Graduating with Honors
Students may earn several types of honors at UMass:
- Latin Honors (appears on transcript): As of May 2009, all graduating seniors are eligible for Latin honors on their transcripts, provided they have taken 54 graded credits at UMass. Latin honors are based on the top GPA percentiles of graduating seniors within a school or college. Every fall, these percentiles and their corresponding Latin honors are posted on the registrar's website.
- Departmental Honors (appears on transcript): are awarded to students who enter Commonwealth Honors College and complete the Departmental Honors requirements with grades of B+ or better. The honors thesis or project and its manuscript must be formatted to Commonwealth Honors College standards. This distinction appears on the transcript as "Departmental Honors."
- Multidisciplinary Honors (appears on transcript): is awarded to students who concentrate their upper-level honors courses outside their major(s) or between two or more disciplines. Multidisciplinary Honors require a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.400 and earned grades of B or higher earned in four honors courses, including one at or above the 300-level, plus the honors thesis or project and its manuscript formatted to Commonwealth Honors College standards. This distinction appears on the transcript as "Multidisciplinary Honors."
- CHC Honors Distinctions (appears on transcript and diploma): All Commonweath Honors College students are eligible for CHC Honors distinctions (in addition to Latin honors). The four levels of distinction are: CHC Scholar CHC Scholar with Distinction; CHC Scholar with Great Distinction; CHC Scholar with Greatest Distinction. To see the requirements for each level of distinction, visit the CHC website.