# Is this pretentious? (Displaying MBA hood) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 8, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-pretentious-displaying-mba-hood/670698 "2013-10-08T16:24:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2013, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-pretentious-displaying-mba-hood/670698/41 "2013-10-09T15:58:18Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Not pretentious at all. Tacky as hell, though. This. I would also veto hanging it from the rearview mirror of the car. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2013, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-pretentious-displaying-mba-hood/670698/42 "2013-10-09T16:22:27Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > This. > > I would also veto hanging it from the rearview mirror of the car. However, hanging it from the ceiling over the bed would be awesome. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2013, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-pretentious-displaying-mba-hood/670698/43 "2013-10-09T16:26:43Z")
I have all my military medals and certificates framed in shadow boxes in the staircase. I donā€™t see how itā€™s different. To me, itā€™s just like putting a picture of yourself on the wall. It says ā€œThis is me, this is who I am, this is where Iā€™ve been.ā€ Thatā€™s what home decor is all about. ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2013, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-pretentious-displaying-mba-hood/670698/44 "2013-10-09T16:38:38Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Not pretentious at all. Tacky as hell, though. Iā€™ve got to say I lean towards this point of view - I think itā€™s both a bit tacky but harmless. Let me give you an example. My flatmate changed everything with her name on it to ā€œDr.ā€ when she got her PhD, and insists on bills being sent in that name, to the point of calling them in a huff to complain if they get it wrong. Is it harmless? Totally. Do I think itā€™s a fairly pointless endavour that is somewhere between lack of self-confidence and gloating, with a side order of a bit needy and pathetic, and throwing in a bit of seeking validation through asserting oneā€™s own supposed superiority? Also yes. I think what makes it tacky is the fact that, although of course sheā€™s entitled to do this in every way, having earned the PhD, itā€™s not necessary to rub it in peoplesā€™ faces at every possible opportunity. Itā€™s a bit like being cool - if you have to say you are, you automatically arenā€™t. My mother, who has the only PhD in my immediate family, only uses ā€œDr.ā€ when corresponding in an academic context. In personal life, sheā€™s ā€œMrs.ā€, and certainly wouldnā€™t make a fuss if her phone bill was addressed to her as such. On the other hand, I only have a lowly Masterā€™s (yes, I already have a Howard Wolowitz wobbly-head doll as a present from my SO) so perhaps if I did the 4 years of hard grind that gets me to the point where I can wear the PhD hat, perhaps Iā€™d feel differently. On the other other hand, I only use my MSc certificate for official purposes, and itā€™s currently sitting in a box under my bed. I would never have it hanging on my wall in my house. Not cool. Incidentally, the downstairs toilet in my house has traditionally had an MRI of my head, showing off my brain in wonderful slices, so maybe Iā€™m too weird to really comment on this. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-pretentious-displaying-mba-hood/670698/45 "2013-10-09T16:54:56Z")
Using doctor-doctor everything for a non-medical PHD to me reeks of insecurity. Like continuing to use your military rank after retirement. (My father was retired Air Force and my late H retired Army and neither of them ever did this). Speaking of doctor, I had a desk nameplate sign made for one of my teachers in college that said > [@](#): > > Dr. John. B. Smith, Ph.D. > Department of Redundancy Department Hehe. Note: Redundancy doesnā€™t have the additional meaning/connotation in the US that is does in the UK, namely, of being ā€œmade redundantā€ or laid off. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-pretentious-displaying-mba-hood/670698/46 "2013-10-09T18:48:50Z")
> [@Red\_Stilettos](#): > > Thereā€™s a car that I see often with the vanity plate ā€œTHE PHDā€. Whoever it is obviously works at the university and they need to get over themselves. Almost certainly they do _not_ work at a university, and probably have not been near one since they graduated. Ph.D.s are ten a penny at a university, and boasting about having one would make you look like an idiot. The license plate is tacky, but there might be circumstances under which it would favorably impress certain people whom you want to impress. The same goes for displaying the hood, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2013, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-pretentious-displaying-mba-hood/670698/47 "2013-10-09T19:03:20Z")
Thereā€™s a car I see around my university (where I am a professor) with the license plate ā€œBLCKPHD.ā€ No further comment. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2013, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-pretentious-displaying-mba-hood/670698/48 "2013-10-09T19:40:54Z")
ā€œBLCKPHDā€ is rather more of a distinction, I think. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2013, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-pretentious-displaying-mba-hood/670698/49 "2013-10-09T21:56:41Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > My vote was not at ALL colored by my profession as a picture framer. Not at all, nope. > > Really, the diploma itself _ **properly** _ framed should be enough, or include the tassel. The hood or mortarboard or whatever is unnecessary. Hmmm, my being a professional picture framer inclines me to encourage everyone to frame everything. What happens to the hood if itā€™s not displayed? In a bin in the attic? In a drawer? What good is that? If I saw such a frame in a friendā€™s home office I wouldnā€™t find it pretentious. In an office setting where several colleagues also have MBAs but arenā€™t displaying anything other than the degree it would be out of place and might seem like an attention grab. ---
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2013, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-pretentious-displaying-mba-hood/670698/50 "2013-10-09T22:09:42Z")
