Honors (Baccalaureate), Dean’s Honors

Dean's Honors List

The Dean’s Honors List is calculated each fall and spring semester for matriculated undergraduate students based on number of credit hours and term GPA. Dean’s honors is not calculated for Summer Session or January Term (J-Term).

Full-time undergraduate students must meet all of the following criteria to be eligible for the Dean’s Honor List in a given semester: 

  1. Earn a minimum term 3.5 GPA.
  2. Successfully complete a minimum of 12 credit hours of letter grade work (i.e., A, B, C, or D). Grades of S and P are not considered. Students with incomplete grades or grades of I, N, X, or U in a course for that semester are ineligible for the Dean’s Honor List. 
  3. All courses must be taken at Buffalo State. 

Part-Time Dean’s Honors List 

Part-time, matriculated undergraduate students (those carrying less than a 12-credit-hour course load per semester) become eligible for Part-Time Dean’s Honors List following successful completion of 12 credit hours of letter grade work (A–E) at Buffalo State. The Dean’s Honors List designation for part-time undergraduate students is determined once a year at the end of the spring semester for courses taken during that semester and the preceding fall semester.

Eligibility also requires the following: 

  1. A minimum 3.5 GPA  for all coursework taken in that academic year.
  2. No grades of I, N, X, or U in a course during that year.
  3. Successful completion of at least 12 hours of letter grade work per academic year.

Baccalaureate Academic Honors

Members of the graduating class who achieve honors as graduates or degree candidates according to the criteria set by the Registrar’s Office and stated in the Directory of Policy Statements (DOPS) may be recognized at the commencement ceremony.

Baccalaureate Academic Honors
An honors designation is awarded to bachelor’s graduates who achieve a minimum cumulative 3.5 GPA for all work completed at Buffalo State. Graduates with a cumulative GPA of 3.8 to 4.0 are designated summa cum laude; 3.65 to 3.79 are magna cum laude; and 3.5 to 3.64 are cum laude. A graduate must have completed a minimum of 60 credit hours at Buffalo State with a requisite number of final credits in residence to be considered for the honors designation. The honors designation is noted on the diploma and in the graduate’s transcripts once the Registrar has completed the degree audit and awarded the degree.

An honors citation may be noted for spring degree candidates eligible to participate in the commencement ceremony. Spring degree candidates with a minimum 3.5 cumulative GPA who have completed or have in progress 60 credit hours at Buffalo State during the spring semester may be eligible. A final honors designation will be determined when the Registrar completes the degree audit and awards the degree. Students who have incomplete grades or grades of I, N, X, or U may not be considered for honors designation upon degree conferral nor honors citation at commencement.

Gold Honors Cord at Commencement

Members of the bachelor’s graduating class who are honors designation graduates or honors citation degree candidates based on their current GPA in their last completed term are invited to wear a gold honors cord at commencement to signify their academic achievement. They are also recognized in the commencement program. Wearing the gold honors cord is not required. There is no honors designation or citation at the graduate level.