1+- Ceremonies for graduating students date from the first universities in Europe in the twelfth century. At that time, Latin was the language of scholars. A universitas was a guild of masters (such as MAs) with license to teach. « Degree » and « graduate » come from gradus, meaning « step ». The first step was admission to a bachelor’s degree. The second step was the masters step, giving the graduate admission to the universitas and license to teach. Typical dress for graduation is gown and hood, or hats adapted from the daily dress of university staff in the Middle Ages, which was in turn based on the attire worn by medieval clergy