The Toga, Cap, Hood, and Diploma: What Do These Graduation Symbols Mean?

By Maia Fortich-Poblete

I graduated from college back in 1991. It’s been 28 years but I can still remember the feeling – how excited I was about what was to come. I remember even the tiniest detail, even the fact that I wore a new pair of black shoes that I bought at SM Cubao!

I also remember how proud I was wearing my graduation toga, hood, and cap. It somehow completed the feeling of fulfillment. Back then, I didn’t know what their significance was, only that they were symbols of the end of my hard work and perseverance.

A couple of years ago, however, I did some research and wrote about what the graduation tradition of wearing gowns with caps and hoods. It was for a website called clix.com.ph. I’d like to share with you what I learned, especially since, these past few days, many of our family and friends have been sharing beautiful stories about their graduation.

What Your Toga or Gown Means

Formally called the academic dress, the graduation toga or gown has a story that goes back to Europe in the 12^th or 13^th century. Back then, it was called houpland.

According to one source, at that time, schools and universities didn’t have the right heating systems. As a result, students were required to wear hooded long robes. These robes were then made the official graduation outfit so students won’t resort to wearing excessive, revealing, or outrageous clothes.

There is also another story that identifies the University of Coimbra in Portugal as being the first academic institution that used the toga for graduation. This took place in 1321. English settlers then brought the practice to the United States later on.

Academic gowns or graduation togas are below-the-knee in length and they usually come in colors that are based on the graduate’s course and level of education. For example, gowns for high school graduates are usually white while college graduates wear black graduation togas.

The sleeves of these academic robes also vary. Gowns with wide bell-like sleeves are for bachelor degree graduates, closed sleeves with long slits are for postgraduate degrees, and sleeves that come with three colored velvet lines are usually worn by doctorate degree graduates. Their gowns also have the same lines at the front part.

The graduation toga is a symbol of a student’s educational attainment and accomplishments.

What About the Graduation Cap?

Graduates wear a square-like board on their heads along with their gowns and hoods. This is the graduation cap and it is often referred to as a mortarboard (as it is shaped like one). Its origins date back to the time of the scholarly clergies who wore the biretta (Wikipedia: a square cap with three or four peaks or horns).

These square hats became an extremely popular fashion in the 14^th and 15^th centuries. They were worn by students, artists, humanists, and every learned person. There are also sources that say these caps were worn as head covers in the 15^th century, specifically by professors. They were embellished with strings of pearls, feathers, and embroidery.

The graduation cap is a symbol of intelligence and superiority. When the tassel is transferred from the left to the right, it becomes more symbolic because it then signifies the students’ official status as a graduate.

The Hood

And then there’s the hood. The academic robe has a hood that helps identify which field of study a graduate completed. Different colors are used to identify the fields. The usual color assignments are as follows (this can vary according to your location/school):

Liberal Arts: white

Sciences: yellow

Business: olive brown

Nursing: apricot

Education: blue

Industrial Arts: dull gold

Fine Arts: brown

Law: violet

PhD: dark blue

Your Diploma is More Than Just A Piece of Paper

Yes, the diploma is more than just a piece of paper. It is the most important thing a graduate will receive during the graduation rites. This “simple piece of paper” is a symbol and proof of a student’s success and achievement.  

Inside the diploma, you’ll find information about the graduate’s educational achievement, including honors (if any), as confirmed by the school or university’s official authorities, who affix their signatures in the said document.

It is said that paper-thin sheepskin was used to make the first diplomas. In addition, the inscriptions were handwritten. They were each rolled and tied with a ribbon. In the later years, printers started using parchment paper in making diplomas.

Nowadays, diplomas are usually placed inside specially made folders or framed. They’re no longer rolled and tied with a ribbon.

Now that you know what each item of the official graduation outfit symbolizes, be proud that you are wearing them. After all, you don’t get to walk down the aisle in your togas and caps – and get your diploma onstage – every school year.

Congratulations, batch 2019!

(Rewritten. Originally written by the same author for clix.com.ph)

(Photo from pixabay.com)