From each university's own catalog

Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude and Summa Cum Laude GPA

Enter your GPA to see whether it reaches cum laude, magna cum laude or summa cum laude at 15 universities with fixed cut-offs, and read the Latin honors rules of 13 more that rank their graduates.

Your GPA

Cumulative GPA (4.0 scale) School (optional)

Many schools count only grades earned there, and several say they never round a GPA up. The checker does not round either: 3.499 is not 3.50.

Your result

Enter your GPA to see which Latin honors it meets at each school.

Your GPA at the 15 fixed cut-off schools

School	Cum laude	Magna	Summa	You
NC State	3.25	3.50	3.75	—
Arizona State	3.40	3.60	3.80	—
George Washington	3.40	3.60	3.80	—
Penn	3.40	3.60	3.80	—
Syracuse All schools except Architecture	3.40	3.60	3.80	—
Virginia Tech	3.40	3.60	3.80	—
Alabama	3.50	3.70	3.90	—
Arizona	3.50	3.70	3.90	—
Florida State	3.50	3.70	3.90	—
Ohio State	3.50	3.70	3.90	—
South Carolina	3.50	3.75	3.95	—
Texas A&M	3.50	3.70	3.90	—
USC	3.50	3.70	3.90	—
Boston College	3.667	3.800	3.900	—
UCLA College of Letters and Science	3.921	3.970	3.992	—

Sorted by the cum laude cut-off. Each figure is the lowest GPA for that level, from the school's current catalog or registrar.

Cum laude, magna cum laude and summa cum laude

Latin honors are printed on the diploma and transcript of bachelor's graduates with high GPAs. There are three levels. Boston College's catalog glosses them as cum laude (with honors), magna cum laude (with high honors) and summa cum laude (with the highest honors). Each university sets its own rule, in one of two ways:

Fixed GPA cut-offs (15 schools here). A GPA at or above the cut-off earns the level, as long as the school's other conditions, such as credits taken at the school, are met. The most common set is 3.50 for cum laude, 3.70 for magna and 3.90 for summa cum laude.
Class rank (13 schools here). Each level goes to a share of graduates ranked by GPA, often the top 5% summa, the next 10% magna and the next 10% to 15% cum laude. The GPA needed changes from year to year. UT Dallas, Miami, NYU and Vanderbilt set the cut-offs from earlier graduates' GPAs; the others rank their own graduating class.

Latin honors are separate from honors college and departmental honors. Texas A&M's catalog says students do not need honors courses to graduate with Latin honors, and South Carolina awards "With Honors from South Carolina Honors College" for completing its Honors College. WashU's Arts & Sciences is the exception here: it gives Latin honors only to students who complete a departmental honors program.

What common GPAs earn at the 15 fixed cut-off schools

GPA	Summa	Magna	Cum laude	None
3.30	0	0	1	14
3.40	0	0	6	9
3.50	0	1	12	2
3.60	0	6	7	2
3.70	0	12	2	1
3.80	6	8	0	1
3.90	13	1	0	1
4.00	15	0	0	0

Number of schools where the GPA reaches each level (the highest one only). UCLA's figures are its 2026-27 minimums for the College of Letters and Science.

