Academic dress appears to have originated at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge more than 600 years ago and, to this day, the most colorful gowns in the world are those worn at Oxford functions. European institutions show great diversity in their academic costume, since each adopted or initiated its own dress. For this reason, the so-called British system is full of contradictions. Therefore, when American colleges and universities decided to adopt a system of academic apparel, it seemed best to agree on a definite system for all to follow.
In 1894 a group of leading American educators met at Columbia College to draft a code. In 1895 this commission presented the Intercollegiate Code and provided for a Depository for the Intercollegiate Bureau of Academic Costume, recognized as the authority on academic dress. The American Council on Education appointed a committee in 1932 to determine whether a revision of the 1895 code was desirable and, after correspondence and conference, suggested only a few minor variations.
The distinctions set up by the Intercollegiate Code are simple. Gowns for the bachelor's degree are to be fashioned from "worsted stuff" with semistiff yoke, pleated front and intricate shirring across the shoulders and back. Worn closed, the bachelor's gown is distinguished primarily by its long, pointed sleeves.
The master's gown has the same yoke effect. Although these two gowns are basically similar in design, the full-length sleeves of the master's gown are distinctive because of their long crescent shape, which extends below the cut at the base of the sleeve itself. It may be worn open or closed.
The doctor's gown, which may be worn open or closed, has velvet panels draped around the neck and stitched down the front edges. These panels widen to five inches at the chest, continuing at this width to the hem. Three horizontal velvet bars are stitched on the upper arm of the full bell-shaped sleeves. This velvet trimming may be either black or the color distinctive of the faculty to which the degree refers.
Northeastern University's distinctive doctoral gown is maroon with black velvet panels and sleeve bars. The gown can be worn with the traditional maroon cap or mortarboard, or with the eight-sided black tam. The cap bears a gold metallic tassel. In accordance with academic custom, recipients of the doctor's degree, members of the university's governing boards and government officials in the procession are entitled to wear the official cap and gown.
In America, the hood is the most outstanding feature of all academic costume. The shape of the bachelor's and master's hoods is similar. Both are three and one-half feet in length. The doctor's hood has a rounded base and is 4 feet long. The width of the velvet or velveteen border is 2 inches for bachelor's, 3 inches for master's and 5 inches for doctor's hoods. The color of the border indicates the field of study, and the lining is in the official color or colors of the institution conferring the degree. At Northeastern, where only the master's and doctor's hoods are worn, a black chevron in a maroon background is used.
In assigning colors to signify the respective faculties, the Intercollegiate Commission retained historical associations as much as possible. For example, white, for arts, is taken from the white fur edging of the Oxford hood; red, for theology, from the traditional color of the church; and green, for medicine, for the color of herbs.
The tassels worn on the mortarboard may be black or the color indicting the graduates's major field of study. The colors, as they apply at Northeastern University, are listed in the university commencement program under "Seating Arrangements of Graduates."
The college flags used in the commencement ceremonies were presented to the respective colleges by the Class of 1967. The flag of each college will be presented to the commencement audience by the class marshal, the highest-ranking student in the college.
Honors at Northeastern are:
Summa Cum Laude 3.750 to 4.000
Magna Cum Laude 3.500 to 3.749
Cum Laude 3.250 to 3.499
Gold honor cord worn around the neck denotes honors student.