History
The Origin of Commencement
The origin of the commencement ceremony can be traced to Medieval Europe as the ceremony of initiation for new university teachers. The first academic degree was conferred at the University of Bologna, Italy in 1160 A.D. In those days, students who had completed their learning and thesis would be admitted to the Guild of Masters of Arts and granted licence to teach by the Pope and in the name of the Holy Trinity.
The practice of awarding degrees was subsequently adopted by many other European universities. In US, most universities’ degree award procedures are modelled after the practice developed at the University of Paris in the late 12th or early 13th century.
The commencement ceremony is now a universal practice adopted by colleges and universities worldwide.
The Traditions of Academic Regalia
The full academic regalia consists of a traditional gown, a hood and mortarboard/cap with tassel. The origins of academic dress date back to the 12th and 13th centuries, when universities were taking form. The original dress of a scholar was the dress of a cleric. As buildings in those days were unheated, long gowns with hood were worn for protection against the cold.
Gown
Black is the most common color for academic gown. The gown for the bachelor’s degree has pointed sleeves and is designed to be worn closed. For master’s degree, the gown has an oblong sleeve and it may be worn open or closed. The doctoral gown is faced down the front with black or colored velvet and with three bars of the same color across the sleeves. The doctoral gown typically has bell-shaped sleeves and may be worn open or closed.
Hood
The colours of the hood signify the field of study.
Mortarboard
The mortarboard is usually square with a tassel attached to the middle point of the top of the cap. The tassel is usually black but may be gold for the doctoral degree. At commencement, graduates traditionally wear the tassel on the right side, moving it to the left when their degree is conferred. Faculty participating in academic ceremonies wear the tassel to the left throughout the proceedings.
Ceremonial & Official Gowns
The SMU ceremonial gowns include those for the Patron, Chancellor, Chairman and the Cabinet Minister. The SMU official gowns are worn by the President, Provost, Vice Provost and the Deans. These gowns are blue with gold trimmings and SMU crests embroidered on the facings. The gown is to be worn with blue mortarboard with gold tassel.
University Mace
The university mace symbolizes the unique character, mission and values of the university. Originally a weapon of war, it also represents the university’s power to grant degrees. In a ceremony, the mace is used as an instrument of pomp to signify order and authority in academic procession. The mace is often made of silver or gold and decorated with diamonds, rubies, sapphires or other precious stones.
The SMU mace has a ‘retro-modernist’ design, incorporating the traditional uses and metaphors of a mace, with modern aesthetics suitable for the 21st century beginnings of a university. At the top of the headset is the reference to Singapore, represented by a titanium disc and the text “SINGAPORE 2000”. This suggests hierarchy, with the country and state at the very pinnacle. The three sectional banners of the headset bear the symbol of the “Tangram Lion”, representing SMU. The three sectional banners also represent the values of SMU in innovative pedagogy, research and educational excellence. The three jadeite inserts on each side of each quadrant banner symbolize the staff and students of SMU, the community at large and Singapore. Various materials are used in the stem to represent different attributes of SMU. Precious metals such as gold are used to symbolize prestige, longevity and prosperity. On the upper section of the stem, titanium has been selected for its dynamic qualities of strength and versatility. The semi-circular orb base with diamond inserts represents the foundational aspects of SMU’s solid beginnings as a university.