Fixed GPA cut-offs: full rules

School	Cum / Magna / Summa	GPA that counts	Credits at the school	Source
Alabama	Cum / magna / summa: 3.50 / 3.70 / 3.90	GPA that counts: Alabama institutional GPA	Credits at the school: 45 semester hours	Source: Fall 2026 to Summer 2027 Catalog
Arizona	Cum / magna / summa: 3.50 / 3.70 / 3.90	GPA that counts: GPA at degree conferral	Credits at the school: 45 graded units	Source: 2026-2027 Catalog
Arizona State Admissions GPA	Cum / magna / summa: 3.40 / 3.60 / 3.80	GPA that counts: ASU cumulative GPA on ASU resident coursework only	Credits at the school: Not stated	Source: ASU Academic Catalog (current)
Boston College	Cum / magna / summa: 3.667 / 3.800 / 3.900	GPA that counts: Cumulative averageThese cut-offs apply from the Class of 2021. Earlier classes used the top 4.5%, next 9.5% and next 15%.	Credits at the school: Not stated	Source: University Catalog (current)
Florida State	Cum / magna / summa: 3.50 / 3.70 / 3.90	GPA that counts: Both the FSU GPA and the combined GPA with transfer and dual-enrollment work must reach the levelTransfer credit cannot raise the FSU GPA, so the lower of the two GPAs decides the level.	Credits at the school: 40 letter-graded hours (transfer students)	Source: 2026-2027 General Bulletin
George Washington	Cum / magna / summa: 3.40 / 3.60 / 3.80	GPA that counts: All coursework completed at GW	Credits at the school: 60 letter-graded credits	Source: 2026-2027 Bulletin
NC State	Cum / magna / summa: 3.25 / 3.50 / 3.75	GPA that counts: GPA (the regulation does not say which)	Credits at the school: 30 credit hours and two semesters	Source: 2026-2027 University Catalog
Ohio State	Cum / magna / summa: 3.50 / 3.70 / 3.90	GPA that counts: Cumulative GPA as of the term before graduation; a final GPA that qualifies also countsA student who qualifies in the term before graduation keeps the honor even if the final GPA drops below. These are university-wide minimums; each college may add its own requirements.	Credits at the school: 60 credit hours	Source: University Faculty Rule 3335-9-33 (current)
Penn	Cum / magna / summa: 3.40 / 3.60 / 3.80	GPA that counts: Cumulative GPA on the transcript at graduationA sanction of probation or greater for an academic integrity or conduct violation rules out Latin honors.	Credits at the school: Not stated	Source: 2026-27 Undergraduate Catalog
South Carolina	Cum / magna / summa: 3.50 / 3.75 / 3.95	GPA that counts: Total institutional GPA	Credits at the school: 60 credit hours in residence	Source: 2026-2027 Academic Bulletin
Syracuse All schools except Architecture	Cum / magna / summa: 3.40 / 3.60 / 3.80	GPA that counts: Cumulative GPA, no rounding upSchool of Architecture: 3.200, 3.500 and 3.800.	Credits at the school: 60 GPA-calculated credit hours	Source: 2026-2027 Academic Catalog
Texas A&M	Cum / magna / summa: 3.50 / 3.70 / 3.90	GPA that counts: Texas A&M institutional GPA, truncated at 3 decimals; credit by exam left out	Credits at the school: 60 semester hours	Source: 2026-2027 Undergraduate Catalog
UCLA College of Letters and Science Admissions GPA	Cum / magna / summa: 3.921 / 3.970 / 3.992	GPA that counts: Overall GPA at graduationUCLA publishes minimums for each academic year and each school, and says they are subject to yearly change. Engineering's for 2026-27 are 3.873, 3.942 and 3.970.	Credits at the school: 90 UC units for a letter grade	Source: Registrar, 2026-27 minimums
USC Admissions GPA	Cum / magna / summa: 3.50 / 3.70 / 3.90	GPA that counts: The lower of the USC GPA and the combined USC and transfer GPAUSC does not honor other colleges' grade renewal or forgiveness programs.	Credits at the school: Not stated	Source: USC Catalogue 2026-2027
Virginia Tech	Cum / magna / summa: 3.40 / 3.60 / 3.80	GPA that counts: Cumulative GPA on Virginia Tech undergraduate work, not rounded	Credits at the school: 60 hours	Source: 2026-2027 Academic Catalog

Class-rank rules

These schools give each level to a share of the class, shown as summa / magna / cum laude. We do not turn the shares into a GPA. Where the school publishes the cut-offs that resulted, they are shown for the period named, from the lowest to the highest across its schools.

