Costume Code

American colleges and universities desired to adopt a suitable system of academic apparel half a century ago. It seemed to them best to agree on a definite system which all would follow. A by-law, regulation or statute for the establishment of a suitable code of academic dress followed.

Gowns
The gown for the bachelor's degree has pointed sleeves. It is designed to be worn closed. The gown to the master's degree has an oblong sleeve, open at the wrist, like the others, with fasteners in order to be worn open or closed.

It is made of cotton poplin or similar material for the bachelor's and master's degree, and rayon or silk ribbed material for the doctor's degree. Black is the recommended color.

For all academic purposes, including the trimmings of doctors' gowns, edging of hoods, and tassels or caps, the colors associated with the different subjects are as follows:

Hoods
They are made from the same material as that of the gown being black in color, with various sizes and colors that denote the faculty or school.

The binding or edging of the hood is to be of velvet or velveteen, with a width of two inches, three inches, or five inches for the bachelor's, master's or doctor's degrees, respectively; while the color code should be as noted above. No academic hood should ever have its border divided to represent more than a single degree.

The hoods should be lined with the official color or colors of the college or university conferring the degree. AUB's hoods have the red and white colors of the University flag in the inside and another color on the outside specific to the division or the school seal, such as yellow for Agriculture, etc...

Caps
Its material should be of cotton poplin, broadcloth, rayon, or silk to match the gown, or only velvet for the doctor's degree. Mortarboards are generally recommended, although soft square-topped caps are permissible for women. A long tassel fastened to the middle point of the top of the cap is black in color or has the color appropriate to the subject. Except that the doctor's cap may have its tassel of gold thread.

Wearing the costume
There is no general rule for the position of the tassel on a mortarboard. However, numerous institutions have adopted the practice, during commencement exercises, of requiring candidates for degrees to wear the tassels on the right front side before degrees are conferred and to shift them to the left at the moment when degrees are awarded to them.

It is proper for the candidate to wear the gown in keeping with the degree to be received.

If a person holds more than one academic degree, he/she may wear only one hood at a time. The hood worn should be appropriate to the gown.