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 tha
Contemporary master gown and hood for Smith College.
American academic dress is typically closed at the front and worn with a prescribed cap and hood. On the baccalaureate dress shown, other items, such as scarves, stoles or cords may be seen.
A young Ruth Bader Ginsburg wearing (now since superseded) Bachelor of Laws Columbia Law School academic regalia. Recent Columbia Law School graduates wear doctoral regalia.
The doctoral hood of the California Institute of Technology. Note the blue velvet trim indicating philosophy; for degrees other than the Ph.D., the trim's color corresponds to the subject of the degree being awarded. The interior lining shows the school colors, in this case orange and white.
Tam o' shanter (cap)
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A tam o' shanter or "tammie" is a name given to the traditional Scottish bonnet worn by men. The name derives from Tam o' Shanter, the eponymous hero of the 1790 Robert Burns poem.
Academic dress in the United States
…the Code, and the material is required to match the gown. However, master and doctoral regalia could instead use a velvet four-, six-, or eight-sided tam, but the four-sided mortarboard-shaped tam in velvet is what the Code seems to recommend here; the only color called for is black, in all cases During…
Tartan tam o' shanters.
Statue of Burns wearing a tam o' shanter.
A sergeant of the Royal Scots Fusiliers (right) wearing a tam o' shanter in 1942.