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Academic dress is a traditional form ofclothing foracademic settings, mainlytertiary (and sometimessecondary) education, worn mainly by those who have obtained auniversity degree (or similar), or hold a status that entitles them to assume them (e.g., undergraduate students at certain old universities).[1] It is also known asacademical dress,[2]academicals, oracademic regalia.
Contemporarily, it is commonly seen only atgraduation ceremonies, but formerly academic dress was, and to a lesser degree in manyancient universities still is, worn daily. Today, the ensembles are distinctive in some way to each institution, and generally consist of agown (also known as arobe) with a separatehood, and usually a cap (generally either asquare academic cap, atam, or abonnet). Academic dress is also worn by members of certainlearned societies and institutions as official dress.[3][4]
The academic dress found in most universities in theCommonwealth of Nations and theUnited States is derived from that of the universities ofOxford andCambridge, which was a development of academic and clerical dress common throughout themedieval universities ofEurope.[5] This overgarment had the practical purpose of keeping a scholar warm while they were sitting, immobile, or studying.
Formal or sober clothing is typically worn beneath the gown: for example, men would often wear a darksuit with a whiteshirt and atie, orclerical clothing,military or civiluniform, ornational dress, and women would wear equivalent attire. Some older universities, particularly Oxford and Cambridge, have a prescribed set of dress (known assubfusc) to be worn under the gown, though this sometimes refers only to requiring the proper wear of academic dress and not what is worn beneath it, if unseen. In the Commonwealth, gowns are worn open, while in the United States, with a few exceptions, it has become common for gowns to close at the front, as did the originalroba.
In general, the materials used for academic dress are heavily influenced by the climate where the academic institution is located, or the climate where the graduate will usually be wearing the costume (as a faculty member at another institution, for example). In either case, the American Council of Education (ACE) allows for the comfort of the wearer, and concedes that lighter materials be used in tropical climates, and heavier materials elsewhere.[6] In addition, it acknowledges cotton poplin, broadcloth, rayon, or silk as appropriate.[7]
The materials used for academic dress vary and range from the extremely economical to the very expensive. In the United States, most bachelor's and master's degree candidates are often presented the "souvenir" version of regalia by their institutions or authorized vendor, which are generally intended for very few wearings and are comparatively very inexpensive. For some doctoral graduates, commencement will be the only time they wear academic regalia, and so they rent their gowns instead of buying them. These rented or hired gowns are often made of inexpensivepolyester or other human-made synthetic fibre. In Britain, rented gowns are almost always polyester whileRussell cord, silk, or artificial silk gowns are only available when bought. Undergraduate gowns are usually made from cotton or cotton and polyester mix and are relatively inexpensive to encourage students to own them.
People who choose to buy their dress may opt for finer fabrics, such aspoplin,grosgrain,percale,cotton,wool,cassimere,broadcloth, Russell cord, or corded/ribbed material. For silk, there are a range of types includingartificial silk/rayon,Ottoman (i.e. ribbed or corded silk),taffeta,satin,alpaca, truesilk,shot silk, or a mixture. Pure Ottoman silk is rarely used except for official gowns, as it is very expensive.[8] Some gowns may be trimmed withgimp lace, cords, buttons, or other forms of decoration.
In the past,fur has been used to line certain hoods (especially those of the UK) which range fromrabbit toermine. In the past,sheepskin was widely used. Most now use imitation fur, instead, mainly because of cost andanimal rights concerns. Some robe makers use fur if the customer requests and pays for it, as some feel that the quality and feel of artificial fur has yet to match that of real fur.[9][additional citation(s) needed]
Doctors' robes usually use woolflannel, panama wool (worsted), superfine cloth,damask, orbrocade, and are brightly coloured (or black, but faced with a bright colour) to distinguish them from lower degrees. They tend to be the most expensive because they must be dyed in a specific colour and/or be trimmed in coloured silks. Many doctoral gowns have a special undress version, so adding to the cost of a full set.
Many institutions whose dress includes gowns of varying lengths prescribe the appropriate length of each gown with reference to parts of the wearer's body (undergraduate gowns at Cambridge, for example, must not reach the knees, whereas MA gowns should reach just beyond them, according to the university's statutes)[citation needed]. As such, suppliers of academic dress produce gowns in many different sizes to fit persons of different heights.
InCanada, academic regalia are worn by university officials, faculty, students, and honoured guests duringGraduation exercises (commonly referred to as Convocation), installations of their presiding officers, and special convocations, such as the inauguration of newly endowed professorial chairs and inductions to some of the honour and professional societies with university chapters. Academic regalia typically consist of a headgear (mortarboard,Tudor bonnet, orJohn Knox cap), robe, and hood. Until the 1930s, Canadian universities customarily prescribed academic robes for its professors and students at classes and lectures. At theUniversity of Trinity College at the University of Toronto, academic gowns are still required for all students and faculty at Wednesday dinners, most college meetings, debates, and certain special college events.[10]
Most Canadian universities follow or adopted either the British University academic dress atOxford orCambridge universities,[11][12] or the Intercollegiate Code of Academic Costume ratified by most American universities in the late 1890s.[13] Other universities contain elements of the British and American patterns for some or all of their academic costumes. A classic example is theacademic dress of McGill University, whose British origins are evident in the regalia of its degree holders. The distinctive ceremonial regalia ofMcGill University officials, though, are closer to the American pattern for the master's robe with above-the-elbow, square, slit-cut sleeves. The scarlet, doctor of philosophy (PhD) regalia of McGill can now be worn closed-front, unlike the open-front only gown of the University of Cambridge higher doctoral full dress, from which it evolved. Gold strand tassels used in American doctoral regalia are wrapped around McGill's otherwise Tudor-style bonnet or tam.
