Groves classification system

Last updated June 16, 2024

The Groves Classification is a numbering system to enable the shape of any academic gown or hood to be easily described and identified. It was devised by Nicholas Groves to establish a common terminology for hoods and gowns to remedy the situation of individual universities using differing terms to describe the same item. As such it is used in same manner as an heraldic blazon whereby a textual description enables a coat of arms to be drawn. The system was first described in the Burgon Society's annual in 2001 and adopted as standard by robe makers and scholars of academic dress.^[1]

Classes

The major classes of academic hoods.
	Cape	Cowl	Liripipe
Full
Simple
Aberdeen

The original Groves Classification included a standardization for shapes and patterns of hoods and gowns worn by graduates and undergraduates. Further information was given regarding the use of different fabrics and standardization of colors, but the focus was placed on gowns and hoods which are explained further below.^[1]

The Classification undergoes periodic revision as new hood and gown patterns emerge.

Hoods

Hoods in the Classification are divided into three different types as summarised in the table below. Unlike the gowns and robes, these are based on the shape of the hood rather than the degrees for which they are worn.

[f] full shape hoods are those that have a cape, a cowl and a liripipe.
[s] simple shape hoods have only a cowl and a liripipe.
[a] Aberdeen shape hoods have only a cape and a vestigial cowl.

Code number	Name	Notes
Full shape hoods
[f1]	Cambridge	Cape with square corners.
[f2]	Dublin	As [f1] but the liripipe is curved at the inner corner.
[f3]	London	As [f1] but the cape corners are rounded.
[f4]	Durham Doctors	Used for doctoral degrees at the University of Durham. As [f7] but the liripipe is cut at a 45-degree angle and the cowl is slanted downwards.
[f5]	Oxford Full	Used for doctoral degrees at the University of Oxford. As [f7] but larger and with a narrow squared 'slot' between the liripipe edge and the cape.
[f6]	Durham BA	Traditional shape for BA degrees at the University of Durham. As for [f7] but with a large, semi-circular cape, and the space between the cape and liripipe is cut in a quadrant arc. The liripipe is sewn on separately.
[f7]	Durham BSc	As [f3] but the bottom of the cape has a rounded, semi-circular edge.
[f8]	Edinburgh Full	As [s4] but with a cape sewn on the back.
[f9]	Glasgow	Larger version of [f1], with a longer cape and a long narrow liripipe. Typically made with a wide neckband.
[f10]	St Andrews	Similar to [f3] but the liripipe is slightly slanted outward and has a slight bell-shape to the end.
[f11]	Warham Guild	Created to resemble the more ancient version of the hood.
[f12]	King's Full	Designed by Dame Vivienne Westwood in 2008 and features two long (4') streamers which serve as gown facings. There is no neckband, and the hood is held in place by a button fixed to the each shoulder of the gown. Owing to its unique shape the hood cannot be folded flat. For clergymen that require it, a version with a neckband is available.
[f13]	UMIST
[f14]	ICC Doctors
[f15]	Toronto	As [f14] but the liripipe is vertical rather than slanted.
Simple shape hoods
[s1]	Oxford Simple
[s2]	Oxford Burgon
[s3]	Belfast
[s4]	Edinburgh	As for [f8] with the cape portion removed.
[s5]	Wales
[s6]	Leicester Bachelors
[s7]	Leeds
[s8]	Sussex
[s9]	Victoria
[s10]	Aston
[s11]	Glasgow Caledonian	Designed by Aileen Stewart in 1993
[s12]	King's Simple
Aberdeen shaped hoods
[a1]	CNAA
[a2]	Leicester Masters
[a3]	Kent
[a4]	East Anglia
[a5]	Leicester Doctors
[a6]	Dundee
[a7]	Aberdeen

Gowns

Gowns in the Groves system are divided into three classes. These generally follow the shapes associated with each different academic degree in the British educational system.

