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College of Liberal Arts and Sciences University of Florida

Graduating with Honors

In the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, students must meet the college’s requirements for cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude as outlined below. Students will be granted magna (high honors) or summa (highest honors) cum laude if they meet the college requirements AND the requirements specified by their major below.

College Requirements

Cum Laude

3.50 or higher GPA on all courses taken at UF beginning the semester after accumulating 60 credits.

Magna Cum Laude / Summa Cum Laude

Summa Cum Laude 3.8-4.0

Magna Cum Laude 3.60-3.79

Eligible students must have a 3.60 or higher GPA on all courses taken at UF beginning the semester after accumulating 60 credits and completion of, and faculty evaluation of, a thesis, research project, or other creative work. Distinction of magna or summa cum laude may be granted based on faculty evaluation of the thesis, and the department will determine whether and at what level of distinction will be awarded.

African American Studies Requirements

Students must sign up for AFA 4970 (Honors Thesis) to receive three AFA credits for the thesis.

They must then complete an honors thesis on a topic of their choice under the supervision of a core or affiliate faculty member in African American Studies.

The faculty member will provide guidelines to the student for completing the thesis.

Most African American Studies theses range from a minimum of 20 to approximately 50 pages in length.

During the course of the semester or academic year, the student will consult with the faculty mentor and provide drafts of the thesis on a timetable established by the faculty member.

If the faculty member recommends the student for high honors, he/she will graduate with that designation.

If the faculty member recommends the student for highest honors, an additional faculty member must review the thesis and concur that it warrants a highest honors designation.  If the second faculty member agrees with the first faculty member’s recommendation, the student will receive the highest honors designation and will graduate with highest honors.

In evaluating the student’s thesis, the following criteria will be used:

  • An assessment and knowledge of academic literature.
  • Innovativeness of the student’s research topic.
  • The contribution of the student’s research to the field of African American Studies.
  • The overall quality of the thesis in terms of the writing style, clarity, originality, and analytical rigor.

Submission Dates

Students must meet the deadlines established by the African American Studies Program and by the Institutional Repository (IR@UF) that enables students to post a copy of their final honors project online, with a permanent link (or links) that they can include in online applications or résumés, social media, or emails to friends, colleagues, and family. For more information, see http://guides.uflib.ufl.edu/ufir/honors_theses.

Students need to submit the final version of their thesis to the UF Libraries by the following dates as set forth here.

Missing the deadline for your library submission will not affect your graduation status. However, late submissions will not run through the routine upload/archive process.