Currently active University Honors Program students have the opportunity to graduate with Latin Honors (summa cum laude, magna cum laude, cum laude), a nationally-recognized symbol of academic achievement. University of Minnesota – Twin Cities students can obtain Latin Honors only through completion of the University Honors Program. Latin Honors graduates are celebrated each spring at the Honors Recognition Ceremony.
Eligibility for Latin Honors
In order to be eligible for graduation with Latin Honors, active UHP students must have:
- Completed at least 60 graded (A–F) credits at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities campus,
- Maintained successful, continuous participation in UHP,
- Fulfilled all Honors Experience requirements, and
- Obtained a grade point average of at least 3.500 in their last 60 graded (A–F) credits (not including transfer credit).
Level of Honors
The level of Latin honors students receive is contingent upon the quality of the honors thesis they complete and the grade point average of their last 60 graded (A–F) U of M-Twin Cities credits:
| GPA | Latin Honors Eligibility |
|---|---|
| 3.500-3.665 | cum laude |
| 3.666-3.749 | cum laude, magna cum laude |
| 3.750-4.0 | cum laude, magna cum laude, summa cum laude |
A student who is within 0.1 GPA point of eligibility for the next highest level of Latin Honors may be recommended by their thesis committee for that higher level if the student writes a truly exceptional thesis. For students rising to cum laude or magna cum laude, "exceptional" is defined as writing a summa-level thesis. For students rising from magna to summa, the thesis committee will define "exceptional" as being among the best 5-10% of summa-level theses to come out of their department. It is not possible to rise from cum laude to summa. All such recommendations from thesis committees will need to be approved by the UHP Faculty Advisory Board and the UHP Directors Committee to be successfully applied.