ACADEMIC ATTIRE

Ordering

Cap and gown measurements for graduates in clinical programs were taken prior to leaving campus for your rotations.  If we missed getting your cap and gown measurements, you will be contacted by Matthews Bookstore for your measurements.  Please check your email and U.S. mail for any information.

MPH, MHA and Post-Professional DPT graduates will receive information for providing measurements for caps and gowns.

Distribution

Caps and gowns will be distributed through Matthews Bookstore the week of Commencement.  Please check the Commencement website in March for the distribution information.

MPH, MHA and PPDPT graduates who will not arrive in time for on-campus distribution will get attire the morning of the ceremony at Hy-Vee Hall.

Dress

Graduates should wear attire that harmonizes with the gown.  Shoes and other visible attire should be dark colored.  Men should wear dark shoes, socks and dark trousers.  Women should wear dark colored clothing and dress shoes.  The gown looks best when worn with a blouse that does not show through the V-neck.   Absolutely no adornment is permitted on the gown or mortarboard.  

Mortarboard

The mortarboard is to be worn flat on the head with the pointed cap pulled onto the forehead.  It should be parallel to the ground so that the tassel can fall straight down the side of the wearer’s face. 

Hood

Hooding of doctoral candidates is a cherished academic tradition at DMU. During this ceremonial ritual, the doctoral hood is placed over the shoulders of the graduates to signify the professional status attained by terminal degree holders.  DMU’s ceremonial protocol provides for the on-stage hooding of all doctoral candidates.  As a graduate-level health profession University, DMU recognizes the doctoral degree as the highest degree available in the medical, health care, administration and public health fields.  Candidates for the master’s degree wear their hoods throughout the ceremony.   Based on academic protocol, a graduate wears only one hood representing the highest degree earned or the hood representing the primary academic program.  Review the hooding policy here.

Hooding for Doctoral Degrees

Customarily, the honor of hooding is reserved for faculty in recognition of their role in the education of the graduates for a terminal degree. However, the University's hooding policy does allow direct line relatives (parents, grandparents, siblings and spouse) who hold a DO, DPM, DPT or MD degree the honor of hooding graduates.  To request a guest hooder, click here to download the form. The completed application must be submitted by March 15, 2012.

Graduates may keep mortarboards and tassel.  The hoods have been rented, along with the robe.  Graduates who wish to purchase a hood should contact Matthews Bookstore at 515-271-1613 or Matthews.Bookstore@dmu.edu. 
               
Adornment

The Academic Code is very clear on the subject of adornments.  Other than the velvet trimmings and faculty colors, the code states, “Nothing else should be worn on the academic gown.”  To maintain standards for a professional ceremony and to respect Commencement as a celebration for academic achievement, DMU does not allow any adornments, with the exception of honor cords, to be worn with the gown.  Marshals will be instructed to remove and replace mortarboards with decorations, and to have graduates or faculty remove items of personalization, including jewelry, corsages, or other means of individualization.

Protocols

At Commencement, graduates march in the gown appropriate to the degree they will receive.  Candidates may wear only one hood at a time and it should be appropriate to the gown.  For example, an individual receiving both a doctoral and a master’s degree at the same ceremony marches in the attire of the higher (terminal) degree and will wear only one hood, that of the higher degree.  An individual receiving two master’s degrees wears only one hood, generally to indicate the primary or initial degree field.