My boyā€™s Grandma made him one when he graduated from[teh high skool.](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v677/ural/box_zps09d24245.jpg) It has his Honors cords, Medals for Valor or bowling, maybe. Iā€™m just not sure. Heā€™s aiming to be a G-man, so thereā€™s probably more boxes in his future if Grandma can hang in thereā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2013, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-pretentious-displaying-mba-hood/670698/51 "2013-10-09T23:54:12Z")
Iā€™m inclined to vote for all three options. A hood is much more colorful and interesting than a diploma, which everyone seems to frame, or a tassel, which I think looks tacky but is often framed or displayed in some manner. I think itā€™s a shame that someone goes to the trouble of paying for a nice piece of regalia and then canā€™t even use it as a decoration. OTOH, it is calling attention to oneā€™s own accomplishments, which will always seem pretentious to some, especially when done in an unusual way. Iā€™ve never managed to get a higher degree, and as a result I probably place a bit too much importance on them. (My parents are an MD and a PhD, so I feel like a little bit of a loser without so much as a Masterā€™s.) If I saw a framed hood in someoneā€™s house, Iā€™d think they take a great deal of pride in themselves and their accomplishments, but I wouldnā€™t necessarily think less of them, and Iā€™d look at the hood with an appropriate mix of admiration and envy. If I ever get a hood, Iā€™ll probably think about framing it because of this thread, but I probably wonā€™t because Iā€™d be too afraid of looking pretentious. But Iā€™ll wish I could. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2013, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-pretentious-displaying-mba-hood/670698/52 "2013-10-10T02:34:42Z")
If her hood is anything like mine, its a fire hazard that is falling apart at the seams. Im ashamed to have graduated from my school and the less of the evidence displayed publically the better. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2013, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-pretentious-displaying-mba-hood/670698/53 "2013-10-10T03:33:12Z")
> [@ducati](#): > > Home or office is acceptable. Sheā€™s achieved something worthwhile, and should be proud of it. > [But not too muchā€¦](http://i2.meragegear.com/accessories/mba-license-plate-frame/product_large_A.jpg) I can not believe that MBA wasnā€™t already taken! ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2013, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-pretentious-displaying-mba-hood/670698/54 "2013-10-10T05:05:09Z")
Some opinions of mine: 1. MBA is the least masterful among the masteral programs. 2. You donā€™t see that many Phd hoods. You see only PhD bars on your professorsā€™ togas during commencement exercises. 3. You donā€™t see PhD stickers on cars. 4. An entry in your resume and a certified copy of grades attached will do. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2013, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-pretentious-displaying-mba-hood/670698/55 "2013-10-10T16:18:53Z")
> [@Red\_Stilettos](#): > > Yes, I would think itā€™s pretentious. I have a PhD and a Masters and thereā€™s no way Iā€™d display either hood. I do have the diplomas framed and hanging in my home office, though. > > Thereā€™s a car that I see often with the vanity plate ā€œTHE PHDā€. Whoever it is obviously works at the university and they need to get over themselves. Its entirely possible someoneā€™s making a joke - Maybe the plate was originally (or currently) bought for a car that soaked up all the money that would otherwise have been used on a PHD? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2013, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-pretentious-displaying-mba-hood/670698/56 "2013-10-10T16:29:31Z")
I think it is a great idea. Of course being a researcher on academic costume I think it does not get as much respect as it should in the US. It would be interesting to see the results broken down as US vs. UK where academic dress is much more highly regarded. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2013, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-pretentious-displaying-mba-hood/670698/57 "2013-10-10T17:46:21Z")
Itā€™s pretentious AND harmless, and no one will really care whether she proceeds or not. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2013, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-pretentious-displaying-mba-hood/670698/58 "2013-10-10T19:30:19Z")
I donā€™t think itā€™s pretentious, but certainly a bit tacky in an office. IMHO, the only thing that is fully tasteful in an office is relevant professional certifications. I do think anything goes on a casual family photo wall in a hallway or family room. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2013, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-pretentious-displaying-mba-hood/670698/59 "2013-10-10T19:36:34Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > Some opinions of mine: > > 1. MBA is the least masterful among the masteral programs. > 2. You donā€™t see that many Phd hoods. You see only PhD bars on your professorsā€™ togas during commencement exercises. > 3. You donā€™t see PhD stickers on cars. > 4. An entry in your resume and a certified copy of grades attached will do. At the commencements Iā€™ve attended over the past few years, all the professors with PhDā€™s had hoods. And the new graduates of the PsyD or PhD program got their on stage from their adviser. Board Members with JDā€™s also had on their hoods. Agree on #1, 3 and 4. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2013, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-pretentious-displaying-mba-hood/670698/60 "2013-10-10T20:00:18Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > Some opinions of mine: > > 1. MBA is the least masterful among the masteral programs. Itā€™s actually the most masterful of the masters programs. šŸ˜ƒ An MBA is a 2 year masters program. A Phd is a 4-8 year doctorate program. So itā€™s sort of apples and oranges. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-pretentious-displaying-mba-hood/670698.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-pretentious-displaying-mba-hood/670698.md?page=4)