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The Academic Costume The colorful ceremonies of The Ohio State University Commencements derive from practices originating in the Middle Ages. When European universities were taking form in the 12th and 13th centuries, the scholars were usually clerics, and consequently they adopted costumes similar to those of their monastic orders. Cold halls and drafty buildings called for caps and floor-length capes with attached hoods, and the sobering influence of the church probably influenced the staid character of the caps and gowns. As the control of the universities gradually passed from the church, some aspects of the costumes took on brighter hues. Old prints and engravings, however, reveal a strong similarity between the regalia worn in early universities and that of the present day. In the light of our nation's English heritage, academic costume has been in use in the United States since colonial times. To establish a standard of uniformity in regard to the practice, an intercollegiate commission was formed to prepare a code for caps, gowns, and hoods that has since been adopted by all academic institutions. Originally round, the shape of the cap is now the familiar mortarboard square--a shape with, according to ballad folklore, resembles a scholar's book. Legend also has it that the privilege of wearing a cap was the initial right of a freed Roman slave; the academic cap, therefore, has become a sign of the freedom of scholarship. The flowing gown has become symbolic of the democracy of scholarship, for it covers any dress that might indicate rank or social status. The hood, reserved at The Ohio State University for those receiving doctoral degrees, not only indicates the type of degree, but also is lined with the official colors of the university. The Gown Bachelor: Black, full cut with long pointed sleeves. Master: Black, long or short sleeves with a reshaped panel extended for each sleeve. Doctor: Black with velvet panels on front of gown and three velvet bars on each sleeve. Color of the velvet may be black or distinctive of the field of study. The Hood Bachelor: Three feet long with a two-inch-wide velvet edging.* Master: Three and one-half feet long with a three-inch-wide velvet edging.* Doctor: Four feet in length with a five-inch-wide velvet edging and panel at the sides. *Not usually worn by candidates for a degree. The lining of all hoods, which is folded out, bears the official colors of the institution granting the degree. The color of the velvet indicates the field of study: Dentistry Lilac Law Purple Medicine Green Musical Arts Pink Optometry Seafoam Green Pharmacy Olive Green Philosophy Dark Blue Veterinary Medicine Gray Cap and Tassel Candidates for degrees at The Ohio State University wear the black mortarboard with a tassel whose color is distinctive of the degree being received. The tassel colors are as follows: Graduate School Black Colleges of the Arts and Sciences Colleges of the Arts (B.A., B.S.I.D.) White (Others) Brown School of Music (B.A.) White (Others) Pink College of Biological Sciences White College of Humanities White College of Mathematical and Physical Sciences White College of Social and Behavioral Sciences White Behavioral Sciences White School of Journalism Crimson Max M. Fisher College of Business Drab School of Public Policy and Management Peacock Blue College of Dentistry Lilac College of Education Light Blue School of Physical Activity and Education Services Sage Green College of Engineering Orange Austin E. Knowlton School of Architecture Blue-Violet College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences Maize School of Natural Resources Blue-Green College of Human Ecology Maroon College of Law Purple College of Medicine Green School of Allied Medical Professions Green College of Nursing Apricot College of Optometry Seafoam Green College of Pharmacy Olive Green College of Social Work Citron College of Veterinary Medicine Gray The gold tassel is worn frequently by those holding the doctoral degree and by college and university administrative officers.
