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Graduation Honors

Graduation

 

      Please choose from the categories:

      General Honors

      Departmental Honors

      Summa/Magna/Cum Laude






General Honors:

 

  

  

 To graduate with 'General Honors' from the University you must be a member of the General Honors Program and meet the following requirements:

  
 

 1.

 

 Take at least 6 Honors credits per academic year (generally one 3 credit Honors course per semester) for a total of 24 credits. For students who join the Honors Program as a transfer student, please note that it will be necessary to enroll in more than one Honors course per semester in order to fulfill the 24 credit requirement.

  
 

 2.

 

 Maintain a minimum UM GPA of 3.500.

  
 

 3.

 

 Have 24 credits in Honors courses, distributed as follows by your final semester.

 

 (a)

 

 12 credits at the 200 level or higher

  
 

 (b)

 

 12 credits outside your major (If you have a double major, up to 9 credits can be counted in each major but at least 6 credits must be outside of both majors)

  
 

 (c)

 

 Earn a grade of 'B' or better.

  
Courses in your major refer only to courses listed with the designation of your major code. For example, if you are a Finance major, only courses listed as FIN would be considered in your major. For a Music student whose major is Music Engineering, only courses listed as MMI are considered in your major. Keep in mind that it is not necessary to have any Honors credits in your major.

Students who maintain the required GPA and take at least 6 Honors credits per academic year will be coded to register as Honors students.

  
 

 4.

 

 Please see the requirement brochure that is sent to active Honors students every fall

  
 

 

 

Departmental Honors:

 

 Among the departments offering approved programs for honors study at the junior-senior level for both majors and elective students are accounting, biochemistry and molecular biology, biology, computer information systems, economics, engineering, English, finance, history, management, management science, marketing, mathematics, microbiology and immunology, music, philosophy, political science, psychology, sociology and religious studies.

Admission into the program is by invitation, but any student who believes himself or herself qualified may apply to the chairman or the departmental honors advisor of the major department; preferably during the sophomore or early junior year.  Upon sucessful completion of the required program and with approval by the faculty of the department, the notation 'Departmental Honors in ...' is included in the candidate's diploma and transcript.

Departmental Honors Programs are designed primarily to provide an opportunity for the superior student to intensify and deepen his or her knowledge of the major, to permit closer associations with professors in the student's area of concentration, and to prepare the student for research, thesis preparation, and other work at the graduate level in the major areas.

Minimum requirements for graduation with Departmental Honors are:

 

 (a)

  

 a cumulative GPA of at least 3.500;

  
 

 (b)

  

 six credit hours or more in independant study, senior thesis, or designated advanced or special honors courses specified by the department, with grades of at least 'B';

  
 

 (c)

  

 an average in the major of at least 3.500.

  
Do not confuse Departmental Honors and designations cum laude, magna cum laude and summa cum laude. They are entirely different honors.

  


Summa/Magna/Cum Laude:

 

 On September 7, 2008, the Faculty Senate passed new legislation which changes the requirements to graduate with Latin/University honors. The new regulations state that Latin Honors (summa cum laude, magna cum laude and cum laude) will be determined by a minimum GPA unique to the school or college from which the student is graduating.

  
 

 University/Latin honors only applies to undergraduate students.

  
 

 Students who enrolled beginning in fall 2009 will not have the option to write a thesis but will receive Latin/University honors based only on the minimum GPA for their school or college as described below.

  
 

 The GPA required will change each academic year (beginning with the fall semester) and will be based on the cumulative GPA of the previous year’s graduating class.

  
 

 The top 5% of the graduating class will receive summa cum laude within each individual school or college; the next 10% will receive magna cum laude and the next 10% cum laude.

  
 

 Eligibility for Latin/University honors for each student is determined by the lower of two GPAs:
1) UM cumulative graduation GPA
2) Combination GPA (UM cumulative graduation GPA + Transfer GPA)

  
 

 Students must meet the required GPA by the completion of the final semester within his/her school or college to be eligible to graduate with the honor without the requirement of a thesis and six credit hours of independent study. The appropriate honor will automatically be placed on the student’s final transcript and diploma

  
 

 Students who do not meet the GPA required within their school or college but meet the minimum GPA noted below have the option to write a thesis for summa cum laude or magna cum laude.

  
 

 The minimum GPAs required to obtain the honors:

summa cum laude
magna cum laude		 3.900-4.000
3.750-3.899

 
 

 See below for specific GPA requirements for academic year 2011-2012 within your college/school or to determine the GPA needed if you would like to pursue the option of completing a thesis/creative project to receive the honor of graduating with magna or summa cum laude.

