The University of Cambridge has a long tradition of academic dress, which it traditionally refers to as academical dress. Almost every degree which is awarded by the university has its own distinct gown in addition to having its own hood. Undergraduates wear college gowns, which are all subtly different; these differences enable the wearer's college to be determined. Academic dress is worn quite often in Cambridge on formal, and sometimes informal, occasions, and there are a number of rules and customs governing when and how it is worn. Black gowns (undress) are worn at less formal events, while on special occasions (such as the days of General Admission to Degrees) full academical dress is worn, consisting of gown, hood and headdress with doctors in festal dress. The university's officials also have ancient forms of academic dress, unique to the university.
When academic dress is worn Most undergraduates buy or borrow a gown in their first week at Cambridge for the purpose of matriculation, which is the formal ceremony of enrolment in the university. It is more common to buy an undergraduate gown as the number of occasions on which it is worn quickly repays the investment. Gowns are often recycled between 'generations', as new graduate students in turn need to upgrade their gowns at the start of the academic year.
In most colleges, gowns are worn to Formal Hall (formal dinner, held every night in some colleges, once or twice a term in a few others) and to chapel. Various college events also demand academic dress; for example, in the Trinity College regulations for members in statu pupillari, it specifies that certain senior members of the college (such as the dean) prefer students to wear a gown when addressing them in their official capacity (often when having been 'Deaned' for breaking the college rules). The extent to which these rules apply vary greatly from college to college, some dispensing with academic attire even for Formal Hall.
On special occasions, fuller academic dress is used, often including hoods. Students taking part in graduation ceremonies at the Senate House always wear a gown and hood, and the university sets out strict rules regarding which gown and hood a graduating student should wear, and there are regulations on the colour and formality of clothing that may be worn. Gowns and hoods may also be worn when attending chapel, and hoods may be worn with choir dress or a surplice.
Components of Cambridge academic dress
When wearing full academic dress, an individual wears the gown, hood and sometimes headdress of the highest degree he has already received from the University of Cambridge. One who does not hold a Cambridge degree (such as an undergraduate, or a graduate of another university) normally wears a gown according to their status in the university, i.e., undergraduate, BA status or MA status (see below), without the 'strings' which are attached to the gowns of Cambridge graduates. Graduates of other universities may wear the academic dress of those universities on 'scarlet days', unless they are university officials or participating in a degree ceremony, but this has only been permitted since 1998.
A graduand (someone about to be presented for a degree) wears the full academic dress of the highest status Cambridge degree that they already hold. Graduands who do not already hold a Cambridge degree wear the gown appropriate to their status in the university, along with the hood of the degree to which they are about to be admitted. Undergraduates (who do not yet hold a Cambridge degree) wear their undergraduate gowns, with the hood of the degree that they are about to receive. Thus, for example, an undergraduate graduating to a BA degree wears an undergraduate gown and a BA hood. A holder of a BA from Cambridge graduating to a PhD wears a BA gown and hood, whereas a graduate of another university graduating to a PhD wears a BA or MA status gown and PhD hood.
Medical graduates completing their clinical years wear the gown and hood of the B.Chir degree. This is because the B.Chir degree is conferred in absentia as soon as the list of people passing the Final M.B. examination is posted outside Senate House. This was to prevent the necessity for a 'double graduation' ceremony. It is common practice for students to hire the B.Chir academic dress, rather than purchase it, since it is superseded by the M.B. academic dress post graduation. Where students have completed both pre-clinical and clinical years at Cambridge, many do not purchase the M.B. academic dress, hiring it for occasions requiring academic dress (Alumni Formal Hall etc.) as this is superseded a couple of years later when the automatic Oxbridge MA is granted. Medical students graduate at the end of the third year with a Cambridge BA, and for this ceremony are treated as any other students graduating with a BA.
The full list of degrees and their order of seniority is given in the Ordinances of the university: roughly speaking, in descending order of rank the degrees are higher doctorates such as the DD or ScD, the PhD and other initial doctorates such as the MD or EdD, Master's degrees, and finally Bachelor's degrees. These different groups of degrees are distinguished by different academic dress.
Gowns
The gowns in use at Cambridge, like those generally used throughout the UK but not the US, are open-fronted. The main types seen are the undergraduate gown, Bachelor of Arts gown and Master of Arts gown, though the sleeves of graduates' gowns are adorned with various patterns that indicate the exact degree or degrees that they possess, and allow this to be determined even when hoods are not being worn. In addition, for Scarlet days, Doctors (either of Philosophy, or one of the more senior doctorates) wear special dress gowns, distinguished by the use of scarlet.
