Academic Regalia

Although the academic costume which is worn today in American colleges and universities evolved from the clerical garb of the middle ages, it was not officially adopted until 1895. This costume has been modified in recent years for reasons of comfort and mass production, but in its essentials it remains unchanged except for the development of academic costumes for governing boards and recipients of the associate degree. Like the three levels of academic degrees (bachelor, master and doctor), the types of costume worn by degree recipients and the system for identifying academic and professional faculties by special colors are now fixed by traditional practice.

The Academic Cap

The familiar American mortar board evolved from the traditional cap of Oxford University. The soft cap, adopted by the University for use by doctoral degree recipients, is a modification of the traditional cap of Cambridge University and resembles an overlarge beret or tam. The American code requires the mortar board for degree levels below the doctorate and permits the use of either the soft or hard cap with the doctoral gown. The material of the cap is always black for degree levels below the doctorate and may be made of an appropriate material, except that velvet is reserved for the doctoral cap. The tassel worn with the cap has three variations.  It may be black for any degree; it may be in the official color designated for the faculty in which the degree is granted; or, in the case of the doctoral cap, it may be gold.  Students and faculty alike will be happy to learn that the tassel may be worn on either the left or right side and that no significance is officially given to how the tassel is worn.

The Academic Gown

Academic gowns are usually black and, aside from differences in materials and fullness, there are three types. The associate's and bachelor's gown have closed fronts and long, pointed sleeves. The master's and CAGS gown may be worn open or closed and have oblong sleeves open at the wrist, the lower portion hanging down with an arc near the bottom. The doctoral gown may be open or closed and has velvet facings and three velvet bars on the round, open sleeves. The doctoral gown also may be in the official color of the college or university. The facings and bars may be black, the color associated with the discipline which is identified in the degree terminology, or one of the official colors of the institution. The doctoral gown in use at the University is royal blue with various colorings; white velvet bars and facing are used for the honorary degree, and black velvet bars and facing for earned degrees.

The Academic Hood

Hoods are the most distinctive features of the American code.  Although the hood descended from the clerical hood and originally had a very practical value, it is now a means of identifying the level of degree attained (by the width of the band and the length of the hood), the academic or professional nature of the degree (by the color of the band), and the institution awarding the degree (by the colors of the hood lining).  In length, hoods are three feet for the baccalaureate degree, three and a half feet for the master's degree, and four feet for the doctorate.  The velvet trimmings for the three degree levels are respectively two, three, and five inches.  The most obvious characteristic of the associate costume is the academic hood, which is six inches shorter than the bachelor's hood and is flat rather than cupped.  The colors of all associate hoods do not vary by type of degree and are those of the conferring institution.  No specialized hood is prescribed for CAGS recipients, who wear the prescribed M.Ed. hood whether they have previously received this degree or not.

All hood linings for the University of Massachusetts Lowell have a field of royal blue which is divided by a red chevron.  Since the number of institutions conferring degrees has exceeded the possibilities of the color code which was adopted in the nineteenth century for academic hoods, it is no longer possible to identify an institution with any degree of certainty by the colors of hood linings.  For this reason, Lowell, like many other institutions, now follows the practice initiated at Yale and Columbia of providing an identifying badge on the velvet face of the doctoral gown.

Since academic degrees do not list major fields in their titles, the colors of hood bands for arts and science degrees do not attempt to differentiate among the several fields of major study.  For instance, the color of all hood bands for the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts is white.  Professional degrees carry the name of a professional field in their titles (e.g. Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration) and each such field has been assigned a unique color for the hood band.  Irrespective of its academic or professional nature, the degree of Doctor of Philosophy requires a dark-blue band.  The colors utilized by the University of Massachusetts Lowell for hood bands are as follows:

ACADEMIC DEGREES

White	Bachelor of Arts
White	Master of Arts
Cream	Bachelor of Liberal Arts
Yellow	Bachelor of Science
Yellow	Master of Science
Yellow	Doctor of Science
Dark	Blue Doctor of Philosophy

PROFESSIONAL DEGREES

Light Blue	Master of Education
Light Blue	Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study
Light Blue	Doctor of Education
Orange	Bachelor of Science in Engineering
Orange	Bachelor of Science in Engineering Technology
Orange	Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology
Orange	Master of Management Science in Manufacturing Engineering
Orange	Master of Science in Engineering
Orange	Doctor of Engineering
Dark Brown	Bachelor of Fine Arts
Drab Brown	Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
Drab Brown	Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management
Drab Brown	Master of Business Administration
Drab Brown	Master of Management Science
Pink	Bachelor of Music
Pink	Master of Music

 HONORARY DEGREES

White

Doctor of Humane Letters