Latin honors facts for kids

Have you ever heard of someone graduating "with honors"? This usually means they did really well in their studies at college or university. In many places, especially in the United States, they use special Latin phrases to show how well a student did. These phrases are called Latin honours. They tell everyone the level of success a student achieved when earning their degree.

This system is also used in some countries in Southeast Asia, like Indonesia and the Philippines, and in African countries such as Zambia and South Africa. Sometimes, these countries use translations of the Latin phrases instead of the original Latin words. It's important not to mix up these Latin honors with other types of honors, like an honors degree (which is a different kind of degree) or an honorary degree (which is given to someone for their achievements, not for studying).

There are usually three main levels of Latin honors, each showing a higher level of achievement:

• cum laude
• magna cum laude
• summa cum laude

Each college or university sets its own rules for earning these honors. For example, a student might need to have a certain grade point average (GPA), write a special research paper, or be part of an honors program. Because each school has different rules, a "cum laude" from one university might mean something slightly different than a "cum laude" from another. Some schools, like the MIT, don't use Latin honors at all.

Latin honors are almost always given to undergraduate students when they earn their first degree (a bachelor's degree). They are much less common for students earning a master's or doctorate degree, except for students graduating from law school. When you earn Latin honors, it's usually written on your diploma.

Latin Honors in the United States

In the United States, most colleges and universities use Latin honors for bachelor's degrees and for the Juris Doctor (J.D.) law degree. They are not usually used for other advanced degrees like a Ph.D. or M.D..

Understanding the Levels

There are three main levels of Latin honors in the U.S.:

• Cum laude (pronounced: koom loud-ay) means "with praise." This honor is typically given to students who are in the top 20% to 33% of their graduating class.
• Magna cum laude (pronounced: mag-na koom loud-ay) means "with great praise." This is usually awarded to students in the top 5% to 15% of their class.
• Summa cum laude (pronounced: soo-ma koom loud-ay) means "with highest praise." This is the highest honor and is typically given to students in the top 1% to 5% of their class. Some schools might not offer summa cum laude or only give it out in very special situations.

A Bit of History

The idea of Latin honors in the United States started at Harvard College in 1869. At first, Harvard only gave out cum laude and summa cum laude. Then, in 1880, they added magna cum laude.

Amherst College also started using Latin honors in 1881. The president of Amherst College, Julius Hawley Seelye, created a system where students were placed into different groups based on their grades. The highest group received summa cum laude, and the lowest group (who still passed) received their degree rite (meaning "duly," or just passed). This system helped show the different levels of achievement among students and encouraged them to do their best.

Latin Honors Around the World

While Latin honors are common in the U.S., many other countries use different systems to recognize academic achievement. For example, many countries in the Commonwealth of Nations (like Australia, India, and the United Kingdom) use a system called the British undergraduate degree classification.

United Kingdom

A University of Wales degree certificate from 1984, written in Latin.

In the United Kingdom, Latin phrases like cum laude are sometimes used on special Latin versions of degree certificates. However, the official way to show honors is usually in English, like "first class" or "second class honors."

Other Countries and Their Systems

Many countries have their own unique ways of showing academic excellence:

• Austria: The only Latin honor used is sub auspiciis Praesidentis rei publicae ("under the auspices of the president of the republic") for doctoral degrees. It's very rare to achieve this.
• Belgium: Universities use cum laude, magna cum laude, and summa cum laude based on percentages, with summa cum laude with congratulations for the very best.
• Brazil: Some universities, like the Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica, use cum laude, magna cum laude, and summa cum laude based on high average grades.
• Estonia: Since 2010, only cum laude is used for bachelor's, master's, and integrated studies degrees, requiring a high GPA and the best grade on the final thesis.
• Finland: The Finnish high school final exams use a range of Latin grades, from improbatur (failing) to laudatur (praised). Some universities use a similar scale for master's and doctoral theses.
• France: French honors like mention très bien ("very good mention") are more common. However, some special schools use Latin honors like summa cum laude for their top students.
• Germany: Latin honors like cum laude, magna cum laude, and summa cum laude are mostly used for doctoral degrees, not for bachelor's or master's degrees, which use numerical grades.
• Hungary: Similar to Germany, Hungary uses rite, cum laude, and summa cum laude for university diplomas, especially in fields like medicine and law.
• Italy: The phrase cum laude (or con lode in Italian) is used to show the highest grade for exams (30/30) and degrees (110/110). 110 e lode is the highest possible achievement.
• Malta: For bachelor's degrees, summa cum laude means first class honors, and magna cum laude means second class honors.
• Mexico: Cum laude (also called mención honorífica in Spanish) is used to recognize excellent research papers for bachelor's, master's, and PhD degrees.
• Netherlands: Cum laude and summa cum laude are used for bachelor's, master's, and PhD programs, marking exceptional achievement.
• Philippines: In high school, students receive Filipino titles like May Karangalan ("with honors"). In college, they use the Latin honors cum laude, magna cum laude, and summa cum laude.
• Russia: The honor system is based on GPA, with s otlichiem ("with excellence") being the highest, requiring at least 4.75 out of 5.0 points and perfect scores on all final exams.
• Singapore: The Singapore Management University and Yale-NUS College use cum laude, magna cum laude, and summa cum laude based on GPA and class rank.
• South Africa: Cum laude is used for bachelor's and master's degrees for students with an average grade of 75% or higher.
• Spain: Cum laude is used only for PhD degrees and requires a unanimous vote from the jury.
• Switzerland: Degrees like rite, cum laude, magna cum laude, insigni cum laude, and summa cum laude are used, but the exact grades needed vary by school.
• Ukraine: To graduate with honors (cum laude), students need excellent marks in most courses and on state exams, and often need to have participated in research.

See also