what is magna cum laude 
magna cum laude is a latin phrase that means with great praise and is an academic honor awarded to students who graduate with a grade point average gpa near the top of the class there is no set gpa to determine magna cum laude as the precise standards differ among colleges u s colleges commonly use three levels of academic distinction cum laude meaning with distinction magna cum laude or with great praise and summa cum laude or with highest distinction understanding magna cum laudethe awarding of latin honors the titles are referred to as latin honors because they retain their original latin forms is common in colleges and universities in the united states although not all bestow them many high schools also grant latin honors magna cum laude means with great praise and is awarded to students who have achieved academic excellence it is more prestigious than cum laude honors but less prestigious than summa cum laude the criteria by which each of these distinctions is achieved is set by each institution some use gpa while some calculate their honors according to class placement for example a student in the top 3 of the class might qualify for a magna cum laude distinction colleges may consider other factors in their decisions to grant magna cum laude status an institution might require that students complete an honors thesis to be eligible others seek letters of recommendation from faculty members attesting to students exceptional academic performance others stipulate that students must complete a certain number of advanced courses latin honors are most commonly awarded with bachelor s degrees students who graduate with honors may wear stoles of a distinct color or some other designation during commencement ceremonies and their honors may be cited when their names are read latin honors are generally included in a student s official transcript examples of magna cum laudemagna cum laude is generally awarded to a student who has earned a high gpa or some other mark of academic achievement but not the highest possible the criteria vary and may include some combination of the student s gpa class rank number of hours completed and recommendations from an academic department the academic thresholds for honors differ among academic institutions and even among programs at the same institution for example texas a m graduates must complete 60 credit hours while earning a gpa of 3 70 to 3 899 to earn a magna cum laude degree at some universities the gpa requirements for latin honors change every academic year because they are based on a percentage of the student s class some schools have substituted other titles such as with distinction in place of or in addition to the traditional latin terms for example a student graduating magna cum laude in engineering from the university of california los angeles must finish in the top 5 to 10 of the class after completing 90 credits for the 2023 2024 academic year students would need to achieve a grade point average of 3 934 for the 2022 2023 academic year the required gpa was 3 898 brown university does not use a student s gpa in its calculation since the school does not calculate gpas students are eligible for just one latin honor magna cum laude upon graduation a student achieves that honor by earning a high percentage of a grades and s for distinction marks for courses as well as meeting other criteria as determined by the school no more than 20 of a graduating class can earn magna cum laude honors the value of a magna cum laude degreethe relative value of a magna cum laude degree or another latin honor is difficult to judge as a factor in the job market it may mean a great deal to some employers and nothing to others nonetheless as new college graduates compete for their first jobs having a latin honor on a resume can t hurt it is of benefit to students competing for slots in graduate school the top law schools for example expect students to have achieved certain gpas as undergraduates the type of high marks that are often accompanied by latin honors 