The academic dress of Durham University is fairly similar to that of Oxford. Most Durham colleges insist on undergraduate gowns being worn on formal occasions - primarily matriculation and formal halls (dinners) - exceptions are Van Mildert, St Cuthbert's Society, Collingwood, Stephenson, St Aidans, and The College of St Hild and St Bede (matriculation only). Gown and hoods are worn for graduations, but mortarboards, while officially part of the academic dress of the University, are not. When in full dress, Doctors wear soft square hats (known as John Knox caps) rather than mortarboards or Tudor bonnets. At formal halls, only gowns are worn and doctors normally wear their undress gowns. Members of the University may also wear gowns when attending services at the Cathedral ??but this is left to individual choice apart from at certain services (such as the Founders and Benefactors service). Gowns are also worn to meetings of the university Senate by members of that body.

miller">http://www.himfr.com/buy-miller_high_life_shirt/">miller high life shirtNote that as some colleges do not wear undergraduate gowns, it is entirely possible to pass through an undergraduate degree at Durham, graduate in absentia, and never have to wear a gown. Alternatively, by attending a college with frequent formals (twice a week at Castle, Chad's and Hatfield) and attending evensong at the cathedral regularly, it is possible to spend a fair proportion of one's life in a gown.

There are four main gowns in the Durham scheme, corresponding to the four levels within the University: Undergraduates, Bachelors, Masters, and Doctors. In addition to these, variants of the Oxford Lay (or Gimp) gown, are used for the MMus and for the undress DMus gown. With the exception of the full-dress doctors' gowns, all Durham gowns are black.

This gown is basically the same as the Oxford Scholars' gown - a knee-length gown gathered at the yoke with elbow-length bell sleeves - but with the forearm seam opened about four inches from the bottom. These are worn in most colleges (but not all) to formal halls (dinners) and to matriculation. Some colleges also insist on their being worn to Junior Common Room meetings. Regulations on the wearing of undergraduate gowns are technically set by the colleges, but in many colleges the regulations are decided by the JCRs.

The Durham Scholars' gown (rarely seen outside college chapels) is longer and has the forearm seam sewn up, e.g. identical to the Oxford Scholars'. The Hild and Bede college gown, retained from before the college became a constituent college of the University, differs from other Durham gowns in being made of brocaded fabric and being shorter. The St Chad's gown (rarely seen outside of Matriculation) is based on the Oxford Scholars' gown, but adds two black buttons at the lower end of the forearm, joined across the (open) seam by 5 inches of twisted green cord.

Essentially a larger version of the undergraduate gown. It is longer, coming to somewhere between mid-calf and the ankle, with sleeves hanging down almost as far. The major difference between this and the Oxford BA gown is that the forearm seam is opened for around 15-20 cm above the wrist, where it is held closed with a button and loop. The arm is normally passed through the opening thus created so the arm is exposed from around the elbow rather than being covered to the wrist as is the case with the Oxford gown.

The bachelors' gown is used by all bachelors except for the BD, who use the masters' gown. It is also used for the four-year undergraduate masters' courses, such as the MEng and the MSci.

The masters' gown is identical to the Oxford MA gown, with the addition of a black cord and button on the yoke (making it identical to the Oxford BD gown). It is similar to the bachelors' gown, except that the long sleeves are rectangular and closed at the ends, with a crescent cut out of each sleeve-end, and a horizontal arm-slit just above the elbow.

The masters gown is used for post-graduate masters courses, except for the MMus which has its own gown, and as the undress gown for doctors. Doctors of Divinity wear the gown with a black silk scarf - making this identical to the Oxford DD undress gown, while the junior doctors (PhDs and EdDs) are distinguished by a palatinate cord and button on the yoke.

Postgraduate Diplomas and Certificates: Same gown as BA, ie the bachelors' gown.