Looking Back THE MEDICAL SCHOOL DIPLOMA: A CLEAR LINK TO RENAISSANCE TRADITIONS

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

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