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[bad toad]

And Mendel said clearly in the earlier messages that she/he/it was interested in info for US schools.

As they say in Star Wars .... "Stay on target"

[Brianrietta]

I'm *still* skeptical about the prevalence of these American Regalia Regulations... I think that many schools (even US ones) do not abide by the "official" guidelines.

For example, I recently attended a friend's convocation reception, and was chatting with an Associate Dean. This guy was wearing a gown that was entirely black, with no adornment anywhere. I asked him about it, and he told me that this was the official PhD regalia for his alma mater. He had gone to a highly respected State school in the US, and he said that it was a point of pride for graduates of this school to *not* have all the typical velvet and chevrons and lining and piping that "fancy" schools have.

[anon]

dont you think the whole "pink goes with the school of music" thing is pretty gender biased? I mean most musicians are male anyway

[markcronan]

Hey folks.  I'm Mark Cronan, vice president at http://www.academicapparel.com . We've been making Academic Regalia for about 60 years here, so I should be able to help answer some questions on Hood Colors:

In general, most hoods have three colors: Field, Chevron, and Velvet.  Technically there is a fourth color, which is the shell of the hood, but generally that is just black (or the color of your robe).

1. School Colors

The field and chevron represent your school colors.  Some schools have only one color, some have three (and use two chevrons), but the vast majority have just two colors.

You can see a picture of a hood diagram here:

http://www.academicapparel.com/caps/Hood_Diagram.html

2. Degree or Discipline Colors in General

The velvet represents your degree or discipline color. In general, hoods use the color that represents their actual specific degree or discipline.

You can see a picture of discipline and degree colors here:

http://www.academicapparel.com/caps/regalia_colors.html

3. PhD vs. Doctorate degrees

Despite that general rule I just mentioned, PhD degrees (as opposed to Doctorate degrees) use "PhD Blue", which is dark blue. For example, a Doctorate in Psychology would use Gold, however a PhD in Psychology would use dark blue.

This "ruling" is based on the guidelines published by the American Council of Education, which can be seen here:

http://www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Search&template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=10625#Hoods

I also communicated last year with one of our competitors (E.R. Moore, which I am led to believe has since had it's assets  acquired by another company).  We talked about this "rule" regarding PhD vs. Doctorate degree colors, and agreed that we both follow the "rule" and use PhD blue for PhD degrees.

4. How Binding are the "official" Academic Regalia Rules on Colleges and Universities

That's a good question.  I'll answer it first in my experience, and then give you the American Council on Education note on the subject.

In my experience, many schools are not overly concerned with following the official guidelines. 

For example, some schools are shifting to disposable, single-use, souvenir, or short-term use gowns (we call our line of those gowns Verona, other companies use different brand names).  Those gowns use very simple patterns and are not made to the official guidelines for how to make a gown.  However they are cheap, and an inexpensive option sometimes overrides tradition.

Second, many schools are not as concerned as they used to be about degree and discipline colors.  With the advent of interdisciplinary degrees, multiple degrees, and new degrees, I find the choice of degree and discipline color is becoming more fluid with time.  I've seen two people going to the same college in the same department receiving the same exact degree, and one used a PhD blue for the velvet, and the other used the degree-specific color, and nobody said a single word or even seemed to notice the disparity.

So in my opinion, don't worry too much about whether you use PhD or the degree-specific color.  Both rank equal as far as achievement, both denote essentially the same thing, and nobody will know the difference.

Finally, this is what ACE has to say about it:

First, it should be noted that it is impossible (and probably undesirable) to lay down enforceable rules with respect to academic costume. The governing force is tradition and the continuity of academic symbols from the Middle Ages. The tradition should be departed from as little as possible, not only to preserve the symbolism of pattern and color, but for practicality as well (when radical changes are adopted manufacturing problems and scarcity of inventory may ensue). Second, the fundamental guidelines of the academic costume code may be adapted to local conditions. Such adaptations are entirely acceptable as long as they are reasonable and faithful to the spirit of the traditions which give rise to the code....

I hope that helps.  If anyone has further questions, I will sometimes pop back into these boards, but feel free to email me at markcronan@academicapparel.com .

[amlithist]

I was thinking along the lines of a plastic grocery bag . . . from one of the pricier supermarkets, of course.  :0

[donny70]

Okay, tell me if I'm wrong. The result of all this to-ing and fro-ing is as follows:

a) There are a couple of groups who make regulations/guidelines, including the blue lining idea.
b) Not all institutions follow these guidelines - many pride themselves on having their own unique practices.

So the conclusion must be, if you want to wear the correct PhD robes, i.e. the ones used for your discipline at your degree-awarding institution, you need to check with your alma mater - only they can tell you what design and colors they use.

My PhD robes have no blue on them anywhere.

[markcronan]

Okay, tell me if I'm wrong. The result of all this to-ing and fro-ing is as follows:

a) There are a couple of groups who make regulations/guidelines, including the blue lining idea.
b) Not all institutions follow these guidelines - many pride themselves on having their own unique practices.

So the conclusion must be, if you want to wear the correct PhD robes, i.e. the ones used for your discipline at your degree-awarding institution, you need to check with your alma mater - only they can tell you what design and colors they use.

My PhD robes have no blue on them anywhere.

Just to clarify, the "PhD Blue" would only be on the hood itself, not the robe, typically.  But yes, ultimately you should ask your alma mater what colors they use on the robe (velvet and cordage color), hood (field, chevron, number of chevrons, and degree or discipline), and tam (and how many sides your tam should have, four six or eight).  You don't have to order from your alma mater (and if you are looking to save money you probably shouldn't), but it's good practice to contact them to verify your colors before you order your robe from one of the online companies like http://www.academicapparel.com.

[minor_t]

I just ordered a new hood from Academic Apparel www.academicapparel.com, and the customer service rep there was extremely helpful.  She sent me a loaner hood while my actual hood was being sewn - no charge - and went out of her way to see what was already in stock.  The company is very aware of the protocol for academic regalia, and tries hard to get things right.  I highly recommend.
mt