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These are the days of graduations. College and universities, high schools, middle and even elementary and preschools. Most have some ceremonial recognition of the years of study and level of education. What’s the one thing they have in common? A diploma!
Most of us have at least one diploma tucked away or hung on the office wall, for some. But when and how did the practice of awarding diplomas start?
As with many words, diploma has its roots in Latin and Greek. According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, diploma comes via Latin from the Greek, diplōma meaning folded paper, also from diploun, to fold, and from diploos, to double. It means “an official or state document; a writing usually under seal conferring some honor or privilege and a document bearing record of graduation from or of a degree conferred by an educational institution.”
The word diploma referring to an official or state document didn’t come into use until the early 1600s. Harvard, started the tradition of awarding a diploma at graduation ceremonies. At British Universities, the practice had been to announce the degree graduates and provide certification of those degrees only upon request.
In 1642, Harvard College held their first commencement. The College President, Henry Dunster, conferred degrees on each of the nine graduates. He handed each “a Booke of Arts” that was then handed back at the end of the ceremony.
Originally diplomas were made of a thin sheepskin. Paper was available but it was expensive and hard to produce. It wasn’t until the early 1800s that industrialization made paper easier to obtain.
The process for a graduate to get a document confirming his attainment of a Harvard degree, usually necessary for travel abroad, was quite complicated. A calligrapher had to be hired to write the inscription on parchment (sheepskin). Then the graduate was required to pay the Harvard president to sign it. This practice meant that early diplomas from Harvard were in varying sizes, depending on the size of parchment the graduate (or his family) could afford. They were all inscribed in Latin text.
A minister’s son, James Ward, was the first Harvard graduate to have a diploma made when he earned his A.B. degree in 1645. It wasn’t until much later, 1813, that Harvard graduates began receiving diplomas at graduation. The diplomas were uniformly sized, and the common text was still in Latin.
To this day, some schools have maintained the practice of awarding diplomas written in Latin. Boston University, Brown University, Columbia. U Penn, Barnard, Princeton, and Yale are among the many.
Up until the last century, diplomas were rolled up and tied with a ribbon, often in the school colors. Sheepskin rolls easily and can be unrolled often without falling apart. This was useful for traveling scholars who needed proof of their education. However, such parchment diplomas curl or crinkle in humidity.
In the 1900s, diplomas tended to have beautiful designs and lovely calligraphy. There were fewer graduates and schools focused more on decorative designs of the certificates. Diplomas were individually signed. Early diplomas often had the school’s seal stamped or pasted on the parchment or vellum.
With the increased number of students in schools in the late 1950s - 1990s came a higher demand for diplomas. Digital printing and mass production met the demand, but altered the look of diplomas. Diplomas now have a simpler design although the use of colored ink is more prevalent. And school seals and lettering are embossed on some schools’. Now diplomas are printed on a high-quality paper or even “synthetic parchment” – paper with an oil finish to achieve the translucent quality of thin sheepskin.
A notable exception is the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, CO. They present graduates with a silver-plated metal 5” by 5.75” diploma. The tradition started in 1933, when Charles Hull, a professor at the school, made a silver diploma as a present for his graduating son. Word spread and in 1934, students organized an effort to have silver plaques as their diplomas. There was a design competition and the Mines’ President Paul Coolbaugh and the Trustees approved the design. 81 diplomas were made which President Coolbaugh signed with an electronic pen. The practice continued with a slight pause. It was restarted in 2000 and silver diplomas are still given today.
Today’s paper diplomas are digitally printed in two runs. The first run lays down the common text, minus the type of degree, and name of the recipient. The signatures are done by an auto pen. The second printing run puts in the individual degree and name to complete the process. Although a rolled paper diploma might be awarded in some graduations, it usually is used to symbolize a group of graduates. It’s an option to awarding diplomas to each graduate and prolonging the ceremony. Separate diplomas are usually awarded, encased in presentation books, and handed out after the ceremony or mailed to graduates once all grades are in and the bills are all paid!
No matter what kind of diploma you have or will receive, congratulations! Your diploma tells a part of your personal history story.
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Resources
Westpoint.edu – For beautifully designed diploma images
Fascinating read on the evolution of diplomas! I had no idea about the intricate history and diverse materials used over the centuries. It's amazing to see how tradition adapts with technology while maintaining its ceremonial essence. Thanks for enlightening us on this educational journey. Keep the historical gems coming! If you are in the market for a gag diploma with the hope of replacing an old diploma that you have lying around at home check our website www.nd-center.com
Excellent article but one error- Harvard STOPPED awarding college diplomas in Latin in 1963. I know this because a) I was a Classics major at Harvard, and b) my Class (1963) was the first NOT to get Latin diplomas. Interestingly enough the decision was announced in early Spring, traditionally then the prototypical time for student unrest and the result was the infamous "LATIN DIPLOMA RIOTS" as the press called it with hundreds of undergrads mobbing Harvard Square, many, like this writer, clad in sandals and togas- well actually bedsheets. All was in fun until by sheer coincidence a National Guard artillery unit coming back from training appeared in the Square. This led to cries that the Cambridge Police had actually called up the National Guard "to thump those Harvard punks." Things rapidly got out of hand and tear gas was used rather indiscriminately and this not only ended my fun night but totally quelled all unrest.