Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - The History of Academic Degrees

Episode Date: June 3, 2021

Every year around June, millions of people will wear robes and put on funny flat hats to receive their university degrees. But why do they all wear robes, and what’s the deal with that flat hat, and why does the hat have a frilly thing hanging off of it? And why do we give out degrees named after unmarried men? And why are some people called a doctor if they don’t have any patients? Learn more about the history of academic degrees on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every year around June, millions of people will wear robes and put on funny hats to receive their university degrees. But why do they all wear robes? And what's the deal with the flat hat? And why does the hat have a frilly thing hanging off of it? While we're at it, why do we give out degrees named after unmarried men? And why are some people called a doctor if they don't have patients? Learn more about the history of academic degrees and all the traditions associated with graduation on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

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The discussion of the history of academic degrees and graduation traditions all have origins that began back in the Middle Ages, with the creation of the first universities. Universities began in a way that was reminiscent of medieval guilds. Early universities can be thought of as guilds of scholars and teachers. In fact, that's where the word university comes from. The Latin phrase, Universitas Magistorium et Scolarium, means a community of teachers and scholars. The first universities, as we know of them today, started in Europe and they were run by monks. The first place we can call a true university was the University of Bologna in Italy, which was founded in 1088.

There was certainly education before this. The ancient Greeks had academies, and tutors would often teach the children of the wealthy for centuries. Prior to the rise of universities, there would be cathedrals and monastic schools, but their education was very basic. The rise of urbanization and the demand for a more professional clergy required something beyond mere literacy. Bologna was the first institute to use. use the university name, grant degrees, offer secular degrees, as well as religious ones,

and was independent of the church or whatever the local secular power was. It was run like a guild, except instead of masons or blacksmith, their profession was knowledge. The degree system we have today loosely mirrors the levels of a guild. They had levels such as apprentice, journeyman, master, and grandmaster. A master's degree was originally just a license to teach. The term comes from the Latin word Magister. Being a master in a field of study was similar to becoming a master in a guild. At first, earning the rank of master only accorded you the ability to teach at the institute where you earned your degree. However, in 1233, Pope Gregory 9th issued a papal bull, allowing those who reached the rank of master at the University of Toulouse to be allowed to teach at any university.

This began the tradition of degrees from one university being recognized by other universities. The doctorate degree was originally considered at the same rank as a master. The word doctor comes from the Latin word for to teach, dokio. The first people who had the word doctor associated with them were early church teachers. The original doctors of the Catholic Church were St. Gregory, St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, and St. Jerome. The first doctorate degrees were awarded by the church, not by universities. They issued what was known as a Lyquentia dokendi, which literally meant a license to teach. in this case referring to theology and religious matters.

Earning a doctorate required nothing more than taking a test, paying a fee, and taking a loyalty oath. As universities became more numerous and grew in prestige, the monopoly the church had in issuing doctorates became a bone of contention. In 1213, Pope Innocent III granted the University of Paris the right to issue doctorates, and it eventually became widespread. The University of Paris, only a few years later in 1231, issued the first Bachelor. degree. The term comes from the medieval Latin word baccoloreus. It wasn't a word that the ancient Romans would have used. The term is borrowed from a knight bachelor. A knight bachelor is the lowest order of knights. They were usually too young or too poor to have vassals or land, and they weren't

inducted into a chivalric order. The word may have been derived from the classical Latin word Baculum, which meant a stick which reflected the wooden swords that they would have trained with. At this time, the term bachelor was also used by guilds and was an equivalent of yeoman or journeymen. It wasn't until the 19th century that the term bachelor began to be used to refer to unmarried men. The early universities restricted themselves to the seven liberal arts, which were broken into two parts, the trivium and the quadrivium. The first bachelor degrees were issued for the study of the trivium, which were considered the basis of the liberal arts, and these included grammar, rhetoric, and logic.

A master's degree was awarded for the study of the quadrivium, which consisted of arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. So at this point in the 13th century, bachelor's and master's degrees were for the study of the secular liberal arts, and a doctorate reflected the ability to teach theology. The rank of master and doctor were considered equivalent at this time, as they both reflected the right and ability to teach. The use of the term doctor to refer to physicians is also a relatively modern thing.

It began to be applied to medical practitioners in the 18th century, regardless if they held a doctorate or not. This system of academic degrees was in use until the 19th century. Most professors and universities didn't have a doctorate. It was usually reserved for doctors of divinity, law, or medicine. A doctorate didn't require a thesis or any original research. It was simply awarded for advanced scholarship. As science and knowledge advanced, universities went beyond the original emphasis on just the liberal arts. In the 17th century, Germany created a degree called the Doctor of Philosophy.

In the 19th century, this morphed into the degree we know today. At first, it was just an equivalent to a Master of Arts. But soon, they demanded original research and a dissertation. The demand for original research drove the popularity of the Ph.D. Students from the United States began going to Germany after completing their bachelor, bachelor degrees, and soon American universities began to follow suit. The first PhD in the United States was awarded by Yale in 1861. As the PhD spread throughout the world in the 19th and 20th centuries, it became seen as more advanced than the master's degree due to the research requirement,

and that is how the current three-tier system of degrees was developed. And just to note, the associate's degree is a recent development which was first created in the UK in the late 19th century, and gained popularity later in the 20th century. Today, it's considered to be between a high school diploma and a bachelor's degree. Graduation gowns were originally developed at medieval universities as a type of dress code. It was both a way to provide uniformity amongst the university and a way to separate themselves from the rest of the community they lived in. The use of gowns in the United States and the Commonwealth countries stems from their adoption at Oxford and Cambridge. Commonwealth countries tend to have open robes, whereas in the

the U.S., the front is usually closed. People who earn their doctorate are usually encouraged to buy special doctoral robes. These will be far more elaborate and have colors that represent the field of study, as well as the university they graduate from. They can cost up to $1,000. Today, the tradition of robes is usually only used for graduation ceremonies. Most graduates just rent a robe and use it for a day. In the United States, this developed after the Civil War when the trend was towards more informal attire. The mortar board, or the square hat graduates wear, is believed to have been derived from the Italian barretta, which was a square-shaped clerical hat. This was originally reserved for people with master's degrees, but it eventually spread to all form of graduates. In other

countries, they wear a less rigid form of headwear, but it still has a large flat top. The tassels attached to the hat were originally used to reflect various degrees. Today, they might be colored to reflect an area of study, and they may have adornments for various honor societies. One modern tradition is to wear the tassel on the right side before the diploma is issued, and then move it to the left side once it's been received. There is an entire academic dress code in the United States, which was created by the American Council of Education, which goes into far more detail about absolutely everything, including how the sleeves should be cut for people getting master's degrees. I will leave this to you as a homework assignment. As with so many things in the modern

world. Much of what we take for granted are actually ancient traditions which have been passed on to us for centuries. Academic degrees and graduation regalia are just a few of those traditions that are still with us today. The associate producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Thor Thompson. If you'd like to support the show, please donate over at patreon.com. There is content only available to supporters, merchandise, and even opportunities for a show producer credit. If you know someone you think would enjoy the show, please share it with them. Also remember, if you leave a five-star review, I'll read your review on the show.