[b] bachelor's gowns typically have large open sleeves
[m] master's gowns typically have long closed sleeves with armhole at elbow level
[d] doctor's robes vary in shape widely between institutions and are all classed as [d].

Bachelors

Code	Example	Notes
Bachelors gowns
[b1]	Basic bachelor	plain open sleeves, point reaching knee
[b2]	Cambridge BA	sleeve has slit in foream seam
[b3]	Cambridge MB	front of sleeve has foldback and cord and button
[b4]	London BA	front of sleeve is pleated and held by cord and button
[b5]	Durham BA	lower 8" of forearm seam left open, and held by button and loop
[b6]	Wales BA	lower 6" of forearm seam left open and folded back, held by 2 buttons, with third button on seam in middle
[b7]	Bath BA	as [b5], but with button at top of slit
[b8]	Oxford BA	as [b1], but sleeves reach hem of gown
[b9]	Belfast BA	bell sleeve, pleated as [b4]
[b10]	Dublin BA	as [b1], but sleeves much smaller
[b11]	Reading BA	as [b2], but sleeve point is rounded off
[b12]	Sussex BA	bag sleeve with small armhole

Masters

Code number	[m1]	[m2]	[m3]	[m4]	[m5]	[m6]	[m7]	[m8]	[m9]
Sleeve pattern


Degree	Oxford MA	Cambridge MA	Dublin MA	Wales MA	London MA	Victoria MA	Lampeter BD	Leicester MA	Bristol MA





Basic Master	Lancaster MA	Scottish MA	Not used	Open	Warwick MA	Bath MA	Sussex MA	Manchester MA	King's MA
[m10]	[m11]	[m12]	[m13]	[m14]	[m15]	[m16]	[m17]	[m18]	[m19]

Doctors

Code	Example	Notes
Doctors/Special gowns
[d1]	Cambridge doctors	wide open sleeves, similar to [b1], with the wrist turned back and held with a cord and button
[d2]	Oxford doctors	bell sleeves
[d3]	Cambridge MusD	small bell sleeves with cuff
[d4]	Cambridge LL.D undress	flap-collar (QC's) gown
[d5]	Oxford convocation habit	sleeveless habit closed with two buttons at the front
[d6]	Sussex doctors	MA-style sleeve with vertical slit, base hollowed into B shape
[d7]	Aston	narrow sleeves
[d8]	Cambridge DD undress	bell sleeves gathered at wrist

Headwear

Code	Example	Notes
[h1]	Mortarboard	a square board attached to a skull cap, often with a button and tassel
[h2]	Tudor bonnet	a round soft hat with brim, often with a cord and tassels
[h3]	John Knox cap	a square soft cap
[h4]	Bishop Andrewes cap	like [h1] but soft and with a silk tuff in lieu of button and tassel
[h5]	Oxford ladies' cap	a soft square cap with a flap at the back and held up with two buttons
[h6]	Sussex pileus	a round cylindrical cap with a covered button on the top
[h7]	Leicester doctoral cap	a modified biretta
[h8]	UEA BA	a skull cap with upturned brim (no longer used in practice, though still prescribed officially as the undergraduate cap)
[h9]	UEA MA	a skull cap with a triangular structure on top (no longer used by students, though worn by the Registrar at congregation ceremonies)

Additions

The Groves classification system was first published in 2001. Since that time, it has been adapted and changed to include newly devised academic dress and revisions of existing schemes.^[1] The Burgon Society maintains a comprehensive listing of system shapes on its website. In addition to those included above, the current list classifies undergraduate gowns in use throughout the United Kingdom and academic headwear.^[2]

American doctoral robes

In 2012, David Boven devised a system of classification to include unique doctoral robes in the United States of America. The Intercollegiate Code describes the form of dress for doctors at American institutions, but many have changed the colors of their robes.^[3] Several institutions have even developed unique forms of robes for the doctoral graduates. In all of these instances, there are some cases where ^[3]

