|
The Medical School Diploma: A Clear Link to Renaissance Traditions
Beginning with the first graduating class in 1852, the University of Michigan
Medical School diploma was a relatively simple affair. Composed in English,
it merely stated:
“______ has this day been declared a graduate of the College of Medicine
and Surgery at this University with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Dated
____.”
 The diploma was then signed by the dean and the medical school professors.
In early 1878, however, the Board of Regents received a petition from the
medical students to create a new diploma in Latin based on the language used
at Oxford and Cambridge. The symbolism of this motion was clear. The students
wanted a link to the oldest universities, and they desired a clear link to
the Renaissance tradition of granting degrees expressly in Latin to those in
the learned professions (i.e., medicine, theology, law and philosophy).
| Translation of the U-M Medical School Diploma
The University of Michigan
From the Regents of the University to
anyone reading this letter
Greetings
Be advised that we have awarded the degree of Doctor of Medicine to
(name)
recommended to us in the usual manner by the professors of the College
of Medicine and Surgery [i.e., the Medical School] as a person well-qualified
in the study, discipline, and science of medicine and surgery.
In proof of this we have given him/her this letter, bearing the signatures
of the President, the Secretary, and the Professors.
Done on the premises of the University on (date, year) in the year of
our health in the ____ year of the University of Michigan. |
Moreover, the students promised to raise $150 toward funding a new engraving
plate and the Regents approved such a change on January 22, 1878, “provided
that the cost to the University did not exceed fifty dollars.” The medical
students delivered only $90 for the new plate, but the University went ahead
with a new version, one dating back to the early 16th century.
A point of contention about the diploma in the past has related to the phrase
which notes the date of conferring the degree. Following the date are the Latin
words anno salutis. Some have translated this as meaning “the year of
our salvation,” with its consequent religious overtones, but it actually
means “the year of our health.” The Latin term for “the year
of our salvation,” incidentally, is anno salvatorus. The phrase anno
salutis has been commonly used on medical diplomas since the 1500s.
The Medical School’s is the largest and most beautiful diploma presented
by the University. It has hung proudly in more than 100,000 doctors’ offices
across the nation. Minor changes have been made over the years, such as abandoning
Latinizing the graduate’s name and printing the titles of the professors
signing the document (rather than the professors writing them by hand). But
otherwise, the University of Michigan Medical School diploma has remained constant
since June 1878.
Currently, several prominent North American medical schools use a Latin version
of a diploma. Many of these, by the way, include with the date the phrase anno
domini (year of Our Lord) rather than anno salutis. The U-M Medical School
plans to retain the language and heritage of its diploma for the future, to
which, with all due respect, we say “Amen.”
Contributed by Howard Markel, M.D., Ph.D., director, and Christine Bass, Ph.D.,
assistant director for programs, of the Center for the History of Medicine.
|
