The society publishes Transactions of the Burgon Society, an annual journal of peer-reviewed research into academic dress.[1] It holds a spring conference each year and organises visits to robemakers, universities and other institutions.
One of the society's founding fellows, Nicholas Groves, created the Groves classification system for academic dress, in which the most common shapes of British gowns, hoods and caps are coded for easy reference.[2] He also designed the gowns of the University of Malta.[3] His design, selected from entries submitted in an international competition, debuted in November 2011 at a degree ceremony in Valletta, Malta.
Membership
Membership is open to all who support the aims of the society. Fellowship (FBS) is awarded to members on the successful submission of a piece of original work on a topic approved by the executive committee. Fellowship may also be awarded to any member who has demonstrated in some other way a significant contribution to the study of academic dress. Occasionally, the fellowship may be awarded honoris causa.
Hilderhof, Emily. "Caps, gowns unify students suiting up for graduation". Kansas State Collegian, 1 May 2018. Article quotes editor of Transactions of the Burgon Society on meanings of academic dress. Archived from the original on 2 May 2018. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
"Why Caps and gowns at graduation? Let's go back 900 years". The Washington Post, 20 May 2017. Article quotes “American Universities’ Departure from the Academic Costume Code,” the dissertation of David T. Boven for The Burgon Society, published in Transactions of the Burgon Society, 9 (2009). Retrieved 2017-05-23.
Wolgast, Stephen. "Times Topics: Academic Dress". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2009.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
Shaw, Lisa (April 22, 2004). "The History of Academic Regalia". The Arbiter. Retrieved 30 October 2010. The design of the cap, or mortarboard, resulted from combining two different types of caps commonly worn in medieval times, according to the Burgon Society,...
"Academic regalia". Making History. BBC Radio 4. 3 June 2008. Retrieved 24 November 2008.