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InFrance, academic dress, also called thetoge (from the wordtoga, an ancient Roman garment), is similar to French judges' court dress, except for its colour, which depends on the academic field in which the wearer graduated. It is nowadays little worn, except by doctors during the opening of the university year or the ceremony for a doctoratehonoris causa. For doctors, it consists of:
Professors who served 20 years are sometimes presented with a sword (identical model to that of French police commissars).[citation needed]
The colours of the various academic fields are daffodil (yellow) for literature and arts, amaranth (purplish red) for science, redcurrant (reddish pink) for medicine, scarlet red for law, and violet (purple) for theology. University rectors, chancellors or presidents wear also specific costumes, which are violet regardless of the academic field in which they graduated.
Field of graduation | Colour name | Colour aspect |
---|---|---|
Divinity (and all high officials regardless of the field) | Violet (Purple, specifically the Royal Purple shade) | |
Law (colour also worn by high magistrates) | Écarlate (Scarlet) | |
Medicine (and health-related fields) | Groseille (Redcurrant, a reddish shade of pink) | |
Science (exact and experimental) | Amaranthe (Amaranth) | |
Arts, literature, philosophy, humanities | Jonquille (Daffodil, a shade of yellow) |
The dress exists in two versions: thepetit costume ("small costume") and thegrand costume ("great costume"). Both are identical in form, and differ only in the presence or absence of the mortarboard and the repartition of colours on the gown and sash (the other elements of the dress, especially the epitoga, being identical for both):
In formal occasions, thegrand costume is equivalent towhite tie, whereas thepetit costume is equivalent toblack tie.
German academic dress generally consists of gown and cap. Nowadays, if in use at all, it is only found at special occasions, such as public processions, inaugurations of rectors, and graduation ceremonies. Historically, only the rectors, deans, professors, and lecturers wore academic dress—not students or graduates. Each German university had its own system of colours and drapings to signifyfaculty membership and position in the university hierarchy.
The gown of the German academic dress is called "Talar" (with the accent on the second "a": talár; from Latintalare which meansto the ankles). It can be traced back to the everyday clothes of the scholars in the Middle Ages. The same wordTalar is also used for the robes of Protestant (Lutheran) pastors and rabbis (not for judges or lawyers, their gowns are called "Robe"), although these gowns often differ more or less in cut, length, drapings, and sometimes even in colour (the gowns of theGerman Supreme Court are, e.g., completely dark red).
The professorialTalar can be described as a long black gown with wide sleeves, often with lapels in faculty colour, while deans wear aTalar completely in faculty colour. Rectors typically have a distinguished, more elaborateTalar, e.g., made of velvet, coloured in red, or with gold embroidery.[14][15] At some universities, the rector additionally wears achain of office and, at some occasions, carries ascepter.[16][17] The cap that accompanies theTalar is calledBarett. As is the case with theTalar, which type of cap is used varies by university as well. Historically, caps made of soft materials rather than the square academic cap are common. The colour of theBarett matches theTalar.[15]
After theGerman student movement, following the years of 1967 all West German universities dropped their academic dress because they were identified with right-winged conservatism and reactionism by the partly socialist influenced students at that time: The famous slogan "Unter den Talaren – Muff von 1000 Jahren" (beneath the gowns thefug of 1000 years) refers not to the old traditions of the Middle Ages, but especially to the Nazi regime and their self-declared "empire of 1000 years".[18] In East Germany, which was a communist one-party state,Talare were abolished by law at about the same time. After East Germany began to dissolve in 1989, several universities, particularlyUniversity of Rostock,[19]University of Greifswald,[20]University of Jena,[21] andUniversity of Halle-Wittenberg,[22] resurrected lost traditions including theTalar for officials. Some traditional universities in West German states have since followed, such asUniversity of Heidelberg.[23]
Since 2005, some universities introduced centrally organized graduation ceremonies for students of all faculties where academic dress is worn, most notablyUniversity of Bonn,[24]Chemnitz University of Technology,[25] andRWTH Aachen (only cap andstole).[26] The graduates' dress usually consists of a simple black gown, asquare academic cap, and possibly a stole in faculty colour. At most other universities, faculties are responsible for organizing graduation ceremonies individually. Some faculties have decided for wearing academic dress at their ceremonies as well, e.g., the Faculty of Law atUniversity of Marburg[27] and the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration atGoethe University Frankfurt.[28] This practice is commonly understood as following Anglo-American examples rather than reviving old traditions.
Indian universities followedUnited Kingdom robe and gown system until 2013[29] whenBanaras Hindu University replaced it with Indian traditional dress ofKurta,Dhoti,Pyajama for men andSaree for women, which led to students at other universities demanding similar dresses.[30] Slowly Indian universities started replacing the robes and gowns with traditional dresses. In 2019, India'sUniversity Grants Commission formally issued a circular to all public and private universities to opt for Indian traditional dress made ofIndian handloom.[31]
Indian universities today prescribeKurta,Pyajama for male students andSaree orSalwar Suit for women.[32]
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In Indonesia, academic regalia, also called atoga is only worn in graduation ceremonies. An Indonesian toga generally comes in three pieces of clothing: a gown, a cape or a hood, and a cap with tassel (pentagon-shapedmortarboard/bonnet). Other items are also worn during graduation ceremony such as amedallion,tippet oracademic stole.
