Undergraduate Student Graduating Honors & Cords

What are Latin Honors?

There are three Latin honors titles associated with graduation. It is referred to as Latin honors because of the Latin terminology used in the recognition. A GPA of at least 3.9 earns the honor of summa cum laude (meaning, with highest honors), a GPA of at least 3.7 and less than 3.9 earns magna cum laude (with high honors), and a GPA of at least 3.5 and less than 3.7 earns cum laude (with honors).

For clarity, because it can be confusing, there is a difference between a CSUSM GPA and a student’s overall GPA. The CSUSM GPA is calculated from only courses taken at CSUSM. The overall GPA includes coursework transferred in from another institution. The university will use the lower of the two GPAs to confer honors, which means that both GPAs must be above a 3.5 to be eligible for honors. For example, if the student’s CSUSM GPA is a 4.0 and their overall GPA is a 3.6, then student is eligible for cum laude (not summa cum laude).

"Latin Honors" Graduation gold cord?

The gold cords are distributed by the Dean's Office late April-early May and are to be worn during commencement to recognize a student’s academic achievement. You will be contacted directly if you have earned Latin Honors with further instructions on how to collect the cord.