Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude and Summa Cum Laude on a Resume

They are Latin honors, awarded at graduation for high academic achievement. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) glosses them as "with honors" (cum laude), "with high honors" (magna cum laude) and "with highest honors" (summa cum laude). Laude comes from the Latin word for praise, so you will also see "with praise," "with great praise" and "with highest praise."

The ranking never changes: cum laude is the first level, magna cum laude the second and summa cum laude the highest. What changes from school to school is what it takes to earn each one, so a cum laude from one university and a cum laude from another can reflect quite different GPAs.

Latin honors are mostly an undergraduate distinction. SIUE, for example, notes that graduate students do not receive honors status. The table below shows how five schools set their cutoffs.

It depends on your school. Schools with fixed cutoffs often start cum laude around 3.5 to 3.6: the University of Tennessee uses 3.50, SIUE 3.500 and Augsburg University 3.600. Other schools set the bar much higher. At UCLA's College of Letters and Science, the 2026-27 minimum for cum laude is 3.921 and summa cum laude needs 3.992.

Percentile schools work differently again. Vanderbilt awards summa cum laude to students whose GPA meets that of the top 5 percent of the previous three years' graduating seniors, magna cum laude to the next 8 percent and cum laude to the next 12 percent, and sets the thresholds each June. UCLA warns that its minimums are subject to yearly change.

Cutoffs can change between catalog years at the same school. Tennessee raised its bands for students on 2022-23 catalogs and later; under earlier catalogs, magna cum laude started at 3.65 instead of 3.70. Credit minimums matter too: Augsburg requires at least 56 traditionally graded credits taken there, and UCLA requires at least 90 UC units taken for a letter grade, so transfer students should check that they qualify.

In the education section, attached to the degree it belongs to. The two clean layouts are on the degree line after a comma ("Bachelor of Science in Biology, magna cum laude") or on its own line directly below the degree. Both keep the honor next to the degree, where a recruiter looks for it.

If you have several honors (Latin honors plus scholarships, honor societies and departmental awards), add an "Honors and Awards" section below education. Keep the Latin honor on the degree line anyway and use the separate section for everything else, so you are not listing the same honor twice.

Recent graduates can also mention it in the summary when it is the strongest point on the page, for example "Summa cum laude accounting graduate with two audit internships." Use it in one or two places at most.

The most common resume style is lowercase, set in italics if your template allows it: magna cum laude. That follows the usual convention for Latin phrases in English text. Schools are not consistent, though; Augsburg and SIUE both capitalize the terms on their own pages. Pick one style, match your diploma if you like, and use it everywhere on the resume.

Spell the honor in full and correctly: summa cum laude, not "summa cumme laude," "cum loud" or an abbreviation like "MCL." Do not put it in quotation marks, and do not translate it into English on a U.S. resume.

Adding your GPA is optional. If you do, put it right after the honor with the scale: "magna cum laude, GPA 3.86/4.0." Readers do not know your school's cutoffs, so the GPA adds context, especially from a school where cum laude already requires a GPA above 3.9.

Texas A&M's career center recommends that recent graduates include honors earned, Dean's List, class rank, awards and merit-based scholarships, and that experienced candidates keep only their most significant achievements.

If you graduated with Latin honors, Dean's List adds little, since the Latin honor already says you kept high grades across the whole degree. Cut it if you need the space. If you did not earn Latin honors, Dean's List is a strong substitute; say how often, as in "Dean's List, 6 of 8 semesters."

Keep other distinctions separate from Latin honors. UCLA awards Latin honors on GPA alone, while its College Honors and departmental honors require completing a specific program. List "Departmental Honors in Economics" or honors college completion as its own item, and put honor societies such as Phi Beta Kappa under Honors and Awards.

No. Latin honors are not final until your last grades post. SIUE bases the honors shown at commencement on your GPA at the end of the term before graduation, then calculates final honors after final grades are in, and only final honors appear on the diploma and transcript. The University of Tennessee likewise calls the category in its Commencement program unofficial.

While you are still in school, show the same evidence without the title: your GPA with the scale, Dean's List semesters and any merit scholarships. After graduation, update the resume with the honor exactly as your transcript shows it.

Never list an honor you did not receive. Latin honors are printed on transcripts and diplomas, so they are easy for an employer to check.

Keep them as long as the degree is on the page; the honor costs two or three words on the degree line. In the first few years after graduation it is a real selling point. Later, your results at work matter far more, but there is no reason to delete an honor you earned.

In fields that weigh academic records for years, such as law, academia, medicine and some consulting and finance firms, keep honors and GPA longer. Elsewhere, drop GPA, Dean's List and coursework first and keep the Latin honor.

Samples for fictional graduates.

A recent graduate with Latin honors and several other awards. The person and school are fictional.

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We opened every page below on that date. Pay, rules and requirements change, so check the source before you rely on a detail.

1. Augsburg University Registrar: Latin Honors (GPA ranges for each honor and the 56-credit requirement)
2. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, One Stop: Grades, GPA and Levels of Distinction (GPA bands by catalog year; commencement category unofficial)
3. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville: Graduating with Honors (English glosses, GPA ranges, commencement vs final honors)
4. UCLA Registrar: Honors (2026-27 Latin honors minimums, 90-unit rule, College and departmental honors)
5. Vanderbilt University Registrar: Latin Honors (percentile thresholds based on the previous three years)
6. Texas A&M University Career Center: Building Your Resume: Organizing Your Information (which honors recent graduates and experienced candidates should list)