There are four elements in Indonesian academic regalia:
InItaly there are several differences among the typical academic dress (gowns,academic caps, etc.) of the different universities, due to the great number of ancient universities in the country (for example theUniversity of Bologna,[34][35]University of Pavia,[36][37]University of Padua,[38][39][40]University of Pisa,[41]University of Siena,[42]University of Florence,[43]University of Rome,[44] etc.). Usually gowns are worn only by professors during ceremonies and, in some faculties, during graduations. After thestudent protests of 1968 many professors in many universities had stopped wearing academical gowns also in the formal occasions but since the 1990s people have started to use them again, mostly inhumanities faculties.[45][46] Furthermore, also students have started to wear gowns and cap in graduation ceremonies (usually for PhD) in some universities.[38][46][47][48] Gowns are traditionally all hemmed with the colours of faculty, which have some variations following the tradition of each atheneum.[49] However the most widely used table of colours is the following[50]
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In Malaysia, most public university academic gowns incorporateSongket motifs, apart from being influenced by the academic dress system in the United Kingdom which incorporates Tudor bonnets for doctorates and mortarboard for master's and bachelor's degree holders. For instance, the academic dress of theUniversity of Malaya is based on the academic dress of theUniversity of Oxford, which the academic dress for bachelor's degree, master's degree and doctorate are inspired from those of the University of Oxford's Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy respectively. Some university chancellors who were royal heads of state usually incorporates yellow-colour academic gown to denote their royal status. Certain universities, especiallyUniversiti Teknologi MARA,Universiti Utara Malaysia,National Defence University of Malaysia andUniversiti Malaysia Kelantan includes an academic sash as academic regalia specifically for first class bachelor's degree holders. However, academic dresses are rarely worn and usually worn during convocation ceremonies, professorship lectures. and inanugration ceremonies. The colours denoting faculties vary according to each institution and do not have a uniformed colour code.
University | Design | Dress Colour | Colours or sleeves denoting faculty/Academic ranks? | Academic hat | Academic sash used? |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
University of Malaya | Closed-front and based on theUniversity of Oxford academic dress for bachelor's, master's and doctoral graduands. Closed-front withSongket motif for university staffs | Dark Blue Deep Red (Inanugural lecturer and honorary degree holder) | Hood, Elongated stripes, stripes of sleeves (Postgraduate diploma holders), songket motif and Tassel (Ph.D) | Mortarboard, Tudor bonnet | No |
National University of Malaysia | Closed-front withSongket motif | Brown (Faculty of Law) Purple (Faculty of Science and Technology)Orange (Faculty of Education)Black (Faculty of Islamic Studies)Dark red (Doctorate and Faculty of Medicine Nursing) | See Dress colour, stripes of sleeves | Mortarboard, Tudor bonnet | No |
University of Science Malaysia | Open-front gown | Purple | Hood | Mortarboard, Tudor bonnet | No |
Universiti Putra Malaysia | Closed-front withSongket motif (Vary according to academic level) | Maroon Green (Chancellor and pro-chancellor) | Hood | Mortarboard, Tudor bonnet | No |
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia | Closed-front withSongket and university emblem motifs | Maroon | Songket lapel | Mortarboard, Tudor bonnet | No |
Universiti Teknologi MARA | Closed-front withSongket motif | Black | Hood | Mortarboard, Tudor bonnet,Songkok (advanced diploma and academic staffs) | Yes |
Universiti Utara Malaysia | Closed-front with yellow stripes (bachelor's degree and postgraduare Diploma), Closed-front and elongated light blue stripes with paddy and university emblem motifs (postgraduate degrees) | Blue (academic staff, bachelor's degree and postgraduate diploma) Dark Blue (master's degree, pro-chancellor) Black (doctorate) Yellow (chancellor) Green, Purple (pro-chancellors) | Hood, stripes of sleeves (bachelor's degree and postgraduate diploma), chevrons based on the United States academic dress (master's degrees and doctorate) | Mortarboard, Tudor bonnet | Yes |
Universiti Malaysia Sabah | Closed-front | Black | Yes, Hood | Mortarboard, Tudor bonnet | No |
Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia | Closed-front withSongket motif | Petronas green | Yes, Hood | Mortarboard, Tudor bonnet | No |
National Defence University of Malaysia | Closed-front withSongket motif (postgraduate degrees) Closed-front with white elongated stripes | Red Black (chancellor) | Yes, Hood | Mortarboard, Tudor bonnet | Yes |
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At Dutch universities, academic dress does not come with a degree but with the incumbency of a professorial chair: only full, chaired professors wear thetoga with bib and beret. The beret is usually a soft cap, square or round and made of velvet; the gown (ankle-length, open in the front), is made of wool trimmed with velvet or silk It is traditionally black, as in the robes of early-modern humanists; some universities have gowns with wide slashed sleeves edged in faculty-specific colours, others have a decorated sleeve but without specific faculty colours. Recently established universities may show a greater variety of colours.
