[3] In the 1930s, neo-gothic architecture and heraldic achievements were a distinctive sign of prestigious academic institutions (like Princeton or Yale) that Notre Dame aspired to be part of.

[10][1][4] The coat of arms, inserted into a circular device with written "Sigillum Universitatis Dominae Nostrae a Lacu" became the university seal.

With the recent creation of the lay board of trustees and president James A. Burns' fund drive, the two institutions were more consciously separated and were made quasi independent.

The two wavy lines of silver at the base of the shield, used in heraldry to depict water, are used to represent the two lakes on campus from which the university gets its name (Notre Dame Du Lac).

On its pages is written the motto of the university "Vita, Dulcedo, Spes," from the ancient prayer Salve Regina meaning "our life, our sweetness, our hope".