The Cap*

A six or eight cornered velvet tam or beret maybe worn instead of the mortarboard. The tassel on the cap is metalic gold.

The Gown*

The gown is often a traditional black with bell-shaped sleeves, velvet bars, (chevrons) across each sleeve, the president of the college or university has four chevrons on each sleeve, The facing and crossbars may be either black or the color distinctive to the discipline.

The Hood*

The width of the velvet on the hood is five inches. The length of the hood is four feet. The hood is lined with the official color or colors of the degree conferring institution. The color on the border of the hood denotes the field of study.

• Since 1990, the number of Ph.D. awards to African American women increased from 550 to 1,037; an increase of 89 percent.

• The number of Ph.D. awards to African American men increased from 351 in 1990 to 607; an increase of 73 percent.

• In 2002, Howard University, Washington, D.C. awarded 78 Ph.D. awards, the most of any black university.

• The average age of a Black Ph.D. recipient in 2002 was 37.5 compared to 33.9 for White Americans.

• In 1876, Edward A. Bouchet was the first Black to receive a Ph.D. degree from an American University, Yale University.

• The doctorate is the highest earned degree awarded by a graduate school
.
Examples of doctoral degrees:

• Ph.D. – Doctor of Philosophy
• Ed.D. – Doctor of Education
• D.M.A. – Doctor of Musical Arts
• D.B.A. – Doctor of Business Administration

Some business schools award D.B.A. while others award Ph.D.

• John Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, was the first university in the United States to offer doctoral degrees.

The Origin Of The Ph.D. Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), an abbreviation for the Latin "philosophiæ Doctor" (or alliteratively Doctor philosophiæ, D.Phil.) was originally a degree granted by a university to a learned individual who had achieved the approval of his peers and who had demonstrated a long and productive career in the field of philosophy. The appellation of "Doctor" (from Latin: teacher) was usually awarded only when the individual was in middle age. It indicated a life dedicated to learning, to knowledge, and to the spread of knowledge. Philosophy was however, considered the lowest of the faculties and the Ph.D. was phased out in many universities.

The degree was revised in the 19th century at the Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin as a degree to be granted to someone who had under-taken original research in the sciences or humanities. From here it spread to the U.S., arriving in the United Kingdom at the start of the 20th century.