White Coat Ceremony
for the Larner College of Medicine Class of 2028
will be held on Friday, October 18, 2024 at the Ira Allen Chapel.
More information to follow.
The White Coat Ceremony for the Class of 2027 was held on Friday, October 18th, 2023 at the Ira Allen Chapel.
View a recording of the ceremony (2023)
View the Ceremony Program (2023-PDF)
View Photos from the Class of 2027 Ceremony
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.