ICC Shape

Code	Gown Color	Facing/Bar Color	Piping
[c1]	ICC black	ICC black (or discipline color)	Colored
[c2]	ICC black	Colored	Colored (or black)
[c3]	Colored	ICC black (or discipline color)	Colored (or black)
[c4]	Colored	Colored	Colored (or black)

Unique shapes

Code	Name	Description
[c5]	Princeton	Similar to ICC, but velvet removed from the robe and replaced with faille orange facings and sleeve bars. Sleeves shortened and orange lining added. Designed to be worn open.
[c6]	Stanford	Modified version of the Cambridge doctors [d1] robe. Side panels of gown body cardinal red with black facings and black yoke. Sleeves black with cuffs covered in red and also lined in satin indicating discipline. Facings bear coat of arms. Designed to be worn open.
[c7]	Stony Brook	Blue robes with no sleeve bars, but three gold rays extending from bottom of sleeves and coming to point at shoulder. Right shoulder bears small representation of university’s seal. Rays attached to sleeve at wrist and shoulder, but remain unattached for rest of length.
[c8]	RIT	Based on standard ICC robe with velvet facings and sleeve bars, but with addition of long pointed sleeves similar to the Cambridge doctor’s [d1] robe

Related Research Articles

Academic dress is a traditional form of clothing for academic settings, mainly tertiary education, worn mainly by those who have obtained a university degree, or hold a status that entitles them to assume them. It is also known as academical dress, academicals, or academic regalia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Academic dress of the University of Oxford</span> Dressing code worn by academics at the University of Oxford during specific ceremonies

The University of Oxford has a long tradition of academic dress, which continues to the present day.

The academic dress of Durham University has many similarities with that of other older British universities such as Oxford and Cambridge. Most colleges of Durham University insist on gowns being worn on formal occasions, including matriculation and formal halls (dinners); exceptions are Van Mildert, St Cuthbert's Society, Collingwood, Stephenson, St Aidans, and The College of St Hild and St Bede. Some colleges also insist on their being worn to Junior Common Room meetings, and they are often seen in college chapels. At formal halls, only gowns are worn and doctors normally wear their undress gowns; for more ceremonial occasions full-dress gowns and hoods are worn by graduates. Until 1990, the General Regulations of university 'recommended' the wearing of gowns by members of the university when attending divine service at the Cathedral – but this is now left to individual choice apart from at certain services. Gowns are also customarily worn to meetings of the university Senate by members of that body.

The Burgon Society is a society and educational charity for the study and research of academic dress. The society was founded in 2000 and is named after John William Burgon (1813–1888) from whom the Burgon shape academic hood takes its name. Its current president is Graham Zellick, CBE, QC, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of London. His predecessors were James P. S. Thomson, former Master of London Charterhouse (2011–16) and the organist John Birch.

The academic and official dress of the University of Warwick dates originally from the mid-1960s, shortly after the university's foundation. Despite persistent offers from Charles Franklyn the theatrical costume designer Anthony Powell was commissioned to design robes for officials and graduates of the university. Due to pressure of other work, and some apparent differences of opinion, Powell withdrew from the project, and the robes for graduates subsequently designed in consultation with J. Wippell and Company of Exeter, with Ede and Ravenscroft designing and making the robes for officials.

Academic dress of the University of London describes the robes, gowns and hoods which are prescribed by the university for its graduates and undergraduates.

As the oldest college in the United States, Harvard University has a long tradition of academic dress. Harvard gown facings bear crow's-feet emblems near the yoke, a symbol unique to Harvard, made from flat braid in colours distinctive of the wearer's qualification or degree. Crow's-feet are double for earned degrees, and triple for honorary degrees.

The academic dress of the University of Kent is normally only worn at graduation ceremonies. In common with most British universities a graduand begins the ceremony wearing the dress of the degree to which they are being admitted. This is in contrast to the practice at some universities such as Oxford where a graduand only dons the dress of a degree after it has been conferred.

