Many of you have been asking about what Latin honors are, how they are determined, and when and how to know if you received them.
Here's what you need to know:
- The Faculty awards honors to the top 35 percent of the graduating class, who have completed their work for the degree with distinction (cum laude), with high distinction (magna cum laude), and with highest distinction (summa cum laude).
- Honors are determined by a student’s final cumulative Barnard GPA, with the top 5 percent of the graduating class being awarded summa cum laude, the next 10 percent being awarded magna cum laude, and the remaining 20 percent awarded cum laude. Because the cutoffs are determined by the actual graduating class's GPA -- and therefore may change from year to year -- they are not known in advance.
- Study at other institutions (transfer, summer school, study leave) is not factored into a student’s Latin honors eligibility.
- Latin honors display on the transcript and the diploma.
- Within a few weeks after graduation, your transcript will be updated to confirm degree conferral. At that point, when you log into Student Planning to view your unofficial transcript, you will see the following notations added at the top:
- The words "Degree: Bachelor of Arts," followed by the date your degree was conferred
- Any honors you may have earned
- Confirmation that your senior requirement was passed or passed with distinction