School	Shares	Ranked against	Published cut-offs	Credits at the school	Source
Boston University Admissions GPA	Shares: 5% / 10% / 15% Minimum GPA 3.00	Ranked against: Graduating seniors in each school or college. GPA: Total cumulative GPA, final semester included.	Published cut-offs: Not given on the rule page	Credits at the school: Not stated	Source: Registrar page (current)
Columbia Columbia College Admissions GPA	Shares: 5% / 10% / 10%	Ranked against: The graduating class. GPA: Cumulative GPA for all work at Columbia.	Published cut-offs: Not given on the rule page	Credits at the school: Not stated	Source: 2026-2027 Bulletin
Duke	Shares: 5% / 10% / 10%	Ranked against: The graduating class, with cut-offs set in the spring term. GPA: Cumulative GPA for all coursework at Duke. The shares are upper limits: no more than 5%, 10% and 10%.	Published cut-offs: Spring 2026, Trinity and Pratt:cum laude 3.894–3.947magna 3.944–3.972summa 3.990–4.000	Credits at the school: Not stated	Source: Registrar page (current)
Georgetown	Shares: 5% / 10% / 10%	Ranked against: The senior class in each school. GPA: Current cumulative GPA.	Published cut-offs: Not given on the rule page	Credits at the school: Not stated	Source: 2026-2027 Bulletin
Miami	Shares: 5% / 10% / 10%	Ranked against: The previous year's graduating class in each school or college. GPA: The lower of the UM GPA and the combined GPA with all transfer work, never rounded.	Published cut-offs: 2026-2027 academic year, 10 schools and colleges:cum laude 3.782–3.909magna 3.862–3.953summa 3.951–3.992These cover graduations in December 2026, May 2027 and summer 2027. Students must meet them by the end of their final semester.	Credits at the school: Not stated	Source: 2026-2027 Academic Bulletin
Northwestern	Shares: 5% / 8% / 12%	Ranked against: Each school's spring graduating class. GPA: All work at Northwestern. Northwestern does not make its GPA cut-offs public.	Published cut-offs: Not given on the rule page	Credits at the school: Not stated	Source: 2026-2027 Undergraduate Catalog
Notre Dame	Shares: 5% / 10% / 15%	Ranked against: Graduates of each college or school. GPA: Final cumulative GPA. Notre Dame states the rule as the top 5%, top 15% and top 30%.	Published cut-offs: January, May and August 2026, 6 colleges and schools:cum laude 3.727–3.911magna 3.833–3.982summa 3.904–4.000	Credits at the school: Not stated	Source: Registrar page and Academic Code (current)
NYU College of Arts and Science Admissions GPA	Shares: 5% / 10% / 15%	Ranked against: The previous academic year's graduates. GPA: All graded NYU courses, including other NYU schools; P grades and grades from other institutions left out. A clean conduct record is also required.	Published cut-offs: Fall 2025 to Summer 2026, College of Arts and Science:cum laude 3.765magna 3.871summa 3.958The latest figures posted when we checked; the figures for 2026-27 graduates were not posted yet.	Credits at the school: 64 credits in CAS, GSAS and selected Tisch courses	Source: 2026-2027 Bulletin
Rice	Shares: 5% / 10% / 15%	Ranked against: The year's graduating majors in each school. GPA: Cumulative GPA for all undergraduate work at Rice.	Published cut-offs: 2025-26 academic year, 7 schools:cum laude 3.7160–3.9401magna 3.8636–3.9786summa 3.8885–4.000	Credits at the school: Not stated	Source: General Announcements 2026-2027
UT Dallas	Shares: 5% / 10% / 15% Minimum GPA 3.40	Ranked against: Graduates of the last six long semesters, by school. GPA: GPA over all UT Dallas coursework.	Published cut-offs: Fall 2025 to Summer 2026, 7 schools:cum laude 3.581–3.790magna 3.787–3.919summa 3.935–3.991The latest figures posted when we checked; the figures for 2026-27 graduates were not posted yet.	Credits at the school: 45 graded hours	Source: Registrar, Fall 2025 to Summer 2026
Vanderbilt	Shares: 5% / 8% / 12%	Ranked against: The previous three years' graduating seniors. GPA: Cumulative GPA to 3 decimals, not rounded up.	Published cut-offs: Summer 2026 to Spring 2027, 5 schools:cum laude 3.864–3.930magna 3.942–3.971summa 3.984–3.993Set each June for the coming academic year; a GPA at or above the threshold earns the honor.	Credits at the school: Not stated	Source: Registrar page (current)
WashU Arts & Sciences, BA	Shares: 15% / 35% / 50% Minimum GPA 3.65	Ranked against: Students who complete a departmental Latin Honors program. GPA: Overall GPA, Washington University grades only. Latin honors here need a 3.65 GPA, acceptance by the major department and a completed honors project.	Published cut-offs: Not given on the rule page	Credits at the school: 48 letter-graded units (transfer students)	Source: 2026-27 Bulletin
Yale	Shares: 5% / 10% / 15%	Ranked against: The graduating class. GPA: GPA in courses taken at Yale only. The shares are upper limits: no more than 5%, 10% and 15%.	Published cut-offs: Not given on the rule page	Credits at the school: Not stated	Source: Yale College Programs of Study 2026-2027

