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Graduation with Institutional Honors—Bachelor’s Degrees

Candidates for bachelor’s degrees who demonstrate high levels of scholarship throughout their undergraduate years graduate with institutional honors. Graduation with institutional honors is conferred on students who earn a baccalaureate with a GPA of at least:

  • 3.300 cum laude
  • 3.600 magna cum laude
  • 3.800 summa cum laude

Beginning spring 2016, graduation with institutional honors is conferred on students who earn a baccalaureate with a GPA of at least:

  • 3.500 cum laude
  • 3.700 magna cum laude
  • 3.900 summa cum laude

Institutional honors are based solely on the GPA earned in all coursework taken at Kent State University, including original grades forgiven and/or recalculated under other policies. A minimum of 60 semester hours must be earned at Kent State University to qualify. For the purposes of computing the final GPA and determining honors awards, the GPA is extended to three decimal places and not rounded up. Honor citations are inscribed on diplomas as follows: cum laude, magna cum laude and summa cum laude. Honors candidates will be distinguished at the commencement ceremony based on all their institutional academic work completed prior to those courses taken during their final term of enrollment.

Graduation with Distinction—Associate Degrees

Candidates for associate degrees who demonstrate high levels of scholarship through their coursework will graduate "with distinction." "With distinction" is awarded when students achieve a minimum 3.500 GPA for all undergraduate coursework at Kent State University. In order for students to be considered for graduation "with distinction" and have it inscribed on their diploma, a minimum 32 credit hours must be completed at Kent State University. The students’ unadjusted GPA at the time the associate degree is conferred (which should be unadjusted by the application of the academic forgiveness policy or course repeat policies) will be used in determining "with distinction."