Academic Dress
cap & gown pick-up A cap and gown order form must be picked up from SFS and all cap and gown order forms are due to the Student Affairs office by March 23, 2006. A cap and gown order form must be submitted in order to participate in the ceremony (women should include the height of heels to be worn when indicating their height).
Caps and gowns may be picked up in the Student Affairs office on May 15 & 16, 2006, during normal business hours. DO NOT plan to pick up your cap and gown the day of Commencement.
what to wear and how to wear it You are expected to wear the full academic dress (cap, gown, and hood) appropriate to your degree. Graduates who are in the military are permitted to wear appropriate military dress uniforms. Professional attire traditionally worn with the gown; men — suit or jacket and slacks, plain tie and shoes (no sneakers); women — dress or skirt and blouse and shoes (no sneakers).
Graduates should put on their cap and gown before entering the assembly area. Staff will be on hand if you need assistance. Leave coats, valuables and other items with parents, friends, or guests. You will not be able to store any personal belongings in the assembly area.
The gown should be ironed and worn straight. Both the cap and gown should be worn at all times by women; men remove their caps for the national anthem, the invocation and the benediction, but wear them at all other times throughout the ceremony. The tassel is to hang on the front right side of the cap.The President will indicate when you should turn your tassel to the left during the ceremony. Graduates should be careful not to let the tassel interfere while photographs are being taken.
academic hood Your hood should be placed over the shoulders. There should be no color visible at first. Once the hood is in place, unfold it slightly to expose the colors. Women may choose to fasten the hood at the shoulders with safety pins for more comfort. For men, the neckband of the hood should be placed over the tie.
traditions The tradition of wearing distinctive dress for academic ceremonies dates back to the Middle Ages. Costumes were worn mainly by nobility and clergy. Most of the early academic costumes were made of woolen cloth. Colors were added during the Renaissance, particularly at Oxford and Cambridge where scarlet hoods were worn by doctors.
Today, academic costumes are usually worn in the United States by people participating in academic ceremonies. The academic dress at Johnson & Wales meets the standards set by the intercollegiate Bureau of Academic Costume. All students wear the standard black gown and square "Oxford cap." Students graduating with at least a 3.4 cumulative grade point average will wear gold to designate their honors status*.
The faculty and platform party will be wearing regalia representative of the degrees they possess. The president and other officials of the University will wear caps and gowns designed exclusively for Johnson & Wales University. The honorary degree recipients will wear the academic costume and hood appropriate for the degree being conferred upon them.
* Honors status is projected at the end of the winter term. If students do not have a 3.4 cumulative GPA by this time, they will not receive honors status at commencement.
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