The wearing of academic robes is a survival of one aspect of life in the Middle Ages. When American colleges and universities wanted to adopt a system of academic apparel, they met at Columbia University and suggested a by-law, regulation or statute for the establishment of a suitable code of dress for the colleges and universities of the United States.

In 1939, and again in 1959, the American Council on Education revised the costume code. The following is condensed from the code published in 1960.

Gowns
Pattern: Pointed sleeves for the bachelor's degree, oblong sleeves open at the wrist for the master's degree and bell-shaped sleeves for the doctor's degree.

Trimmings: None for the bachelor's or master's. For the doctor's degree, the gown is faced down the front with black velvet with three bars of the same across the sleeves, or these bars may be of velvet of the color distinctive of the faculty or subject to which the degree pertains.

For all academic purposes, including trimmings of doctor's gowns, edgings of hoods and tassles of caps, the colors associated with the different subjects are:

Arts and Letters--white
Business--light brown
Education--light blue
Engineering--orange
Fine Arts--brown
International Affairs--peacock blue
Law--purple
Library Science--lemon
Medicine--green
Music--pink
Nursing--apricot
Philosophy--dark blue
Physical Education--sage green
Public Health--salmon pink
Science--golden yellow
Theology--scarlet

The hoods are lined with the official color or colors of the college or university that granted the degree. Montclair State's colors are red and white. The colors of the outside trim of the hood associated with the degrees are as follows:

Master of Arts (M.A.)--white
Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.)--light blue
Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.)--brown
Master of Education (M.Ed.)--light blue
Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.)--brown
Master of Science (M.S.)--gold

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)--white
Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.)--brown
Bachelor of Music (B.Mus.)--pink
Bachelor of Science (B.S.)--gold