Class of 2026 Graduation
April 17, 2026
Class of 2026 Graduation
Excited XU OTD Class of 2026 students and faculty line up prior to processing into the graduation ceremony.
Maddie Fletcher is hooded at the graduation ceremony by her capstone mentor, Dr. Leah Dunn.
This tradition wherein a doctoral ‘hood’ is placed over the head of the graduating student signifies their role transition from student to clinician, from years of rigorous study to clinical practice, in this case as an occupational therapist. Xavier graduates wear the blue robe with a white X on the sleeve to signify the institution from which they graduated. Three black stripes on the sleeves are a symbol of their earned doctoral degree (master’s degrees earn two stripes, bachelor’s degrees one). The hood or sash that is placed over their head is profession-specific and green color signifies their course of study in occupational therapy. The hood is placed by the faculty member who most supported and mentored their capstone project as the capstone project is the clinical equivalent of a research dissertation. The wearing of a hat referred to as a ‘tam’ also signifies doctoral level education compared to master’s and bachelor’s when instead a mortarboard is worn. The tam has attached a tassel, also green to again signify their doctoral course of study was in the field of occupational therapy. This tradition, these rituals, allowed us all to congratulate students on their hard work as we proudly celebrated their accomplishments.
XU OTD Class of 2026 Students pose together after the ceremony
XU OTD Class of 2026 students and faculty celebrate together after the ceremony