Graduation Hoods with No Graduation Tassels    by Sandra Matthews

in Education / College and University    (submitted 2012-02-08)

Whenever people in the United States hear the term graduation or commencement service they automatically picture the academic regalia that have come to signify these honored scholars. They see the robes or gowns that reach to the mid calf of the person wearing it and the mortar board complete with the graduation tassels. This academic attire has become the most frequently used at the majority of educational institutions all across the United States.

What the people do not realize is that many learned scholars approach the place where they will be handed their graduation diplomas without a mortar board. There are places that have absolutely no headdress to adorn the heads of the young people who are leaving their halls of learning for a place in the working community. Then there are other countries that have hoods that their graduates wear to complete the uniform of the ceremony they are attending.

Some countries and some universities have different hoods for the graduate dependant on the particular degree they are being awarded on that day. Some of these hoods are separate pieces that are even lined with different types of fur to distinguish between the different degrees being received. This has been a long standing tradition at many of the European colleges and universities. Of course this does not count in high schools and such as that we are talking of the college students who have earned their BA, or their Master's degree, or their Doctor's degree in one field or the other.

Each of the different fields of study can also have different styles in robes and different styles in the hoods or headdresses they require of the individual. The colors of these garments will be different shades to indicate which field of study the individual engaged in while they were at the university.

Some universities have the student approach the stage where a high ranking official is and are carrying their hood in their hands. When they reach the place in front of the official they will kneel to show their respect for them. They will offer their hand to the official and after grasping it the official will declare that this person has completed the necessary requirements to earn the degree in which they aspired to. They will touch the head of the kneeling person to indicate their acceptance and to signal that they can then rise. The person will indeed stand up and bow to the official to once again show them the respect and honor their position affords them. Then a lesser official will approach the student and remove the hood from their hands and place it upon their heads to symbolize the fact that they have indeed stepped onto the stage as one person but are leaving the stage with a new title and a new ability that has been recognized by the powers that be and sanctified by the university they attended. These people will leave the stage and when they have entered the hall that will take them back to their peers they will receive their certificates.

About the Author

They see the robes or gowns that reach to the mid calf of the person wearing it and the mortar board complete with the ">graduation tassels. This academic attire has become the most frequently used at the majority of educational institutions all across the United States.
What the people do not realize is that many learned scholars approach the place where they will be handed their ">graduation diplomas without a mortar board.