Academic dress is only worn on ceremonial occasions: the university anniversary ordies natalis, inaugural lectures, and the public defence of a doctoral thesis. On such occasions, the assembled professors line up as acortège headed by the universitybeadle, who also wears an academic gown and carries the university's mace. Male professors remove their beret when sitting down and put it on when standing up (e.g. to lecture or to address a doctoral candidate during the thesis defence). Female professors may keep the beret on at all times.
Academic dress may be completed by a chain of office (for the presiding Rector or Dean) or the insignia of honorary doctorates or royal orders (only worn at thedies natalis).
University graduates in New Zealand wear an academic gown identical to those of theUniversity of Cambridge[51] and either a hood or scarf, depending on whether the graduate is receiving a degree or diploma. If the graduate is receiving a degree, a hood[51] will be worn throughout the ceremony. If a diploma is received, the graduate will wear a diploma scarf.[52]
The hood, like the gown, is identical to that of the hood for the Cambridge Master of Arts. A bachelor's degree hood is lined with coloured satin and bordered with white fur (the exception to this are Canterbury and Waikato University which do not line their hoods with fur). The bachelor's degree with honours hood is lined with coloured satin and bordered with white satin. The master's degree hood has no edging. A doctoral degree recipient wears the same as a graduate receiving a master's degree, except the gown is completely silk, either black or scarlet, with the option to wear a cloth gown. A Doctoral hood is completely silk and the headdress is a black Tudor bonnet, in place of the flat-topped mortarboard worn with bachelor's and master's gowns.
Academic dress is rarely worn in New Zealand other than at formal academic events, such as by graduates and faculty at graduation ceremonies and teaching faculty at school prizegivings. Some traditional boys' high schools retain the tradition of the headmaster wearing a gown while leading assemblies. Undergraduates who live at College House at theUniversity of Canterbury must wear academic dress to dinner.
It is common for graduands to wear clothing or adornments significant to their culture at their graduation ceremony. For example, it is common to seeMāori students wearing a traditional cloak known askorowai orkakahu huruhuru orPasifika students wearinglavalava,ta'ovala and elaboratelei.
Below is a list of the general hood colours of graduates:
Most colleges and universities in the Philippines follow the traditionalmortarboard, hood and gown during graduation.
In some schools of the country, the colour of the gown corresponds to the school colour (Blue forColegio de San Juan de Letran andAteneo de Manila University, Green forFar Eastern University, and Red forSan Beda University).
Some schools, like theUniversity of Santo Tomas, due to their Spanish heritage, follow Spanish academic attire such as theacademic biretta andmozetta. The biretta and mozetta are worn by those from the Graduate School and the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery. Graduates of the bachelor's programs wear the traditional mortarboard, hood and gown. The professors of the university wear their academic regalia during the Missa de Apertura or the Opening Mass of the Academic Year aside from Solemn Investitures (graduation ceremonies) and other academic activities. The academic colours are unique to this university as these depend on the official color of the faculty or college a student or an academe belongs into.
A unique graduation garb worn at member universities of theUniversity of the Philippines System is the use of theSablay. TheSablay was inspired from the Malong of Muslim Mindanao, giving it a Filipiniana look. It features the indigenousbaybayin characters for "U" and "P".[54] During the commencement ceremony, graduates wear theSablay at the right shoulder, it is then moved to the left shoulder after the President of the university confers their degree, "similar to the moving of the tassel of the academic cap." TheSablay is worn over traditional Filipino attire –barong tagalog for men and Filipiniana dress for women. The garb was first worn at theUniversity of the Philippines Diliman. Other UP campuses followed suit.[citation needed]
Elementary and high school students also wear a certain kind of academic dress upon their graduation, usually a white gown and mortarboard for public schools. For private schools, the gown and mortarboard's color is at the discretion of the administration. There are several schools which make use of a hood-like design on top of their gowns which bears the school colors.
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The wearing of traditional academic dress is an important feature of Polish educational ceremonies.
Academic dress varies from university to university. In some situations, such as in doctoral exams, the hat is not used.
In Portugal, following an ancient tradition, university regular students also use a specific dressing. The "traje académico", as it is known in Portuguese, is recognized by its almost totally black color and cape. But other student dresses did exist, including the unique blue attire of the students of theUniversity of Algarve (UAlg) in use until at least to the 2010s.[55]
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Academic dress in South Africa varies from one institution to another, but generally follow UK patterns. A common distinction is for graduands in all degrees up to and including the master's degree to have black gowns, while the PhD candidate wears a scarlet gown. These days, academic dress is only used at graduation ceremonies. The wearing of traditional African attire, or modern clothes inspired by traditional attire, beneath the academic dress has been a distinct trend in recent years.[citation needed]
The typical Spanish academic dress has Latin origin.[56] It has been regulated since 1850, when QueenIsabella II established several rules about academic dress, according to the centuries-old Spanish custom. The typical Spanish academic dress for doctors is composed by:
However, this academic dress is only used for the opening of the academic year and for PhD graduations or for doctorateshonoris causa. It is worn only by doctors, deans and the University Rector. For other graduates, the academic dress is often composed by amortarboard and a mozzetta (muceta) or a sash over the shoulder (beca) with the shield of the university and/or faculty. The colour of the mozzetta or the sash depends on the academic field.
