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Understanding Academic Costume

hood
Preparing for the day
UNDERSTANDING ACADEMIC COSTUME

Each degree course is assigned a specific hood. To find out which hood you will be wearing check out the table below.

Foundation Degree Gold on black fabric
Bachelor of Arts Furry hood on black fabric 
Bachelor of General Studies Furry hood on blue fabric
Bachelor of Music White Silk on blue fabric  
Bachelor of Science Green silk on black fabric  
Bachelor of Engineering Green silk on black fabric 
Bachelor in Engineering Green silk on black fabric  
Bachelor of Law Pink silk on black fabric  
Bachelor of Management/Finance   Pink silk on black fabric 
Bachelor of Medicine Red/orange silk on black fabric  
Bachelor of Education Lilac silk on black fabric  
Bachelor of Theology/Divinity White silk on black fabric  
Bachelor of Nursing Sciences   Grey silk on black fabric 
Bachelor of Social Work/Social Sciences Maroon silk on black fabric  
Diploma in Nursing Studies Black silk on black fabric  
Bachelor of Medical Science   Purple silk on black fabric  
Bachelor of Dentistry Silver silk on black fabric  
Master in Pharmacy Green silk with red silk band on black fabric 
Master in Chemistry Green silk with red silk on black fabric 
Master in Maths Green silk with red silk on black fabric 
Master of Philosophy Purple on red fabric 
Master of Medical Science Purple on red fabric 
Master of Research  Purple on red fabric  
Master of Nursing Grey silk on red fabric  
Master of Midwifery Grey silk with a purple strip on red fabric
Master of Surgery Scarlet silk on red fabric  
Master of Divinity/Theology White silk on red fabric  
Master of Management/Economics Pink on red fabric 
Master of Business Administration  Gold silk on red fabric 
Master of Social Work/Social Sciences   Maroon on red fabric  
Master of Science   Green silk on red fabric
Master of Education  Lilac silk on red fabric  
Master of Law Pink silk on red fabric  
Master of Arts Blue silk on red fabric
Master of Engineering   Green silk on red fabric  
Master in Engineering Green silk with red silk band on black fabric  
Gown Types

There are three main types of gowns: Bachelor, Master and Doctorate. Bachelor gowns are black and have short sleeves. Masters gowns are black and have long sleeves. Doctorate robes are red with coloured silk and long sleeves.

It's not always straight forward...

  • Any Master degree which states Master in takes a Bachelor gown. This goes for four year degrees in Engineering, Maths, Science and Pharmacy.
  • Masters of Law and Masters of Legal Science take the same LLM hood.
  • Bachelor and Masters degrees in Architecture, Environmental Planning and Civil Engineering all take the bottle green Engineering hood. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering can as well but this is also where Bachelor and Master in Engineering degrees come through. Computer Science degrees also take the bottle green Engineering hood.
  • Be careful in the School of Education ceremony as Masters of Educational technology are offered, which are done through the School EEECS, which means these degrees take the Master of Engineering hood (bottle green silk on red.)
DOCTORATE GOWNS
Doctor of Philosophy Red gown with purple silk
Doctor of Science   Red gown with green silk
Doctor of Governance, Doctor of Social Sciences Red gown with burgundy silk
Doctor of University  Red gown with light turquoise silk
Doctor of Medicine   Red gown with burnt orange silk  
Doctor of Law   Red gown with salmon silk  
Doctor of Economics Red gown with pink silk  
Doctor of Divinity Red gown with black silk  
Doctor of Engineering   Red gown with pale green silk  
Doctor of Literature   Red gown with white silk
Doctor of Music   Red gown with blue silk  
Doctor of Education   Red gown with lilac silk  
Doctor of the Science of Engineering   Red gown with dark green silk 
Doctor of Clinical Psychology, Doctor of Childhood Studies   Burgundy gown with burgundy silk  
Doctor of Nursing   Red gown with grey silk
GOWN SIZES

If you are wondering how the academic costume will fit you, the gowns are a standard width and vary only in height. The gowns start at 5'0" which is a size 40 and go up in two inch increments for the next size. In the table you will see the range of heights and the relevant size of gown.

 

Height

Size

5'0" 40
5'2" 42
5'4" 44
5'6" 46
5'8" 48
5'10" 50
6'0" 52
6'2" 54
6'4" 56