Inaugurations & Installations

Academic Apparel

The History of Academic Attire

Academic costumes are based on a history of nearly eight centuries. In medieval Europe, all townspeople—men and women—wore long flowing robes and gowns. The materials and colors varied according to the wealth and rank of the individual and were governed by royal decree. Gradually, distinctive gowns developed for the various professions, trades, and guilds.

Students in the medieval universities of Paris, Bologna, Oxford, and Cambridge organized themselves into guilds. Their usual garb, a long gown, was necessary for warmth in the unheated buildings. Scholars, generally members of church orders, wore robes and also hoods to protect their shaved heads. Later, skull caps were worn on the head and the hood became a cape that could be pulled over the head during unpleasant weather. As additional universities were founded, distinctive forms of the gown and hood were adapted by their faculties for bachelors (apprentices of arts), masters (teachers), and doctors (teachers who had completed postgraduate studies). Variations appeared mostly in the hood and were regulated by strict rules. Tailors who departed from the authorized design could be punished. When caps and hats came into fashion in the fifteenth century, the hoods became ornamental, draped over the shoulders and down the back.

The academic hat was adapted from the headdress of the ordinary people. It was first worn as a symbol of the master’s degree and existed in various forms. Some caps were stiff, some soft, some square, some round with a tuft in the center. The tassel of today is an elaboration of the tuft. The mortarboard style comes to us from Oxford University.

When academic costume came to America in 1754, styles were quite varied, as they still are in Europe today. In our country, usage has been standardized by the Intercollegiate Code of Academic Costume.