Students who would like to pursue the option to write a thesis must submit an application to declare their candidacy to graduate with summa or magna cum laude. The application can be obtained below or from the Honors Program - Office of Academic Enhancement (Bldg. 21 Y). In using this option, students are required to write a thesis or submit a creative project under the direction of a full-time, tenured or tenure-track faculty member and complete six credit hours of thesis work.		  
 

 No thesis is required to obtain the honor cum laude. The honor is awarded solely on GPA.  

GPA Requirements Summa/Magna/Cum Laude:

The following are the GPA requirements for graduation with University/Latin Honors for the 2011-2012 Academic Year (Graduations in December 2011, May 2012, and Summer 2012):

School of Architecture

 School of Education
Summa Cum Laude     3.900-4.000
                                           		Summa Cum Laude     3.964-4.000
                                          *3.900-3.963
Magna Cum Laude        3.753-3.899
                                          *3.750-3.752 		Magna Cum Laude        3.831-3.899
                                          *3.750-3.830
Cum Laude                     3.678-3.749
  		Cum Laude                     3.696-3.749
College of Arts & Sciences
Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science
Continuing and International Education

College of Engineering
Summa Cum Laude     3.930-4.000
                                          *3.900-3.929 		Summa Cum Laude     3.914-4.000
                                          *3.900-3.913
Magna Cum Laude       3.805-3.899
                                          *3.750-3.804 		Magna Cum Laude       3.750-3.899
                                          
Cum Laude                     3.691-3.749
  		Cum Laude                     3.600-3.749
School of Business Administration

 Frost School of Music
Summa Cum Laude     3.932-4.000
                                          *3.900-3.931 		Summa Cum Laude     3.927-4.000
                                          *3.900-3.926
Magna Cum Laude        3.793-3.899
                                          *3.750-3.792 		Magna Cum Laude        3.833-3.899
                                          *3.750-3.832
Cum Laude                     3.653-3.749
 

 Cum Laude                     3.786-3.832
School of Communication
  		School of Nursing & Health Studies
Summa Cum Laude     3.900-4.000
                                           		Summa Cum Laude     3.902-4.000
                                          *3.900-3.901
Magna Cum Laude       3.750-3.899
                                           		Magna Cum Laude       3.750-3.899
Cum Laude                     3.680-3.749 Cum Laude                     3.600-3.749


*Students with GPAs that fall within this range have the option of completing a thesis/creative project to pursue the Latin/University Honor. Students who select not to complete a thesis and the final graduation GPA falls within this range will automatically receive the subsequent honor. For example: See College of Arts & Sciences, Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science & Continuing and International Education – If the final GPA falls within the range of 3.900-3.929 and an application to declare candidacy to be graduated with summa or magna cum laude, six credit hours of thesis work, and thesis is not completed, the student will receive the honor of magna cum laude.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Honors Program – Office of Academic Enhancement at (305) 284-5384. Our office is located in the Center for Student Services in Building 21-Y.

To see the GPA requirements from previous years, please click on one of the links below.

2010-2011 Academic Year

2009-2010 Academic Year

2008-2009 Academic Year

*Application to Declare Candidacy for Students Writing and Thesis for Graduation with Magna or Summa Cum Laude:

(See GPAs for 2011-2012 above to determine if a thesis is necessary)

The application to declare your candidacy for graduation with summa or magna is due one semester prior to graduation. The application, general requirements and guidelines are below. Students who meet the GPA requirement above or are close to meeting the GPA and would like to pursue the option to write a thesis must schedule an appointment to meet with Andrea DuPuch, Assistant Director, Honors Program-Office of Academic Enhancement prior to completing the application.

2011-12 Application
2011-12 General Requirements for Magna & Summa Cum Laude
2011-12 Guidelines for Preparing Magna & Summa Theses

If you have any questions, concerns or to schedule an appointment, please contact the Honors Program-Office of Academic Enhancement at (305) 284-5384 or email honorsprogram@miami.edu. Our office is located at the Center for Student Services in Building 21-Y.

*Important Deadline Dates for Students Submitting a Thesis

For Magna or Summa to the Honors Program - Office of Academic Enhancement; Bldg. 21 Y:

  June 2011 Graduation:
August 2011 Graduation:
December 2011 Graduation:
May 2012 Graduation: 		  Wednesday, 15 June 2011
Wednesday, 27 July 2011
Friday, 18 November 2011
Friday, 13 April 2012
  

Related Links
Honors Program - Office of Academic Enhancement
Center for Student Services-Hughes House
5600 Merrick Drive, Building 21-Y
Coral Gables, Florida 33124-5595
Phone: (305) 284-5384
Fax: (305) 284-5241

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