Academic Dress of The University of Oxford - When Academic Dress Is Worn

When Academic Dress Is Worn

Academic dress is still worn very often in Oxford, and every undergraduate and graduate must obtain a gown, cap, and white bow tie (for men) or black ribbon (for women) for the purpose of the University matriculation ceremony, where students formally become members of the University.

Regulations regarding gowns differ from college to college, but gowns are commonly worn to:

• Formal Hall (formal dinner, which occurs as frequently as every night in some colleges and as rarely as once a term in others, or not at all)
• Major public lectures
• Chapel
• College collections (tests that take place at the start of term)
• Head of house's collections (end of term academic progress reports)
• College matriculation

Gowns and caps are worn to disciplinary hearings in the Proctors' Court.

In addition, gowns are worn with cap, hood (for graduates), and subfusc to:

• University examinations
• University matriculation
• Graduation ceremonies
• The annual Encaenia (Commemoration) ceremony.

On certain occasions, e.g. the Encaenia garden party, by tradition, graduates wear gown and hood without subfusc.

In 2006, a referendum held amongst the Oxford student body showed 81% against making the wearing of subfusc voluntary in examinations — 4,382 voted in the poll, almost 1,000 more than voted in the previous term's students' union elections. This was widely interpreted by students as not so much being a vote on making subfusc voluntary, but rather a vote on whether or not to effectively abolish it by default, as it was assumed that if a minority of people came to exams without subfusc, the rest would soon follow.