This page describes the different types of academic dress allowed at the University of Exeter. Definitions of the academic dress for the award holders and officials of the university are set out in the university's regulations.

Academic dress prescribed at the Trinity College Dublin follows a relatively complex protocol which, nonetheless, shares some particular characteristics with other universities in Ireland and with its sister institutions at the University of Oxford and University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

Academic dress of the University of Manchester describes the gowns, hoods and headwear which are prescribed by the university for its graduates and officers.

Graduates and associates of Imperial College London wear its academic dress. After gaining its independence from the University of London in 2007, graduates began wearing Imperial academic dress in 2008. The unifying colour for Imperial's academic dress is purple after the work by William Henry Perkin.

The academic dress of the United Kingdom and Ireland has a long history and has influenced the academic dress of America and beyond. The academic square cap was invented in the UK as well as the hood which developed from the lay dress of the medieval period.

Academic dress has a history in the United States going back to the colonial colleges era. It has been most influenced by the academic dress traditions of Europe. There is an Inter-Collegiate Code that sets out a detailed uniform scheme of academic regalia that is voluntarily followed by many, though not all institutions entirely adhere to it.

The academic regalia of Stanford University describes the robes, gowns, and hoods which are prescribed by the university for its graduates. Stanford University was founded in 1891 and academic dress has been a part of academic life at the school since at least 1899. As in most American universities, the academic dress found at Stanford is derived from that of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, which was a development of academic and clerical dress common throughout the medieval universities of Europe. Today, also in common with most American universities, academic regalia is commonly seen only at graduation ceremonies. For most of its academic dress, Stanford follows the Intercollegiate Code of Academic Costume which was devised in 1895 and sets out a detailed uniform scheme of academic regalia. Stanford does make use of a distinct robe for its PhD graduates which is unique among American institutions of higher education in being based specifically on the doctoral robes of the University of Cambridge.

The academic dress of the Robert Gordon University is normally only worn at graduation ceremonies and occasionally at other very formal events. In common with most British universities, a graduand of the Robert Gordon University begins the ceremony wearing the dress of the degree to which they are being admitted except for the hood. This is in contrast to the practice at some universities such as Oxford where a graduand only dons the dress of a degree after it has been conferred. The current pattern of academic dress dates from 1992 when the institution became a university.

Academic dress of King's College London describes the robes, gowns, and hoods worn by undergraduates, graduates and associates of King's College London. After being vested the power to award its own degrees from the University of London in 2006, graduates began wearing King's College London academic dress in 2008.

An epitoge is a garment worn over the left shoulder that sometimes forms part of academic or court dress.

The current academic dress of the National University of Ireland was simplified following a review in 1999. The design of the gowns generally follows that of Oxford. The hoods are primarily green, representing Ireland, and generally follow the design of Dublin or Belfast.

The academic regalia of Columbia University are the robes, gowns, and hoods which are prescribed by the university for its graduates. As one of the oldest universities in the United States, Columbia University has a long tradition of academic dress dating back to its founding in the 18th century, when it became the second university in the country to formally adopt academic robes. The development of Columbia's academic regalia has strongly influenced those of most universities in the United States. Since the passing of the Intercollegiate Code of Academic Costume in 1895, the style of academic dress worn at the university in the late 20th century has served as the basis of those of most other universities in the country. Though once worn daily by students at the university, caps and gowns now are only worn during commencement.

References

1 2 3 Groves, Nicholas (2001), "Towards a Standard Terminology for Describing Academic Dress" (PDF), The Burgon Society Annual, 1: 9–12, archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-23, retrieved 2011-04-04.
↑ "The Design of Academical Dress". The Burgon Society. Archived from the original on 2009-02-23. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
1 2 Boven, David T. (2012). "A Touch of Colour: Surveying Variation in American Academic Dress and a System of Categories for Departures". Transactions of the Burgon Society. 12: 86–102. doi: 10.4148/2475-7799.1102 . Retrieved 26 February 2020.