What can keep a high GPA from Latin honors

No rounding. Texas A&M truncates GPAs at three decimals, so a 3.4999 counts as 3.499 and misses its 3.50 cut-off. Duke also truncates at three decimals, and Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Miami and Vanderbilt say they do not round.
The lower GPA decides. USC and Miami use the lower of your home GPA and your GPA with transfer grades. Florida State requires both to reach the level.
Too few credits at the school. Schools that state a minimum ask for 90 at UCLA (College of Letters and Science); 64 at NYU (College of Arts and Science); 60 at Ohio State, Texas A&M, South Carolina, Virginia Tech, George Washington and Syracuse (All schools except Architecture); 48 at WashU (Arts & Sciences, BA); 45 at Arizona, Alabama and UT Dallas; 40 at Florida State; 30 at NC State (credits, hours or units, as each school counts them). Florida State and WashU set theirs for transfer students.
Conduct. Penn rules out anyone with a sanction of probation or more, Texas A&M anyone found guilty of academic misconduct as an upper-division student, and NYU's College of Arts and Science requires a clean conduct record.
Your school within the university. Rank-based cut-offs are set school by school, and Syracuse's School of Architecture and UCLA's schools have their own figures.

Dean's list GPA

The dean's list is a semester honor, not a graduation one. These 11 schools print a fixed-GPA dean's list rule in the same catalog section as the Latin honors rule cited above. Duke ranks students by semester GPA within their college, and Syracuse sets a rule for each school or college, so they are not in the table.

School	Rule
Alabama	Term GPA of at least 3.5 on 12 or more UA credit hours. A 4.0 makes the President's List.
Arizona	Term GPA of 3.500 to 3.999 on 12 units (6 units half time). A 4.000 earns Dean's List with Distinction.
Boston College	Semester GPA of 3.500 to 3.699 for Second Honors or 3.700 to 4.000 for First Honors, on at least 12 letter-graded credits, passing all courses, with no withdrawal, failure or incomplete.
Columbia College	Term GPA of 3.6 or better on 12 or more points of letter credit, with no D, F or W grades that term.
George Washington	Semester GPA of at least 3.75 in letter-graded coursework on 12 or more credits, passing all non-graded courses, with no Z or I grades.
Georgetown	Semester GPA of 3.5 or higher as a full-time student (12 credits with quality points). 3.7 earns Second Honors and 3.9 First Honors.
NC State	Semester GPA of 3.5 on 12 to 14 graded hours, or 3.25 on 15 or more, with no F, U or IN that semester.
NYU College of Arts and Science	GPA of 3.65 or higher for the academic year (September to May) on at least 28 graded credits.
South Carolina	Semester GPA of 3.50 or higher on at least 12 credited hours. A 4.00 makes the President's Honor List.
Virginia Tech	GPA of 3.4 for a fall or spring semester on at least 12 credit hours, all graded A-F. There is no list for summer sessions.
WashU Arts & Sciences	Semester GPA of 3.6 or higher on at least 14 units of quality-graded coursework, with no I or N grades outstanding.

Frequently Asked Questions

What GPA is cum laude?

