There is no national summa cum laude grade point average, and the institutions in this index split cleanly on why. UMBC prints a fixed band, 3.95 to 4.0. UConn requires at least a 3.7 and a class rank in the 95th percentile. UT Dallas, UC San Diego and UMass Amherst set no number at all and award honours to a share of the graduating class.
The fixed threshold, and what it means for a student
UMBC publishes its bands as numbers a student can aim at: summa cum laude for a cumulative average between 3.95 and 4.0, with magna and cum laude below it. A fixed rule is knowable in advance and the same in every year. Its consequence is that the share of a class receiving honours rises when grades rise, which is why several institutions have moved away from fixed thresholds entirely.
The percentile rule, and the number that only exists afterwards
UT Dallas sets the average representing the top five per cent of each school as the summa threshold. UC San Diego makes the top fourteen per cent of graduating seniors eligible for honours across the three levels. UMass Amherst uses the top five per cent of each school or college. Under all three the answer to what summa takes is unknowable until the class graduates, and both UMass and UConn publish the realised figures per school afterwards.
Honours, class rank and the two named titles
Latin honours are a band. Valedictorian and salutatorian are ranks: the first and second student in the graduating class. A percentile honours rule and a class rank are close cousins, which is why institutions using percentiles often publish a rank alongside. A fixed-threshold institution can produce a hundred summa graduates and exactly one valedictorian in the same year.
Questions people ask about summa cum laude gpa
What GPA is summa cum laude?
It depends on the institution. UMBC prints 3.95 to 4.0. UConn requires 3.7 and a 95th-percentile class rank. UT Dallas, UC San Diego and UMass Amherst publish no threshold at all and award it to a share of the class.
What is the difference between valedictorian and salutatorian?
Valedictorian is the first-ranked student in the graduating class and salutatorian the second. They are ranks, not bands, so a class has one of each however many students earn Latin honours.
Are academic honors the same as Latin honours?
Not always. Latin honours are the cum laude family awarded at graduation. Academic honors can also mean a dean's list or an honour roll during study, which are term-by-term and have their own published thresholds.