Welcome to the Russell Sage College Class of 2024 Commencement! Use the navigation links at the top of the page to see our award recipients. On May 11, click the button below to watch the livestream of the event.

Much of the stirring pageantry of Commencement comes from the traditional and

significant use of caps, gowns, hoods, and colors which had their origins in 12th

century France and Italy. It was there that the custom of wearing a cap and gown to mark

the admission of the licentiate or “graduate” to a group of master teachers is said to have

begun.

The custom had a practical side, for the caps and gowns were the outer garments worn by

the masters to keep out the chill and damp of the medieval buildings. Because most of the

masters were clerics, our present gowns are outgrowths of the long, flowing robes worn

at that time. The hood probably originated from the monk’s cowl, at first attached to the

gown and later detached when the wearing of a cap became popular. The mortarboard

cap evolved from the scholar’s skull cap.

Caps and gowns have been used in this country from colonial times, but it was not

until 1895 that the present American Intercollegiate Code was adopted. This code

provides that the bachelor shall wear a gown with closed front and long, pointed sleeves;

the master shall have an open-front gown with long, closed square-ended sleeves with

slits for the arms near the elbow; and the doctor shall wear a gown with full, bell-shaped

sleeves crossed with three velvet bars, with a velvet facing on the edges of the open front.

The Oxford or mortarboard cap, standard for most degrees but sometimes modified as a

softer “scholar’s cap,” is usually black and has a tassel which may be black or colored to

depict a field of study. A doctor’s cap may have a gold tassel. The tassel is always worn to

the left side of the cap.

Hoods also designate bachelor’s, master’s and doctor’s degrees; the bachelor’s hood is

short, the master’s hood is longer and ends in a pointed curve; the doctor’s hood falls well

below the waist and has a mantle. The color of the velvet trim on each hood indicates the

field in which the degree was received; the lining is the colors of the school from which

the degree was granted. Green and white are the colors worn by graduates of Russell Sage College.