PhD, University of Lancaster
Lancaster was founded in 1964, one of several new foundations in that decade. Its robes incorporate red (for Lancashire) and grey (apparently to mark a Quaker connexion). The PhD has a grey robe with sleeve linings and facings of red, and a red hood lined with red.
1st February 2020
Doctor honoris causa, Bishop Grossteste University, Lincoln
Founded in 1862 as Lincoln Training College, it was renamed to commemorate Robert Grosseteste, a thirteenth-century Bishop of Lincoln. Initially, it awarded degrees validated by Leicester, for which the Leicester hoods were used, with a triple twisted cord of blue, gold, and green to mark the difference. It gained degree-awarding powers in 2006. Its hoods are blue lined red, and all edged with the tri-colour cord. The honorary doctors’ hood reverses the colours, and adds a border of buttercup yellow to the cape and three inches of blue shot green (Wales Arts) to the cowl.
1st January 2020
Pre-1996 PhD, Brunel University
Brunel’s academic dress features distinctive ‘Brunel blue’ velvet. Here it is found in the pre-1996 PhD hood: mushroom cloth in the Cambridge full shape [f1], lined and bound 1″ on the cape with scarlet silk, the cowl bordered inside 3 1/2″ with Brunel blue velvet. Brunel changed the academic dress of its PhD in 1996 in response to the ‘mushroom’ robes being unpopular with graduates. Unfortunately, the new PhD hood does not use the Brunel blue velvet; the only hood in the system not to use it.
1st December 2019
DPhil, University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is currently celebrating the centenary of its awarding the Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) degree. In terms of the academic dress, Oxford regards the DPhil as a full doctorate (unlike Cambridge, for example, which treats its PhD academic dress as an advanced masters’ degree). The DPhil hood is in the Oxford Full shape [f5] and is scarlet cloth lined dark blue silk. The Congregation of the University approved the design of the new DPhil robes in 1917 with 30 placet to 11 non placet. Some objected that this degree should not be treated as a full doctor. The choice of dark blue for the DPhil remains unknown to this day. For further information about the creation of the DPhil academic dress please read: Togas gradui et facultati competentes: The Creation of New Doctoral Robes at Oxford, 1895–1920 by Alan Ross in Transactions of the Burgon Society, Vol. 10.
1st November 2019