In the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, students must meet the college requirements for cum laude, magna cum laude or summa cum laude 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 make the determination whether and 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 an African American Studies core or affiliate faculty member.
The faculty member will provide guidelines to the student for the completion of the thesis.
Most African American Studies theses range from a minimum of 20 to approximately 50 pages.
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 read the thesis and agree that it deserves a highest honors designation. If the second faculty member agrees with the first faculty member’s recommendation, the student will receive a 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 friend, colleagues, and family. For more information, see http://guides.uflib.ufl.edu/ufir/honors_theses.
Students need to submit the final version of your thesis to the UF Libraries by the following dates as set forth here.
Missing the deadline for your Libraries submission will not affect graduation status. However, late submissions will not run through the routine upload/archive process.