The colours used in Spain for the various academic fields are:
In Sri Lanka, the academic dress consists of gown, hood (post-graduate) and a garland (on graduation day). Universities that were affiliated to the formerUniversity of Ceylon issue black gowns for graduates and post graduates; red gowns for master's and PhD graduates; crimson gowns for chancellors with a different colour gowns for senior academic faculty. These universities only issuegarland on the graduation day to new graduates and only issue mortar boards to chancellor, vice chancellor and registrars. Private universities issue mortar boards to graduates along with a hood in place of garland.[citation needed]
Finland and Sweden have similar traditions when it comes to academic clothing. For important academic ceremonieswhite tie is usually worn, however, often with traditional headwear and gowns. Gowns are not generally used except by therector as a symbol of office, if anyone.
The regularstudent cap (Finnish:ylioppilaslakki, Swedish:studentmössa) usually has a white velvet crown, a black band and a black beak. The cap can be worn by anyone who has passed thematriculation examination and is acceptable wear for both formal and informal academic celebrations. Technology students wear a special kind of student cap called ateekkarilakki (Finnish) orteknologmössa (Swedish). It is similar to the traditional student cap, but features a tuft and a distinctivecockade to show which university the wearer is attending. Technology students generally wear their caps more frequently, and thus the tuft often symbolizes university engineering students. Although universities have different rules regarding the use of the cap, caps are generally not awarded to students until the completion of the first year of studies. The technology student's hat may also be seen on informal occasions, being worn with thestudent overall at many universities.
In both countries many universities havedoctoral hats for persons who have completed a PhD or similar degree. These usually resembletop hats and must be worn withwhite tie. Like other hats, they are not generally worn indoors, but they may be presented on a table. Events where the hat and white tie are worn include thesis defences, post-doctoral parties, ceremonial conferments of degrees, opening ceremonies and other formal ceremonies related to the university.[58] At some universities, adoctoral ring is awarded together with the hat. In theIngmar Bergman filmWild Strawberries, one scene shows the conferral of a Jubilee doctor degree on the main character at theUniversity of Lund, which includes the presentation of such a hat and ring. At theUniversity of Helsinki a cape and a sword are commonly worn with the doctoral hat. Students of the student organization "Limes" may also be seen wearing a black cape.[59]
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Academic dress varies from university to university in Taiwan, generally consisting of cap and gown. Its use is limited to such special occasions asgraduation ceremonies.
In Thailand, there are five different styles of academic dress: (1) traditional Thai, (2) traditional American, (3) French (Paris), (4) modified American, and (5) modified British.
Some universities prefer a traditional robe originated in the royal court, known assuea khrui. Traditionally, the robe is a one-piece open-fronted garment made with a mesh, faced and bordered with a velvet or felt band. Since the conception ofChulalongkorn University, the traditional suea khrui was adopted for their graduates. Influenced by the colour of gowns used atOxford, bachelor's and master's gown are faced and bordered with a black felt band. Meanwhile, a scarlet felt band is reserved for doctors. There are patterns upon the felt band to denote different degrees and faculties.[60] Other universities that utilise the traditional robe might, instead of a mesh, use another kind of fabric for their dress.
Other universities in Thailand that use a traditional robe include
As a note, Mahachulalongkorn and Mahamakut Buddhist universities do not prescribe an academic dress for monks, nuns and clergymen. It is also customary that monks and ministers of religion do not wear a dress, when they are being admitted to the degree at other Thai universities.
Other universities employs academic dress of themodified American pattern, with the exception atThammasat University andKasetsart University. Thammasat University employs a plain black gown with differentepitoge, a strip of cloth worn over the left shoulder, for distinct degrees. The number of fur bands upon the epitoge indicates the degree (i.e. 3 for doctorate, 2 for master's and 1 for bachelor's). The hat is not worn.[66] Kasetsart University, on the other hand, retains the original American academic dress style.[67] For bachelor's, the dress comprises a plain sleeve gown with a coloured cord around the neck. This is different from many American universities, at which a scarf is used instead of a cord. Master's gown exactly follows the American design. The sleeve is sewn shut at the end, with a slit to free the arm. Doctors' gown also follows the American tradition. The sleeve has three velvet bars to denote the seniority. The hat is included.
Since most Thai universities do not fully understand the original American tradition, they usually use an American doctoral gown for their doctoral degree. By reducing the number of velvet bars on the sleeve, it is possible to get gowns for master's (2 bars) and bachelor's (1 bar or none). Notable examples of this deviation includeRamkhamhaeng University,Burapha University,Mahidol University and theUniversity of Phayao. Some universities even incorporate the hood into a pattern on the gown, includingSuranaree University of Technology andWalailak University. This eliminates the need of additional hood.
Prince of Songkhla University uses a gown which is heavily deviated from the original British style. Gowns for bachelor's and master's are made of black stuff. Doctoral gowns are made from scarlet cloth. Instead of being open-fronted like ones in the United Kingdom and Australia, all gowns are close-fronted, probably due to the robemakers. The neckband is curved instead of being a chevron.Silpakorn University mixes a modified American gown (i.e. a close-fronted black gown with different number of bars on the sleeve) with an altered version of Oxford simple hood.[68]
InTunisia,University of Ez-Zitouna graduates wear an academic gown. Doctoral graduates in Islamic Sciences wear a jebba. In other Tunisian universities, like the medical university,[which?] doctoral graduates wear an academic dress.
