Whether you studied at a college or at a university, the excitement is palpable during graduation ceremonies.
You can’t blame the students and parents really, because getting to this point is an incredible achievement. It’s a long way coming that takes years of study and huge amounts of money.
A huge part of the graduation ceremony is the commencement speech which comes right after the baccalaureate ceremony.
This is where students come out like peacocks with rainbow feathers, showing off their style and their colors in a myriad of graduation gowns, hoods, sleeves, and caps which show their achievement level.
Academic regalia is really quite something and that’s the way it’s supposed to be because it’s meant to represent something. In case you’re wondering what all the different regalia colors mean, read on to find out.
While most universities tend to stick with the same color combinations when it comes to togas.
For instance, Ivy-league institutions like Harvard have crimson-colored garb for all of their doctoral candidates, which look quite fetching with the black gowns.
Some schools color coordinate their togas based on the different areas of study. So, one faculty will have one color and another will have a different color scheme.
That’s why you’ll find that most graduation ceremonies are a splash of color as the faculties come together to celebrate the achievements of their students. It’s also why you can’t go too crazy with cap decoration ideas.
The graduation robe is known as the toga and it’s usually black but it comes with hoods, sleeves, and caps of different colors. Each color represents a different level of academic achievement.
For instance, students who graduate with a Doctorate in Philosophy are often dressed with dark blue colors, while a non-Ph.D student will get a green robe or a color that’s given to non-Ph.D. students in his or her field of study.
In this regard, psychologists often wear gold while medical doctors will be adorned in green.
We’ve already established that academic dress is very unique but did you know that the color codes are based on the American Academic Costume Code?
Yep, this system was founded in the year 1893 as a way to provide guidance to college institutions as to which colors and shades are acceptable to use in differentiating between graduates.
Bachelor’s degree graduates typically wear a graduation robe with pointed sleeves and it’s recommended to keep the gown closed at all times, which is why you probably always see it depicted that way in graduation pictures.
Master’s degree graduates get a robe with oblong selves while doctorate degree student gowns have bell-shaped sleeves.
These two latter gowns can be worn open or closed. At this point, you’ve earned the right to choose, am I right?
Conclusion
Well, now you know what different graduation robe and hood colors mean. Isn’t it a fascinating subject?
Looking from the outside in, you’d think that there’s no rhyme or reason to it but there’s actually a whole system that governs the code of dress for graduates and it’s just as well. It’s a very special occasion.