What Does Summa Cum Laude Mean?

To graduate "summa cum laude" is to graduate with "with highest honors" or "with highest praise," according to the Latin translation. "Praise" is a better translation, but many schools use the English term "honors" instead. These awards are often tied to a student's grade point average.
  1. Other Latin Honors

    • The Latin honors system also includes "magna cum laude" which means "with high honors" or "with high praise" and "cum laude" which mean "with honors" or "with praise."

    Examples of G.P.A. Criteria

    • G.P.A. criteria differ from school to school. For example, at both Ohio State University and Drexel University, the cutoffs for the different levels of honors are 3.9 to 4.0 for summa cum laude, 3.7 to 3.899 for magna cum laude and 3.5 to 3.699 for cum laude whereas at the University of Pennsylvania summa cum laude is granted for 3.8 and higher, magna cum laude for 3.6 and up and cum laude for 3.4 or better.

    Other Criteria

    • At Harvard University and others, the criteria to graduate summa cum laude are more involved and require a committee review of the academic record of each student recommended for honors.

Learnify Hub © www.0685.com All Rights Reserved