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Academic regalia in Turkey has many similarities with the academic dress traditions of the United States.[citation needed]
There is a distinction between different types of academical dress. Most recently, gowns, hoods and caps are categorised into their shapes and patterns by theGroves classification system, which is based on Nicholas Groves' document,Hood and Gown Patterns.[69] This lists the various styles or patterns of academic dress and assigns them a code or aGroves Classification Number. For example, the Cambridge BA style gown is designated [b2] and a hood in the Cambridge full-shape is designated [f1], etc. Because the universities are free to design their own academicals using a wide range of available gown, hood and cap patterns, colours and materials at their and the robemaker's disposal, the academicals of two given universities rarely clash with each other.
TheBurgon Society was founded in 2000 to promote the study of academic dress.[70] Its publications and activities examine the history and current use of academic dress. In 2011 it published the third edition of Shaw's reference book on British and Irish academical dress.[71] The Society hosts a conference each spring at which recent research is presented.[72]
The modern gown is derived from theroba worn under thecappa clausa, a garment resembling a long black cape. In early medieval times, all students at the universities were in at leastminor orders, and were required to wear thecappa or other clerical dress, and restricted to clothes of black or other dark colour. The gowns most commonly worn, that of the clerical type gowns ofbachelor's degrees (BA and BS) andmaster's degrees (MA and MS), are substantially the same throughout the English-speaking world. All are traditionally made of black cloth, (although occasionally the gown is dyed in one of the university's colours) and the material at the back of the gown is gathered into ayoke. The bachelor's gown has bell-shaped sleeves, while the master's gown has long sleeves closed at the end, with the arm passing through a slit above the elbow.[73]
There are two distinctive shapes used in the UK for doctors' gowns; the Oxford doctor's shape and the Cambridge doctor's shape. The former has bell-shaped sleeves, the latter has long open sleeves. Another rarer form is the Cambridge Doctor of Music dress gown which is a pattern between the two. The other form of doctor's gown is the undress gown. This is a black gown worn for less formal occasions such as lectures. This type of gown is rarely seen or worn nowadays as many wear the dress gown instead; however, the undress gown still plays a part in the older universities where academic dress is usually worn.
Undergraduates at many older universities also wear gowns;[74] the most common essentially a smaller knee-length version of the bachelor's gown, or the Oxford Commoners gown which is a sleeveless lay type gown and has two streamers at the back at Oxford.[75] At Cambridge, most colleges have their own distinctive design of gown.[76] Undergraduates at St Andrews, with the exception of theology students, commonly wear scarlet woollen gowns with velvet collars.[77] Undergraduate gowns are seldom worn (even in institutions that prescribe them) nowadays except in the older universities.
Another form of dress, now rarely seen, is the habit, which is worn over a black gown. Only Oxford, Cambridge, Durham and Newcastle use habits and mainly reserve their use for very formal ceremonial occasions and to a specific group of academics or officials.
The hood was originally a functional garment, worn to shield the head from the elements. In the English tradition, it has developed to an often bright and decorative garment worn only on special occasions. Hoods comprise two basic patterns: full shape or simple shape. The traditional full-shape hood consists of a cape,cowl, andliripipe, as is used at Cambridge. At Oxford, the bachelor's and master's hoods use simple hoods that have lost their cape and retain only the cowl and liripipe.[78] The colour andlining of hoods in academic dress represent the rank and/or faculty of the wearer.[79] In many Commonwealth universities, bachelor's hoods are worn with edges or linings of white rabbit fur, while master's hoods are lined with coloured silk (originally ermine or other expensive fur). Doctoral hoods are normally made of scarlet cloth and lined with coloured silk.[80] Faculty colours were introduced by the University of London and many universities followed suit.[81]
Theacademic cap or square, commonly known as the mortarboard, has come to be symbolic of academia. In some universities it can be worn by graduates and undergraduates alike. It is a hat consisting of a skullcap surmounted by a flat square of stiffened cloth, the board; a tassel is fixed to a button in the centre of the board. The mortarboard may also be referred to as atrencher cap (or simply trencher). Thetassel is composed of a cluster of silk threads which are wrapped together with a cord which is attached to the button affixed to the centre of the headpiece. The loose strands are allowed to fall freely over the board edge, typically falling over the left front side of the cap. Often the strands areplaited together to form a cord with the end threads left untied. In many universities, holders of doctorates wear a soft-crowned, round-brimmed headpiece known as aTudor bonnet ortam, rather than a trencher. Other types of hats used, especially in some universities in the UK, are theJohn Knox cap (mostly at Scottish universities), theBishop Andrewes cap (a reinvention of the ancient form of the mortarboard, worn by CambridgeDoctors of Divinity DD's) and thepileus (at Sussex). In some universities, such as Oxford, women may wear an Oxford ladies' cap.[82]
Officers of the universities generally wear distinctive and more elaborate dress. TheChancellor and theVice-Chancellor may wear a black damask lay type gown (sometimes with a long train) trimmed with gold or silverlace andfrogs. They wear a velvet mortarboard, similarly trimmed with gold braid and tassel. Other than this gown, they may have other distinct forms of dress, such as the scarletcappa clausa orcope worn in certain circumstances by the Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge or his/her deputy and by higher doctors presenting candidates for degrees, which was once worn byDoctors of Divinity.[83] In the past, Chancellors may also wear full court dress with breeches and court shoes like that of theLord Chancellor of Great Britain.