Among the 15 universities here with fixed cut-offs, cum laude starts anywhere from 3.25 (NC State) to 3.921 (UCLA's College of Letters and Science). 7 of them use 3.50: Ohio State, Texas A&M, Florida State, South Carolina, USC, Arizona and Alabama. Leaving out UCLA, which publishes minimums for each academic year and each of its schools, the highest is 3.667 (Boston College).

What GPA do you need for magna cum laude?

Among the 15 universities here with fixed cut-offs, magna cum laude starts anywhere from 3.50 (NC State) to 3.97 (UCLA's College of Letters and Science). 6 of them use 3.70: Ohio State, Texas A&M, Florida State, USC, Arizona and Alabama. Leaving out UCLA, which publishes minimums for each academic year and each of its schools, the highest is 3.80 (Boston College).

What GPA is summa cum laude?

Among the 15 universities here with fixed cut-offs, summa cum laude starts anywhere from 3.75 (NC State) to 3.992 (UCLA's College of Letters and Science). 7 of them use 3.90: Ohio State, Texas A&M, Florida State, USC, Arizona, Alabama and Boston College. Leaving out UCLA, which publishes minimums for each academic year and each of its schools, the highest is 3.95 (South Carolina).

Is a 3.5 GPA cum laude?

At most schools with fixed cut-offs, yes. A 3.50 earns cum laude at 12 of the 15, and magna cum laude at NC State. It is not enough at Boston College and UCLA's College of Letters and Science. At the class-rank schools a 3.50 falls short of every cut-off published here; the lowest is 3.581 (UT Dallas, Fall 2025 to Summer 2026). WashU requires at least 3.65. At Georgetown, Boston University, Northwestern, Yale and Columbia, which have no published figures on this page, it depends on how the class did.

How do percentage-based Latin honors work?

13 of the 28 universities here rank graduates by GPA and give each level to a share of a group of graduates. 10 of them give summa cum laude to the top 5% and magna cum laude to the next 10%, then cum laude to the next 10% to 15%. The GPA needed moves from year to year. UT Dallas, Miami, NYU and Vanderbilt set their cut-offs from earlier graduates' GPAs; the others rank their own graduating class. At the 7 shown here with published cut-offs, the cum laude cut-offs run from 3.581 (UT Dallas) to 3.947 (Duke), depending on the school within the university and the period.

Do transfer credits count toward Latin honors?

At many schools they do not. Texas A&M, Alabama, South Carolina, George Washington, Virginia Tech, Yale and UT Dallas count only grades earned at the school. USC and Miami use the lower of your home GPA and your GPA with transfer grades, and Florida State requires both to reach the level.

How many credits do you need at the school for Latin honors?

14 of the 28 schools state a minimum. Ohio State: 60 credit hours; Texas A&M: 60 semester hours; Florida State: 40 letter-graded hours (transfer students); South Carolina: 60 credit hours in residence; Arizona: 45 graded units; Virginia Tech: 60 hours; Alabama: 45 semester hours; George Washington: 60 letter-graded credits; NC State: 30 credit hours and two semesters; Syracuse (All schools except Architecture): 60 GPA-calculated credit hours; UCLA (College of Letters and Science): 90 UC units for a letter grade; UT Dallas: 45 graded hours; WashU (Arts & Sciences, BA): 48 letter-graded units (transfer students); NYU (College of Arts and Science): 64 credits in CAS, GSAS and selected Tisch courses. The rest do not print one with their honors rule.

What GPA do you need for the dean's list?

Among the 11 schools in the dean's list table on this page, the lowest GPA that can qualify runs from 3.25 (NC State, on 15 or more graded hours) to 3.75 (George Washington, on 12 or more credits). By school: 3.25 at NC State; 3.40 at Virginia Tech; 3.50 at Georgetown, Alabama, Arizona, South Carolina and Boston College; 3.60 at Columbia College and WashU Arts & Sciences; 3.65 at NYU College of Arts and Science; 3.75 at George Washington. Each also sets a minimum course load for the semester or year.

Sources

Rules from each university's current catalog, bulletin or registrar page, checked September 27, 2026. Where a page names no edition, the table says "current". Harvard is not listed: its registrar pages could not be opened when we checked.

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