White Coat Ceremony
for the Larner College of Medicine Class of 2026
Ira Allen Chapel
was held on Friday, October 14, 2022
at 1:00 P.M.
Watch the full event >
View the White Coat Ceremony Program >
What is a White Coat Ceremony?
Initiated on August 20, 1993 at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, this annual ceremony or a similar rite now takes place for first-year medical students at about 90 percent of schools of medicine and osteopathy in the United
States, and is supported by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation
According to the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, the White Coat Ceremony helps establish a psychological contract for the practice of medicine.
Physicians dressed in black
until the late 19th century, due to the association of black attire as formal. Physicians adopted the white coat as a symbol of purity at the beginning of the 20th century.