The Academic Procession

One of the most colorful parts of the commencement exercise is the academic procession, the opening part of the time-honored and traditional ceremonies. The processional includes all of the participants of the exercises, the graduating class, faculty, Board of Trustees, and participating guests.

The graduating class wears a solid blue gown. All graduates wear a stole. However, graduates wearing a gold stole are permanent members of Alpha Gamma Sigma, a statewide honor society, or are receiving Administrative Honors requiring a grade point average of at least 3.67. The tassel of the cap is worn on the right and changed to the left immediately after receiving recognition.

The college’s faculty, which includes its instructors, counselors, and administrative staff, along with the staff, trustees, and guests, wear gowns indicative of their academic rank. This part of the processional is indeed one of the most awe-inspiring of all collegiate ceremonies.

The heritage of the cap and gown, with the colorful spectacle of the academic array, dates back to the twelfth century and the establishment of the first universities in Europe. Although there have been many changes in design and color, each individual gown, with its rank, is symbolic of achievement in a special field.

The Continental System, still used by England and the rest of Europe, allows a distinctive design and color for each college and university. In the United States, however, a uniform Intercollegiate Academic Code has been adopted. The code is a simple one, regulating the colors and materials to be used. Knowledge of a few of these rules permits the viewer to “read” the costume of any graduate of an American educational institution and know at once the wearer’s degree, the field or department in which it was earned, and possibly the college from which the degree was received.

Academic gowns are divided into three groups, dependent upon the highest college degree earned by the wearer. The bachelor’s gown is made of a black worsted material with long, pointed sleeves, and the front is closed at the neck. The master’s gown is either of black silk or wool and has a long, closed sleeve with an arc of a circle appearing near the bottom and a slit, at elbow length, for the arm. The gown is worn open at the front. The doctorate gown is black silk with full, round, open sleeves. The color of the velvet is usually black but it may be of the same color of velvet as that which edges the hood. This gown is also worn open at the front.

The traditional black mortarboard-style cap is worn for all degrees, the only difference being the tassel. For bachelors and masters it is usually black but occasionally it is the color of the velvet on the hood. The doctorate tassel is gold.

The academic costume is set off by the most distinctive of all insignia, the hood. The hood is made of a black material to match the gown and varies in length according to the degree: bachelor, three feet; master, three and one-half feet; and doctorate, four feet. Each hood has a velvet edge of varying widths according to the degree: two inches, three inches, and five inches, respectively. The edging is carried around to the front of the neck to form a neck band. The color of this velvet trim indicates the field or department of learning in which the degree was earned. All hoods have silk lining of the official color or colors of the college or university conferring the degree.

Following is a partial list of the colors which have been designated to represent the various areas of learning:

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