At degree ceremonies, graduands often dress in the academic dress of the degree to which they are about to be admitted prior to the actual graduation ceremony. This is not the case at several of the older universities in the UK, most notably, Oxford, Cambridge and St Andrews which have their own distinct traditions.
In addition to universities and colleges, a number of British professional bodies, such as theInstitute of Biology and theInstitute of Physics grant academic dress to their members.[84]
Academic regalia in the United States has been influenced by the academic dress traditions of Europe. There is an Inter-Collegiate code which sets out a detailed uniform scheme of academic regalia followed by most, though some institutions do not adhere to it entirely, and fewer still ignore it. Generally, academic regalia in the United States consists of a mortarboard cap affixed with a tassel, and gown worn over other clothing.[85] The ensemble can also be adorned with anacademic stole—a vestment used by various organizations to denote academic achievement.
The practice of wearing academic regalia in the United States dates to theColonial Colleges period, and was heavily influenced by European practices and styles.[86] Students of most colonial colleges were required to wear the "college habit" at most times – a practice that lasted until the eve of theAmerican Civil War in many institutions of higher learning.[87] In some rare instances the practice has persisted, such as atSewanee, where members of the student honor society, along with most professors, continue to wear the gown to class.[88] After the Civil War, academic regalia was generally only worn at ceremonies or when representing the institution.[87] There was not, however, any standardization among the meanings behind the various costumes. In 1893, an Intercollegiate Commission made up of representatives from leading institutions and chaired byPresident of ColumbiaSeth Low was created, to establish an acceptable system of academic dress. The commission met atColumbia University in 1895 and adopted a code of academic regalia, which prescribed the cut and style and materials of the gowns, as well as determined the colors which were to represent the different fields of learning.[89] These rules were soon adopted by Columbia's peer institutions, including Harvard, Yale, and Princeton.[90] In 1932 theAmerican Council on Education (ACE) authorized the appointment of a committee to determine whether revision and completion of the academic code adopted by the conference of the colleges and universities in 1895 is desirable at this time, and, if so, to draft a revised code and present a plan for submitting the code to the consideration of the institutional members of the council.
The committee reviewed the situation and approved a code for academic costumes that has been in effect since that year. ACommittee on Academic Costumes and Ceremonies, appointed by the American Council on Education in 1959, again reviewed the academic dress code and made several changes.[86]
Although academic dress is now rarely worn outsidecommencement ceremonies or other academic rituals such asencaenia in the U.S., graduation ceremonies have gained popularity and have expanded from high school graduations to middle school, elementary school and kindergarten graduation ceremonies.[91]
Bachelor's andmaster's gowns in the United States are similar to their counterparts in the United Kingdom, though bachelor's gowns are now designed to be worn closed, and all are at least mid-calf length to ankle-length.[92] The master's gown sleeve isoblong and, though the base of the sleeve hangs down in the typical manner, it is square cut at the rear part of the oblong shape. The front part has an arc cut away, and there is a slit for the wrist opening, but the rest of the arc is closed. The shape is evocative of the square-cutliripipe incorporated into many academic hoods (see, below). The master's gown is designed to be worn open or closed.[92]
Doctoral robes are typically black, although some schools use robes in theschool's colours.[92] The Code calls for the outside shell of the hood (see, below) to remain black in that case, however. In general, doctoral gowns are similar to the gowns worn by bachelor's graduates, with the addition of three velvet bands on the sleeves and velvet facing running down the front of the gown. The Code calls for the gown trim to be either black or the colour designated for the field of study in which the doctorate was earned (seeInter-Collegiate colors). However, in the case of the degree ofDoctor of Philosophy (PhD), although it is awarded for study in any number of fields, the dark blue velvet of philosophy is always used regardless of the particular field studied. For example, if not choosing black trim, a PhD in theology would wear velvet gown trim in dark blue, while aDoctor of Theology (Th.D.) would wear scarlet trim, if not choosing black. The robes have full sleeves, instead of the bell sleeves of the bachelor's gown. Some gowns expose anecktie orcravat when closed, while others take an almost cape-like form. It is designed to be worn open or closed in the front.[92]
The Code calls for the shell material of the hood to match the robe, and for the colour to be black regardless of the colour of the robe being worn.[93] The interior lining – generally silk – displays the colours of the institution from which the wearer received the degree, in a pattern prescribed by it (usually, if more than one colour is used,chevrons or equal divisions).[94] The opening of the hood istrimmed invelvet orvelveteen.[95] In most American colleges and universities, the colour of the velvet hood trimming is distinctive of the academic field – or as closely related as possible – to which the degree earned pertains (seeInter-Collegiate colors).[96] Many institutions, particularly larger ones, have dispensed with the bachelor's hood at commencement ceremonies altogether, though a graduate is still entitled to wear one once the degree is conferred.[97]
