Doctoral hat
Encyclopedia
Academic dress
Academic dress or academical dress is a traditional form of clothing for academic settings, primarily tertiary education, worn mainly by those that have been admitted to a university degree or hold a status that entitles them to assume them...
of Ph.D.
Doctor (title)
Doctor, as a title, originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb docēre . It has been used as an honored academic title for over a millennium in Europe, where it dates back to the rise of the university. This use spread...
recipients in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. It is a silken top hat
Top hat
A top hat, beaver hat, high hat silk hat, cylinder hat, chimney pot hat or stove pipe hat is a tall, flat-crowned, broad-brimmed hat, predominantly worn from the latter part of the 18th to the middle of the 20th century...
with a straight brim, although the hats of Finnish Doctors of Science (Technology) have an up-turned brim. Generally the colour of the hat is black, although a few faculties use coloured doctoral hats. On the front, the hat has a gold-coloured metallic emblem of the granting university or faculty. The hat is awarded in a solemn graduation ceremony.
Features
The basic colour of the hat is black. However, in Finland, other colors are found, as follows:- Doctors of Theology use purple;
- Doctors of Medicine and Dentistry use dark green;
- Doctors of Law use crimson;
- Doctors of Fine arts use dark blue;
- Doctors of Music use sky blue.
Swedish doctoral hats are always black.
Obtainment and use
Doctoral hats are hand-made, with the owner's head measured using a device called a conformateur. The hat should rest on the top of the head. The typical price for the doctoral hat is around 500 euroEuro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
s.
A doctoral hat is always worn with the white tie
White tie
White tie is the most formal evening dress code in Western fashion. It is worn to ceremonial occasions such as state dinners in some countries, as well as to very formal balls and evening weddings...
style of formal dress in lieu of a tophat. In practice, the hat is mostly worn on academic occasions, such as opening ceremonies, commencement, and disputation
Disputation
In the scholastic system of education of the Middle Ages, disputations offered a formalized method of debate designed to uncover and establish truths in theology and in sciences...
s. In the disputations, the supervising professor and the opponent carry their hats, but do not wear them. During disputations, the hats rest on the table, with the university emblems towards the audience.
A doctoral hat is personal and is usually not lent to others. Along with the doctoral sword (found in Finland only, and not in all faculties), doctoral tailcoat facings (in certain universities), doctoral bibles (in Theological faculties), and doctoral ring
Doctoral ring
In Swedish and Danish academia, a doctoral ring may be bestowed upon the conferral of a doctorate. Together with the doctoral hat, it forms part of the academic regalia. Doctoral rings are made of gold and in a design specific to the conferring faculty...
s (in Sweden), it forms part of the doctoral academic regalia.
The hat is usually stored in a specially-made storage box.