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As a college student, about to graduate, you are probably wondering how to choose the velvet color for your hood. The color of the velvet on a graduation hood represents your academic degree. How are you supposed to know what color that is? We are here to help! GraduationSource has done extensive research to find specific color assignments for a variety of subjects. What was your college major?
Check out the hood degree color chart below to see what velvet color you should choose:
The opening of each graduation hood has a high-quality velveteen trim that sits over the shoulders and drapes down the back of the graduate. Knowing which color hood velvet to choose for you degree type is key to completing your graduation ensemble.
There’s a story behind every color that they use for each degree type. We will go more in-depth about the history of each color and degree in another article. For this article, we will briefly review the history of a few of the most popular colors and degree types.
Image Source: Keble Geography
Arts/Literature: White – originates from the white fur used on Oxford and Cambridge hoods.
Image Source: National Catholic Reporter
Theology: Red – used by cardinals for centuries following the traditional color of the church which signifies dedicated love and enthusiasm for faith.
Image Source: The Telegraph
Law: Purple – comes from the royal purple color of the king’s courts.
Image Source: Mother Earth Living
Medicine: Green – comes from the stripe in the army surgeon’s uniform and color of medicinal herbs. They use the color olive for Pharmacy because it’s a medical field.
Image Source: in-Pharma Technologist
Science: Gold – Yellow-signifies the wealth contributed by scientific discoveries.
Image Source: Virtual Memories
Music: Pink – taken from the pink brocade prescribed for the Oxford doctors of music in the 1800s.
Image Source: Wikipedia
Forestry: Russet – taken from old English foresters who wore it in the fall as they drank their Brown October Ale.