Headwear is an important component of cap-and-gown, and the academic costume is not complete without it. The headwear will vary with the level of academic achievement and, to some extent, on the individual academic institution's specifications. For caps, the mortarboard is recommended in the Code, and the material required to match the gown.[98] The exception—velvet—is reserved for the doctor's degree only, seen in the form of a multiple-sided (4, 6, or 8)tam, but the four-sided mortarboard-shaped tam in velvet is what the Code seems to recommend here.[98] The only colour called for is black, in all cases.[98] The tassel worn on the mortarboard or a tam seems to provide, by tradition, the greatest opportunity for latitude in American academic dress. It has been black, or represented the university's colours, or the colours of the specific college, or the discipline. The tassel has also been used to indicate membership in nationalhonour societies or other awards. There is at some colleges and universities a practice of moving the tassel from one side to the other on graduating, but this is a modern innovation that would be impractical out of doors due to the vagaries of the wind. For doctoral and master's students, the tassel commonly begins and remains on the left.[99]
The colours allocated to the various fields of learning have been largely standardized in the United States by the Intercollegiate Bureau of Academic Costume, and accepted by the American Council on Education in itsAcademic Costume Code.[94] Some of the more common colours seen are thatliberal arts is represented by white, science by golden yellow, medicine by green, law by purple, theology by scarlet, and philosophy (including all PhD degrees) by dark blue. A distinction is made in the code, which calls for a graduate to display the colour of the subject of the degree obtained, not the degree itself.[95] For example, if a graduate is awarded aBachelor of Arts (BA) degree specifically in business the trimming should be drab, representing commerce/accountancy/business, rather than white, representing the broader arts/letters/humanities; the same method is true of master's degrees and doctorates. However, in 1986, the American Council on Education updated the Code and added the following sentence clarifying the use of the colour dark blue for theDoctor of Philosophy degree, which is awarded in any number of fields: "In the case of the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree, the dark blue colour is used to represent the mastery of the discipline of learning and scholarship in any field that is attested to by the awarding of the degree, and it is not intended to represent the field of philosophy."[95]
A number of other items such ascords,stoles,aiguillettes, etc. representing various academic achievements or other honours are also worn at the discretion of some degree-granting institutions. Technically, however, the ACE code does not allow their use on or over academic regalia.
Academic dress forpontifical universities tends to vary by the host country. Traditionally, for doctors of a pontifical university or faculty "the principal mark of a Doctor's dignity is the four horned biretta."[100] Under theold Code of Canon Law, incommencement ceremonies and other academic settings, doctors from pontifical faculties and universities had a canonical right to wear thedoctoral biretta, as stated in can. 1378, and explained in commentary 262 of the Commentarium Codicis Iuris Canonici as follows:
262. Doctoratus ac Scentiae effectus canonici sic recensentur can. 1378...doctoribus seu gradum academicum in una ex quatuor supradictis facultatibus <<vide 261: philosophia, theologia, ius canonicum, Sacra Scriptura>> supremum obtinentibus, rite creatis, seu promotis regulariter post examen, iuxta « statuta a Sede Apostolica probata » (can. 1376, § 2) saltem quoad usum validum « facultatis ab eadem Aplca. Sede concessae » (can. 1377, § 1), deferendi, extra sacras functiones, (quarum nomine ad hunc eflectum non-venit ex usu sacra praedicatio), nisi aliunde amplietur eis hoc ius quoad a) annulum etiam cum gemma « ipsis a iure huius canonis concessum » (can. 136, § 2), b) et biretum doctorale, (idest: cum quatuor apicibus) utpote insigne huius gradus ac diverso colore ornatum pro Facultate.[101] | 262. The canonical effects of the doctorate and of the science are listed in can. 1378...doctors or an academic diegree in one of the four above-mentioned faculties <<See 261: philosophy, theology, canon law, Sacred Scripture>> have the highest rank, duly created, or promoted regularly after the examination, according to "appointed statutes approved by the Apostolic See" (c. 1376 §2). Granted see" (c. 1377 §1), for deferring outside sacred functions (the name of which does not come from the use of sacred preaching for this effect), unless this right may be extended to them from other sources as far as: a) a ring with a jewel "to them by the right granted under this canon" (c. 136, § 2), b) and a doctoral hat (that is, with four tips) as a badge of this degree and adorned in different colors for the Faculty. |
There is no equivalent canon in thecurrent Code of Canon Law promulgated in 1983, but the tradition remains.
The Sartoria Gammerelli as of August 2013[update] offers, in line with the updated stipulations of the Pontifical Gregorian University, birettas lined with the following assorted piping and tufts depending on which faculty one is graduated from: Green for Canon Law, Red for Sacred Theology, Blue for Philosophy, and Orange for Social Sciences. Three-horned birettas are to be used by Licentiates, four-horned for Doctors.
Academic dress for thePontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas,Angelicum graduates consists of a black toga or academic gown with trim to follow the color of the faculty, and an academic ring. For the doctoral degree a four cornedbiretta is to be worn, and for the Licentiate degree a three cornedbiretta is to be worn. See:Academic regalia of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. The 'traditional' biretta at thePontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas,Angelicum, is white, to correspond to the white Dominican habit.[102] Also, the academic senate of theAngelicum in its May 2011 meeting indicated that the black biretta may be used with trim and pom in the color of the particular faculty.[103]
A three-peaked black biretta with appropriately colored piping may be similarly used by those receiving the licentiate degree (S.T.L., Ph.L.).
Academic dress details for the following universities are available via these links:
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Codex Iuris Canonici, 1917, can. 1378; Commentarium Textus Codicis Iuris Canonici, 1923, comm. 262: Commentarium Codicis Iuris Canonici, 1922, Liber III, Pars IV, Tit. XXII, 262 | Code of Canon Law, 1917, can. 1378; Commentary on the Text of the Code of Canon Law, 1923, comm. 262: Commentary of the Code of Canon Law, 1922, Book III, Part IV, Tit. XXII, 262 |
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