The Intercollegiate Bureau of Academic Costume (IBAC) assigned the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy a cardinal hood lining with a cream-white chevron at some point before 1927, which is when the college is first cited in an IBAC list. However, a 1969 IBAC list described the color of the college’s hood lining as “cherry”, which is a brighter red than cardinal. A 1972 IBAC list corrected this to cardinal with a cream chevron.

Here, to avoid confusion with similar hood linings of the University of Indiana (crimson with a cream chevron) and Chicago Theological Seminary (scarlet with a cream chevron), the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy has been reassigned a hood lining with the cardinal and cream colors divided per bar, an arrangement that echoes the heraldry of the college seal.