Undergraduates All undergraduate gowns resemble knee-length versions of the BA gown, and the basic gown is black, reaching down to just below the knees with an open pointed sleeve and the forearm seam left open. Most colleges' gowns include minor variations on this pattern, such as sleeve decorations. The most distinct differences are the blue colour of the undergraduate gowns of Trinity and Caius and the blue facings of Selwyn. Illustrations and descriptions of the various collegiate gowns are available from the university's Heraldic and Genealogical Society website.
BA and MA
The two most common graduate gowns in Cambridge are the BA gown and the MA gown. Unlike in most other universities, except Oxford and Trinity College Dublin, no Bachelor's degree other than the BA is awarded (except the graduate vocational course Bachelor of Theology for Ministry). All undergraduates at Cambridge traditionally graduated with a BA degree after three years, although it is now common for many graduates in scientific subjects also to obtain a Master's degree, such as an MEng or MSci, after a further year of study and graduate to both degrees at once.
As in Oxford and Dublin, BAs are automatically entitled to proceed to the degree of Master of Arts after a period of time (see also Master of Arts (Oxbridge and Dublin)). In Cambridge, this period is six years from the end of the first term after matriculation provided this is at least two years from the award of the BA – BAs are thus eligible for the MA at the first graduation ceremony in the seventh calendar year after matriculation.
The BA gown is a long black stuff (cloth) gown with long pointed sleeves to the wrists with the forearm seam left open from near the shoulder to around 3-4" from the wrist. The gown is gathered at the back in a yoke, and falls down to just below the knees. The BA hood is of black cloth, bound and half-lined in white fur, which by regulation is artificial., see footnote
The MA gown is similar to the BA gown, except that it has "boot" sleeves, which are long, rectangular and closed at the ends, with a crescent cut out of each sleeve-end which curves at the top (unlike the Oxford MA gown), and a horizontal arm-slit just above the elbow. It falls down to calf length (slightly longer than the BA gown) and may be made of silk. The MA hood is of black silk lined in white silk.
Other Master's degree gowns vary from subject to subject at Cambridge; for example, the Master of Engineering (MEng) and MSci gowns are the standard MA gown but with a circle of cord on each sleeve, and a corresponding hood is worn. The MPhil gown is the same as the MSci gown, but instead of an embroidered wheel, it has two buttons connected by a vertical cord running from the sleeve slit to the shoulder.
People without a Cambridge degree (including those with a degree from another university) wear a 'BA status' or 'MA status' gown, which is identical to a BA or MA gown but (nominally) with the 'strings' (black ribbons attached inside the shoulder) removed or hidden from view. The BA status gown is for those aged under twenty-four while the MA gown is for those aged twenty-four or over. (The rationale is that Cambridge students would usually join the University at 18, obtain their BA after three years, at 21, and their MA after a further three years, at 24.)
Doctors
Doctors in Cambridge have two forms of academic dress: undress and full dress (or scarlet). Scarlet is worn on formal college and university occasions, and so-called Scarlet Days (see below).
The undress gown or black gown is similar to the MA gown (for PhD, MD, VetMD, BusD, EngD, EdD, LittD, ScD and in practice DD) or is a 'lay-type' gown similar to that worn by King's Counsel (LLD, MedScD, MusD). Different doctorates are distinguished from each other and from the plain MA gown by different arrangements of lace on the sleeves, facings or flap collar. The DD traditionally had a gown with sleeves gathered at the wrists, like those on American gowns, which are called 'bishop's sleeves' or 'pudding sleeves'.
Undress gowns may be made of silk or stuff. The gown may be worn with a doctor's hood. The PhD hood, the one most commonly seen, is made of black corded silk lined with scarlet cloth, and other 'lower' doctorates have variants on the same scheme with different colours lining the black hood. The hoods of higher doctors are made of red cloth and lined with silk in the faculty colour (scarlet for letters, pink shot light blue for science, light cherry for laws, mid cherry for medicine, dove grey for divinity). The MusD hood is of cream damask lined with dark cherry satin.
The full dress or scarlet gown differs for each doctorate. For PhDs, and also MD, VetMD, BusD, EngD and EdD who share the same scarlet gown, there are two versions of the robe. The traditional version is the same as the MA gown (in theory, though not in practice, the silk version), with the addition of a broad red cloth stripe down each side at the front. The alternative version (authorised in 2006 but commonly used without authorisation before then) uses detachable facings on an undress PhD gown, which is distinguished from the MA gown by doctors' lace on the sleeves that is not found on the traditional festal PhD gown. For the higher doctorates other than MusD (DD, LLD, ScD, LittD, and MedScD), the scarlet gown is made of scarlet cloth and has open sleeves that hang long at the back. The linings of the sleeves and the facings are in silk of the colour of the hood lining. At the sleeve front, the lining is turned outwards and is fixed in position by a twisted cord and button. The MusD gown is of cream damask, with much shorter sleeves, lined and faced with deep cherry satin.
Scarlet day