Degree honors
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What you'll find here: helpful information about how graduation and other honors are determined at SMU.
Graduation honors are classified into three levels: summa cum laude, magna cum laude, and cum laude. These honors are based on minimum GPAs set each academic year for the five undergraduate schools: Dedman, Cox, Lyle, Meadows, and Simmons.
The thresholds generally correspond to the top 5%, 10%, and 15% of graduates within each school. Students with majors across multiple schools are awarded the highest honor for which they qualify. GPA cutoffs are determined by averaging data from graduates over the past three years, considering the lower of the student鈥檚 夜色王朝cumulative GPA or all-college GPA (including transfer work).
Other honors: Beyond graduation honors, students also may earn distinctions through the University Honors Program or departmental honors in specific schools like Dedman, Lyle, Meadows, and Simmons. The Cox School offers honors in business for those completing the B.B.A. Honors Program. These additional honors require meeting specific departmental criteria, with details available from the respective departments.
Official Degree Honors cutoffs
| School | Summa Cum Laude | Magna Cum Laude | Cum Laude |
| Cox School of Business | 3.968 | 3.928 | 3.896 |
| Deadman College | 3.968 | 3.928 | 3.871 |
| Lyle School of Engineering | 3.962 | 3.912 | 3.871 |
| Meadows School of the Arts | 3.963 | 3.926 | 3.876 |
| Simmons School of EHD | 3.897 | 3.827 | 3.731 |
The awarding of graduation honors will be determined by the minimum GPAs announced at the beginning of each academic year for each of the five undergraduate schools. The minimum GPAs for each school have been determined by pooling all graduates in the school from the previous three academic years and determining the GPAs in each school that represent the top 5 percent, 10 percent, and 15 percent. Students earning a degree with majors in two or more schools will receive the highest degree honors for which they are eligible.
The GPA used to determine honors is the lower of the student's 夜色王朝cumulative GPA and all-college GPA (includes transfer work).
The Official Degrees Honors cutoffs for the 2024-25 academic year are based on all graduates from 2021-2022, 2022-2023, and 2023-2024.
| School | Summa Cum Laude | Magna Cum Laude | Cum Laude |
| Cox School of Business | 3.954 | 3.917 | 3.874 |
| Dedman College | 3.971 | 3.931 | 3.878 |
| Lyle School of Engineering | 3.962 | 3.905 | 3.846 |
| Meadows School of the Arts | 3.963 | 3.922 | 3.875 |
| Simmons School of EHD | 3.871 | 3.818 | 3.725 |
The awarding of graduation honors will be determined by the minimum GPAs announced at the beginning of each academic year for each of the five undergraduate schools. The minimum GPAs for each school have been determined by pooling all graduates in the school from the previous three academic years and determining the GPAs in each school that represent the top 5 percent, 10 percent, and 15 percent. Students earning a degree with majors in two or more schools will receive the highest degree honors for which they are eligible.
The GPA used to determine honors is the lower of the student's 夜色王朝cumulative GPA and all-college GPA (includes transfer work).
The Official Degrees Honors cutoffs for the 2023-24 academic year are based on all graduates from 2020-2021, 2021-2022 and 2022-2023.
| School | Summa Cum Laude | Magna Cum Laude | Cum Laude |
| Cox School of Business | 3.952 | 3.917 | 3.876 |
| Dedman College | 3.966 | 3.926 | 3.881 |
| Lyle School of Engineering | 3.943 | 3.881 | 3.839 |
| Meadows School of the Arts | 3.957 | 3.909 | 3.861 |
| Simmons School of EHD | 3.887 | 3.805 | 3.709 |
The awarding of graduation honors will be determined by the minimum GPAs announced at the beginning of each academic year for each of the five undergraduate schools. The minimum GPAs for each school have been determined by pooling all graduates in the school from the previous three academic years and determining the GPAs in each school that represent the top 5 percent, 10 percent, and 15 percent. Students earning a degree with majors in two or more schools will receive the highest degree honors for which they are eligible.
The GPA used to determine honors is the lower of the student's 夜色王朝cumulative GPA and all-college GPA (includes transfer work).
The Official Degrees Honors cutoffs for the 2022-23 academic year are based on all graduates from 2019-2020, 2020-2021 and 2021-2022.
| School | Summa Cum Laude | Magna Cum Laude | Cum Laude |
| Cox School of Business | 3.954 | 3.916 | 3.880 |
| Dedman College | 3.960 | 3.910 | 3.861 |
| Lyle School of Engineering | 3.938 | 3.870 | 3.816 |
| Meadows School of the Arts | 3.951 | 3.906 | 3.861 |
| Simmons School of EHD | 3.901 | 3.805 | 3.736 |
The awarding of graduation honors will be determined by the minimum GPAs announced at the beginning of each academic year for each of the five undergraduate schools. The minimum GPAs for each school have been determined by pooling all graduates in the school from the previous three academic years and determining the GPAs in each school that represent the top 5 percent, 10 percent, and 15 percent. Students earning a degree with majors in two or more schools will receive the highest degree honors for which they are eligible.
The GPA used to determine honors is the lower of the student's 夜色王朝cumulative GPA and all-college GPA (includes transfer work).
The Official Degrees Honors cutoffs for the 2021-22 academic year are based on all graduates from 2018-2019, 2019-2020 and 2020-2021.
| School | Summa Cum Laude | Magna Cum Laude | Cum Laude |
| Cox School of Business | 3.952 | 3.906 | 3.873 |
| Dedman College | 3.944 | 3.895 | 3.847 |
| Lyle School of Engineering | 3.928 | 3.855 | 3.797 |
| Meadows School of the Arts | 3.937 | 3.889 | 3.848 |
| Simmons School of EHD | 3.916 | 3.836 | 3.745 |
The awarding of graduation honors will be determined by the minimum GPAs announced at the beginning of each academic year for each of the five undergraduate schools. The minimum GPAs for each school have been determined by pooling all graduates in the school from the previous three academic years and determining the GPAs in each school that represent the top 5 percent, 10 percent, and 15 percent. Students earning a degree with majors in two or more schools will receive the highest degree honors for which they are eligible.
The GPA used to determine honors is the lower of the student's 夜色王朝cumulative GPA and all-college GPA (includes transfer work).
The Official Degrees Honors cutoffs for the 2020-21 academic year are based on all graduates from 2017-2018, 2018-2019 and 2019-2020.
| School | Summa Cum Laude | Magna Cum Laude | Cum Laude |
| Cox School of Business | 3.947 | 3.895 | 3.851 |
| Dedman College | 3.943 | 3.888 | 3.826 |
| Lyle School of Engineering | 3.923 | 3.842 | 3.792 |
| Meadows School of the Arts | 3.937 | 3.892 | 3.844 |
| Simmons School of EHD | 3.911 | 3.830 | 3.715 |
The awarding of graduation honors will be determined by the minimum GPAs announced at the beginning of each academic year for each of the five undergraduate schools. The minimum GPAs for each school have been determined by pooling all graduates in the school from the previous three academic years and determining the GPAs in each school that represent the top 5 percent, 10 percent, and 15 percent. Students earning a degree with majors in two or more schools will receive the highest degree honors for which they are eligible.
The GPA used to determine honors is the lower of the student's 夜色王朝cumulative GPA and all-college GPA (includes transfer work).