Latin honors
Latin honors are the three levels of academic distinction that US colleges print on a diploma at graduation: cum laude (with honor), magna cum laude (with great honor) and summa cum laude (with highest honor). They rest on your cumulative GPA or class standing. Cutoffs differ by school, but they usually start near a 3.5 GPA and top out at 3.9 or higher.
In more detail
The three honors are nested, with cum laude the lowest and summa cum laude the highest. Schools award them at graduation, print them on the diploma and the transcript, and often show them with honor cords at the ceremony. Most also require a minimum number of graded credits earned at that school, so transfer students should check the rule.
Two things trip people up. First, Latin honors use your cumulative GPA over the whole degree, not one semester. That is the difference from the dean's list, which rewards a single term. Second, every school sets its own rule. A 3.8 can be magna cum laude at one school and cum laude at another. Some schools use fixed GPA cutoffs, some use a share of the class, and large universities often set a different cutoff for each college. Look up your school's registrar page.
What is it worth? It sits on the diploma, is easy to list on a resume and can help with graduate applications and some scholarships. It matters less after your first job. Other countries use their own systems, such as first-class honours in the UK, so the same grades do not translate one to one.
Typical Latin honors levels (ranges vary by school)
| Honor | Meaning | Typical GPA cutoff | Typical class share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cum laude | With honor | About 3.5 to 3.7 | Roughly the top 10 to 30 percent |
| Magna cum laude | With great honor | About 3.7 to 3.9 | Roughly the top 3 to 15 percent |
| Summa cum laude | With highest honor | About 3.9 to 4.0 | Roughly the top 1 to 5 percent |
Example
Maya graduates with a 3.82 cumulative GPA. Her school sets 3.5 for cum laude, 3.7 for magna and 3.9 for summa, so she earns magna cum laude. Her friend Jon also finishes with a 3.82, but his school gives cum laude to the top 30 percent of the class, magna to the top 15 percent and summa to the top 5 percent. His GPA lands in the top 20 percent, so he earns cum laude. The same GPA gave two different honors.
How to use it
- 1
Find your school's exact rule on the registrar or catalog page: a GPA cutoff or a class percentage, and whether it is set per college.
- 2
Check the credit rule, including the minimum graded credits taken at the school and whether transfer or pass/fail credits count.
- 3
Work out your cumulative GPA today and the cutoff you want, then see how many grade points you still need to close the gap.
- 4
Protect your early semesters. A weak first year drags the average for years, and later semesters have less weight to fix it.
- 5
Put the most study time into high-credit courses, and fix weak courses before finals rather than after.
- 6
Ask the registrar when honors are calculated. Some schools estimate them before your last term and confirm them afterwards.
How StudyPDF does this
Latin honors come from the average of every semester, so steady work beats one big finish. StudyPDF is built for that rhythm: upload each lecture as it happens and study with Bo all term. Set the exam date in a course's Plan tab and you get a dated revision calendar over your own material, with the topics you keep missing coming up earlier. Quiz results show a per-concept breakdown, weakest first, so you know what to fix before finals.
See also
Common questions
What GPA do you need for cum laude, magna cum laude and summa cum laude?
A common pattern is about 3.5 for cum laude, 3.7 for magna cum laude and 3.9 for summa cum laude. Some schools use a share of the class instead, such as the top 30, 15 and 5 percent. Check your school's registrar page for the exact rule.
Is a 3.9 GPA magna or summa cum laude?
It depends on the school. If summa cum laude starts at 3.9, a 3.9 qualifies. If the school sets it higher or uses a class percentage, a 3.9 can still be magna cum laude. The rule is always your school's, not a national standard.
Put it to work on your own course
Upload your lectures and ask Bo. Cited answers, plus flashcards, exams, and more built from your material.