Baccalaureate Honors: Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, Summa Cum Laude Cum Laude means "with praise," Magna Cum Laude means "with great praise," and Summa Cum Laude means "with highest praise."
Baccalaureate honors are awarded upon graduation to undergraduates earning their first bachelor's degree with at least 90 UW credits, of which at least 60 are numerically graded. Correspondence credits do not count as "UW credits."
These honors have nothing to do with whether the students are in either the departmental or college honors program they do not require any particular distribution of credits. In addition, students who have earned quarterly and/or annual Dean's List recognition do not necessarily qualify for baccalaureate honors.
All graduates earning baccalaureate honors are given a gold honor cord to wear in the Commencement ceremony. For students graduating in spring, the honors listed in the commencement program, as well as honor cord distribution, are based upon a student's cumulative GPA as of the winter quarter, since spring grades are not available for this determination. Spring classes are ultimately included in the credit totals and GPA calculations for honors posted to the student's final record.
The GPAs for baccalaureate honors are set each year for the following year (autumn through summer) by a subcommittee of the Faculty Council on Academic Standards, based on statistics for the current year provided by the Graduation and Academic Records Office. The GPA cutoffs have been different for each of the degree programs.
| Program | Cum Laude* | Magna Cum Laude* | Summa Cum Laude* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Administration | 3.72 | 3.87 | 3.98 |
| Computing & Software Systems | 3.79 | 3.91 | 3.96 |
| Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences | 3.77 | 3.88 | 3.98 |
| Nursing | 3.91 | 3.97 | 3.99 |
*Students must also earn 90 matriculated credits in residence at the UW and at least 60 credits must be graded.Summa Cum Laude is the top 0.5%, Magna Cum Laude is the next 3%, and Cum Laude is the next 6.5%
