Regalia and nomenclature

Academic regalia: Faculty

Academic regalia of faculty is that of their highest award recognized by WU. If they do not have a qualification recognized by WU that entitles them to wear a hood, then they shall wear a black mortarboard with black tassel, a black stuff gown, and a black unlined silken hood in simple shape.

Academic regalia: Students

Degree/ qualification Gown Mortarboard tassel Hood
Certificate Black None None
Associate Black Black Black knee-length sash, four inches wide, with colored* one-inch wide trim across each end
Diploma Black Black Colored* knee- length sash, four inches wide
Bachelor Black Black Black stuff hood of simple shape with silk lining in the color of the degree
Graduate Diploma Black Black Black stuff hood of simple shape with silk lining in the color of the degree
Master Black with two black velvet sleeve bands Black Black stuff hood of simple shape with silk lining in the color of the degree, and three-inch gold silk edging
Doctor Red with three black velvet sleeve bands Red Black stuff hood of Cambridge shape with silk lining in the color of the degree, and five-inch wide gold silk edging
Fellow Red with three black velvet sleeve bands Red Red silk hood of Cambridge shape with five-inch wide gold silk lining
Honorary doctorate Red with three black velvet sleeve bands Red Red silk hood of Cambridge shape with five-inch wide gold silk lining
  1. All mortarboards are black stuff.
  2. All gowns are made of stuff and are of Oxford shape.
  3. *Degree colors shall follow the Academic Costume Code of the Americal Council on Education. When the color for the degree specialization is different from the color for the degree title, the color of the specialization is appropriate. (E.g. a Doctor of Education with a specialization in teaching humanities follows humanities rather than education.)

Titles

Doctoral students who have progressed to candidature and conferees of WU degrees shall be entitled to use postnominals. There are two versions. The short version is for ordinary use, while the longer version is only used for more comprehensive listings. For example:

Degree/status Short Abbreviation Long abbreviation
Master of Education M.Ed. M.Ed. WU
Doctor of Education (Candidate) Ed.D. (Cand.) Ed.D. (Cand.) WU
Doctor of Education Ed.D. Ed.D. WU
Doctor of Divinity (Honaris causa) D.D. (Hon.) D.D. (Hon.) WU
Doctor of the University (Christian Letters) (Honaris causa) D.Univ. (Hon.) D.Univ. (Hon.) WU
  1. Conferees of the degrees of Doctor (including honorary doctorates) are entitled to:
    1. append Doctor (Dr.) before their names.
    2. be addressed as Doctor at formal occasions.
  2. Exceptions
    1. Some US states forbid the use of degree titles unless the qualification is accredited.
    2. It is not normally recommended to use both the prenominal and postnominal together. However, some US states require written forms to have both to prevent the impression that the conferee is a medical practitioner.