Latin Honors

Current Guidelines

Students who matriculated at Bowdoin College in the 1999 fall semester and after, fall under the Latin Honor rules as outlined in the 1999-2000 and subsequent Bowdoin College Catalogue and Academic Handbooks.

"General honors (or Latin honors) are awarded with the degree on the basis of an average of all grades earned at Bowdoin, with a minimum of sixteen credits required for the computation. To compute the average, an A is assigned four points; a B, three points; a C, two points; a D, one point; and an F, zero points. Plus (+) or minus (–) modifiers add or subtract three-tenths of a point (0.3). Half-credit courses are weighted as one-half course. Credit grades (CR) are omitted from the computation, but a D or F grade received in a course taken on a Credit/D/ Fail basis does count. Beginning with grades recorded for Fall 2013, all grades earned in repeated courses are included. The resulting grade point average (GPA) is not rounded but truncated to display the first three decimals. A degree summa cum laude is awarded to the top 2 percent of the graduating class as calculated by GPA; a degree magna cum laude is awarded to the top 8 percent of the graduating class as calculated by GPA; and a degree cum laude is awarded to the top 20 percent of the graduating class as calculated by GPA. It is Bowdoin’s policy not to disclose the GPA ranges that determine Latin Honors as they shift with each class."

Half-credit courses are weighted as one half of a course. This figures in the computation of the GPA in two ways: 1) An A in a half-credit course is worth 2 points, a B is worth 1.5 points, and so on; 2) If you took five full-credit courses (example: earned straight Bs) and one half-credit course (example: earned an A), you divide the total of 17 points (example: 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 2) by 5.5 courses (not 6).

Courses taken Credit/D/Fail for which you earned a CR grade are not figured into this formula. However, if you took a class Credit/D/Fail and earned a D or F, this D or F is included in the computation of the average.

Latin Honors are calculated for students who have met ALL of their academic requirements at the time of degree conferral.

Students who walk in commencement, but have not earned the degree yet, are NOT included in the Latin Honors calculation. Latin Honors eligibility for these students will be determined at the time of their degree conferral, once ALL degree requirements have been met. There are no exceptions to this policy.

Matriculants in 1997-1998

If you matriculated at Bowdoin College during either of those academic years, you fall under the Latin Honor rules as outlined in the 1998-1999 Bowdoin Catalogue.

Matriculants Prior to Fall 1997

If you matriculated at Bowdoin College during this time, you fall under the Latin Honor rules as outlined in the 1996-1997 Bowdoin College Catalogue unless:

you are a transfer student who spent less than six total semesters at Bowdoin; or
you ever, at any point, received a grade of D or F either at Bowdoin or elsewhere while studying away. (This includes failing a course taken Credit/Fail.)

If you matriculated prior to fall 1997, but #1 or #2 apply to you, then you fall under the Latin Honor rules as outlined in the 1998-1999 Bowdoin Catalogue (see previous section).

"Latin honors are awarded on the basis of all grades earned at Bowdoin in the final six semesters."

Summa Cum Laude: within the final six semesters, at least 70% of the grades must be As and the rest Bs. This means no Cs at all.
Magna Cum Laude: within those final six semesters, 75% of your grades must be As or Bs. In addition to having two As for each C earned, 30% of the grades must be As over and above those As used to balance out the Cs.
Cum Laude: within those final six semesters, 75% of your grades must be As or Bs. Also, for every C that you may have, you must have two As.

Please Note: Courses taken Credit/Fail are not figured into this formula.