Degree Honors and Distinction

Students whose academic record the semester before their last semester qualifies them for University Honors and/or Latin Honors may wear these awards as part of their graduation regalia.

Students qualifying for Latin Honors will be notified by email 4-6 weeks before the commencement cermony that they may wear a red and white Latin Honor cord. 

Students who completed the Honors College requirements may wear their Honors Medallion, and students graduating from the Honors College with University Honors with Distinction may wear the gold Distinction cord.

University Honors

Contact the Honors College office, 513-529-3399, for information on requirements needed to be admitted into the Honors College.

Departmental Honors

Contact your major departmental office to determine if departmental honors are offered and if so, what requirements need to be fulfilled to have departmental honors awarded.

Latin Honors

The criteria for graduation with distinction are divisionally based. Graduating students within each academic division must achieve the following cumulative grade point averages:

The grade point standards used for the distinction of summa cum laude approximates the average GPA of the highest 2 percent of students in each academic division. The standard used for magna cum laude approximates the average GPA of the next 5 highest percent of students in each academic division, and the standard used for the cum laude designation approximates the average GPA of the next highest 10 percent of students within each academic division, with typically no more than 17 percent being awarded honors within each division. Once every five years, the University Registrar and Office of Provost will conduct a review of these criteria and propose a change of criteria to University Senate if needed. Information concerning Latin Honors is located in the Student Handbook.

Students who graduate with distinction may wear cords at commencement. Latin Honors is based on the cumulative grade point average in the term prior to the student’s graduation term. The commencement program will reflect that they may be graduating with distinction. Actual degree honors will be recalculated to include grades from the student’s final semester and will be posted on the student’s academic record.

In addition, for students who graduate with distinction, the diploma for the degree will designate the Latin Honors earned by the student. Students who earn two or more degrees receive a separate diploma for each degree. Each diploma will indicate the appropriate Latin Honors the student earned, using the criteria for Latin Honors of the academic division where each degree resides.

For graduation with distinction, a student pursuing a baccalaureate degree must have earned at least 62 credit hours from Miami University; a student pursuing an associate degree must have earned at least 31 credit hours from Miami University. For students who earn fewer than 62 hours from Miami toward a bachelor’s degree or fewer than 31 hours from Miami toward an associate degree, the cumulative grade point average used at graduation to determine eligibility for honors is the lower of the following averages:

1. the average for all courses taken from Miami, or
2. the combined average calculated using the grades from all college-level courses.