Summa Cum Laude

Summa cum laude is an honor for educational institutions to define an academic degree "with the highest distinction".

There are several types of generally accepted academic awards, but Cum Laude ("with honors"), Magna Cum Laude ("with great distinction"), and Summa cum laude ("with the highest distinction") are accepted as the main three. Summa cum laude is usually the highest of the 3 traditional Latin honors. It is awarded to the smallest number of students upon graduation. In some cases, only a few graduates get the summa cum laude.

Understanding Summa Cum Laude

Only selected students can get Summa cum laude for certain qualifications for a bachelor's degree. It is sometimes awarded to other degrees as well. The names of students with honors degrees are read aloud at the awards ceremony. Honors students are also allowed to be in colored stoles or have other signs of distinction during the graduation ceremony.

Among educational institutions, Latin honors (Latin phrases) can be given to specify the distinction level of an earned academic degree. This system is mostly used in Indonesia, the Philippines, many European countries and the United States. This system is very rarely used elsewhere in the world.

Some colleges and institutions do not award honorary degrees in Latin at all. Others, such as Stanford University, have their own internal non-Latin honorary degrees (e.g., "with Distinction"), which are usually equated with traditional Latin titles.

Translations of these phrases can also be used by some institutions rather than the original Latin ones. The honors distinction should not be confused with a "bachelor's degree" or "Cum Honor," which are extensions of a completed bachelor's degree program in the same field (Australian and Canadian universities). Typically, higher education institution regulations set certain criteria for earning this honor. For example, a student may be required to have a high grade point average (GPA), to have academic department designations, number of hours completed, and class rank. All of this can be required to submit a thesis for evaluation, to participate in an honors program, or to enter a university early. Each education institution establishes its own internal standards, and because these standards can differ a lot, the same level of Latin honors provided by different institutions may be absolutely different levels of academic achievement.