May 2007: UAA holds 2nd Annual Master's Degree Hooding Ceremony

Event provides special recognition for master degree graduates

 

UAA adds to the graduation experience with a master's candidate hooding ceremony on Saturday, May 5 from 10 a.m. to noon in the Wendy Williamson Auditorium.  A short reception after the ceremony in the foyer of the auditorium will allow graduates, faculty and family members to share congratulations.  Nearly 200 students will participate in this year's hooding ceremony, twice the number of last year.  

This special hooding ceremony makes it possible to focus on advanced degree candidates and their accomplishments.  It allows graduate faculty and staff, family and friends a chance to witness the ceremonial hooding of their graduate student in a more intimate setting.  UAA's Master's Degree Hooding Ceremony does not take the place of Commencement.  Graduate students will continue to walk, receive their diplomas and have their degrees conferred at Commencement on Sunday.

Among the ceremony's participants are graduates of UAA's Master of Science in Project Management (MSPM) Alaska Airlines cohort.  These ten students participated in a customized fast tracked program designed by MSPM chair Dr. Jang Ra, allowing students to complete their coursework in a short 18 months rather than the normal two years.  To facilitate the process, UAA professors traveled to Seattle every-other-weekend to teach at the Alaska Airlines campus.  A wide range of Alaska Airlines employees participated in the program and have benefited greatly by earning their advanced degree from UAA.

History and significance of the graduate hood
The origins of academic dress date back to the 12th and 13th centuries, when universities were taking form.  Regardless of whether the scholar was a student or a teacher, they wore ordinary dress of a cleric.  With few exceptions, the medieval scholar had taken at least minor orders, made certain vows, and perhaps been tonsured.  Long gowns were worn and may have been necessary for warmth in unheated buildings.  Hoods seem to have served to cover the tonsured head until superseded for that purpose by the skull cap.

Today, hoods are the most expressive component of the academic costume. They serve to communicate the owner's school, degree and field of study through their length and the colors of the lining and binding.  Today's hoods have evolved from a serviceable article of clothing to a type of elongated scarf draped over the shoulders and displayed down the back with the lining turned inside out.

UAA master's degree graduates and candidates receive their hood because of the level of education they have pursued beyond the baccalaureate degree.  The University of Alaska Anchorage's colors are gold and green, hence these colors on the hood.  The velvet trim on the hood signifies the scholar's field.  For example, a Master of Education recipient will have his gold and green hood trimmed in light blue; a Master of Science recipient will have his gold and green hood trimmed in golden yellow.