The rites
of academe have replaced the rites of spring at universities
across the land. (Well, almost.) Spring marks commencement
and its accompanying retinue of symbolic costume and ceremony.
While all the foofaraw may intimidate
the uninitiated—perhaps it’s meant to—its
secrets are not guarded. A knowing eye reveals an intriguing
array of academic tradition and ceremonial lore.
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Academic dress
has its beginnings in the Middle Ages. When the English
universities were taking form in the 12th and 13th centuries,
the scholars were also clerics; they adopted robes similar
to those of their monastic orders. Caps were a necessity
in the drafty buildings, and copes or capes with hoods
attached were needed for warmth. As the universities gradually
passed from the control of the ecclesiastics, costumes
took on brighter hues; the robes of Oxford and Cambridge
remain among the most colorful of all. The
use of academic costume in the United States has been
continuous since Colonial times. The idea of a well-defined
system, however, did not arise until about 1893 when an
intercollegiate commission was formed that prepared a
uniform code for caps, gowns, and hoods designed to show
not only the various degrees but the sources of the degrees
as well. The commission offered its code to all institutions
of higher learning and it was soon adopted. |
Bachelor’s
and master’s caps are square
mortarboards. The color of the bachelor’s tassel
identifies the degree. (See the master’s hood
for a list of colors.) As each group of undergraduates
is certified to receive the bachelor’s degree,
tradition calls for the tassel to be moved from right
to left. The master’s tassel is black.
The master’s hood is
3 1/2 feet long. The color of the 3-inch-wide velvet
trim indicates the wearer’s degree. |
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| Architecture |
Blue Violet |
| Arts, Letters, Humanities |
White |
| Business Administration |
Drab |
| Dentistry |
Lilac |
| Education |
Light Blue |
| Engineering |
Orange |
| Fine Arts |
Brown |
| Law |
Purple |
| Medicine |
Green |
| Music |
Pink |
| Nursing |
Apricot |
| Pharmacy |
Olive |
| Philosophy |
Blue |
| Physical Education |
Sage Green |
| Public Administration |
Peacock Blue |
| Science |
Golden Yellow |
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Every UNM hood has a silver lining with cherry accents (UNM’s
school colors).
Honor students are identified by a silver
tasseled cord worn over the academic robe.
Doctoral caps are six-cornered tams. Only
persons holding or earning a doctorate may wear the metallic
gold tassel.
The doctoral hood is 4 feet long, with 5-inch-wide
velvet trim, the color of which indicates the faculty granting
the degree. (See the master’s hood for a list of colors.)
All Ph.D. candidates and holders wear the blue trim of philosophy.
The doctoral robe was adopted by the faculty in 1991. Its
panels and chevrons reflect UNM’s school colors, cherry
and silver.
(Source: Commencement Program
Notes)
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