Thank me (and Google) later, because you’ll be the talk of whatever party you’re at dressed up like one of these suggestions!


1- Reveille
I’m sure you or someone you know has defaulted to a black cat for a Halloween costume before. You can Aggie-fie that low-input costume by dressing up as our lovely school mascot, Reveille! A little face paint, some doggy ears, some A&M gear, and your costume should be recognized by all the Aggies in the room.

2- The Train
This one could get interesting and fun if you got a group together to make all the train cars attached to the locomotive up front! Major bonus points if you go around the party either making a honking noise, or pointing at people and saying, “I’m going to make you late for class!”. Talk about a spooky College-Station themed costume!

3- Dude with a Sign
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, please Google him; it’s exactly what it sounds like, just a guy who holds up a different cardboard sign every day. He’s pretty internet-famous so if you’re hanging around a social-media-savvy crowd, they are sure to appreciate this! If I did this, my sign would probably say “Check on your friends in graduate school”.

4- Traffic Cone
Sounds basic, but if you think about the amount of construction going on around town, this really could be a College Station-themed costume. Bonus points again if you tell everyone which construction project around campus you’re a part of!

5- The Un-Dead 12th Man
You’ve heard of an un-dead bride, but what if the famous 12th man came back and was not just willing to play for the Aggies… but came back DEMANDING to play for the Aggies? This would be a great reason to throw on your favorite A&M jersey and go wild with some zombie make up!

6- A “Holy Cow”
If you’re into pun-ny costumes, this one is for you! It’s as goofy as it sounds – just a cow costume (you could get one of those crazy inflatable ones or just stick some black organic shapes on a white shirt and add some ears). Dress up as the expression you hope to hear as your professor reads through your latest set of results, followed by the phrase “This is amazing, I’ve never seen anything this impressive!!”.

7- The Century Tree
This is another easy costume - you could stick paper leaves on a brown shirt, but I would definitely accentuate all the branches that touch the ground with cardboard or something. Again, bonus points if you can get some friends of yours to pose for a picture near you with one pretending to propose to the other!

8- “Giggin’ em”
For those that don’t know- the gig in “Gig ‘Em” refers to a long pole that is used to kill things like frogs and fish (the saying was originally coined before a football game against TCU, whose mascot is the horned frog). All you need for this one is a long stick or pole, maybe with some fake spikes at the end, and make sure you hold it with your thumb facing up in proper “Gig ‘Em” formation!

9- Your Professor
I had a couple of friends all in the same research group do this one year - all of them dressed up as their professor to the Halloween party he hosted, and he got a real kick out of it! Definitely feel out if your professor would find this fun or weird before you commit, but if you think it would be well received and you can get a group to do it with you, the effect is pretty funny!

10- The Topic You Research
You’re in vet school? Pick your favorite small or large animal and dress up as that! You’re in a plant science lab? Wear a green shirt and glue some paper leaves on! You’re a computer scientist? Carry around a black sign with 1’s and 0’s on it! You get the idea. Easy and sure to get a couple of giggles.