Academic Regalia
Academic institutions throughout the world have created a wide variety
of customs including distinctive dress, color and ceremony to indicate the
accomplishments of scholars. English traditions originating at Oxford and
Cambridge led to the development of American academic regalia. By the twentieth
century, institutions of higher learning in the United States had adopted
a well-defined code of academic costume, which now includes the identification
of the different academic degrees by distinctive gowns, hoods and colors.
For instance, the baccalaureate gown is worn closed and is identified
by long, pleated front panels and long, pointed sleeves. The master's gown
has very long sleeves, closed at the bottom, and the arms of the wearer
are placed through an opening in the front of the sleeves. Doctoral gowns
may be worn open, and they are distinguished by velvet panels around the
neck and down the front of the gown. Three horizontal black velvet bars,
or the color representing the wearer's degree, also mark the doctorate.
In America, the hood is the most colorful feature of academic regalia.
The bachelor's hood, when worn, is comparatively short; the master's,
a bit longer; and the doctor's, at four feet, reaches far down the wearer's
back. The outside of the hood is black and is bordered with a two, three
or five inch band of velvet in the color representing the degree received,
and the hood is lined with the colors of the granting institution. For instance,
the Master of Science hood from Texas A&M has a white border, for the
discipline color of Arts, Letters and Humanities, with a maroon and white
lining; and the Doctor of Philosophy hood has a border in the blue of Philosophy
with a maroon and white lining. Among the other discipline colors are Agriculture-maize,
Architecture-violet, Business Administration-olive green, Education-light
blue, Engineering-orange, Medicine-green and Veterinary Medicine-gray. These
colors represent the degree earned, not the academic major. The Ph.D. in
Engineering, for example, would normally wear the dark blue of Philosophy
on the hood and gown instead of the orange of Engineering. Official guests
of the University and members of the Board of Regents wear the doctor's
gown with the blue of Philosophy on the front and hood.
[ See also History of Regalia ]
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