Why Orange?

Ever wonder why the color of CatholicTech is orange? Discover the color’s academic history!

Throughout many years, graduating students and members of academia dress in black robes, caps, and colored hoods for commencement exercises and other academic festivities. While such an ensemble may appear strange or silly, graduation regalia and academic colors hold very specific meanings pertaining to one’s field of study. 

If you take a look at a hood that is used in graduation ceremonies, you will notice that the edges along the back are lined with a colored strip of fabric. Hoods were mostly likely used originally for covering the head for warmth, or to cover the tonsured heads of medieval scholars or consecrated religious in academic settings. Later one, the colored strip along the hood was added to indicate the school of study that one had earned a degree in, and by the late 19th century this became standardized. 

Each color that is designated to a field holds an explanation of that area of study. For example, the color for many fields in healthcare, medicine, and pharmacy are green because that is the color of herbs that were used in ancient history for medicinal purposes. Red is one of the traditional colors of the Church and faith, so it is typically worn by students of schools of theological study. 

The color of engineering is orange! This began specifically in civil engineering and aerospace engineering, when the color was used as a safety measure in signs and construction uniforms. The color was coined “International Orange” because of its widespread use and striking vibrancy. It gained popularity in the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge, when a group of architects, engineers, and artists from around the world chose it to color the bridge, not only because it accentuated the landscape of the surrounding area, but also because it showed the structural beauty of the bridge itself. 

When determining academic colors, orange is now the standard color for engineering programs, and that is why it is one of our school colors at CatholicTech. Providently, the main building of our campus in Castel Gandolfo is orange as well – take a look at some pictures of our campus here! With growing engineering programs, all students at CatholicTech take an engineering and science core, and then can specialize in any of our five degree programs. For more information on our degrees, read more here.