Office of Student Success

Honors Students

Honor Rolls

Full-time undergraduate students who earn a grade point average of 4.0 during a semester are eligible for the President's Honor List. Those who earn a GPA of 3.5 or higher during a semester are eligible for the Dean's Honor List of the college in which they are enrolled during that semester. For these acknowledgments, students must be enrolled for at least 12 hours, excluding any courses that are graded pass/fail.

Students taking between 7 and 11 hours and enrolled in the South Plains College (SPC) Spanish courses taught on the Texas Tech campus (SPCS 1501, 1502) may count the SPC hours to accumulate enough hours to qualify for the President's Honor List and the Dean's Honor List if they would otherwise qualify for those honors without the SPC courses. The SPC grades are not sufficient to advance students to qualify for the President's or Dean's list, but the courses can be used to acquire the necessary number of hours (minimum of 12) to qualify and thus keep the student eligible.

Graduation with Honors

Members of a graduating class who complete their work with a pure Texas Tech University grade point average of 3.9 or above are graduated Summa Cum Laude; those who complete their work with a GPA of 3.7 to 3.89 are graduated Magna Cum Laude; and those who complete their work with a GPA of 3.5 to 3.69 are graduated Cum Laude. Appropriate designation of the honor is made on the diploma and on the commencement program. The grade point average for graduation honors is calculated using all hours taken at Texas Tech University, and those hours must include the final two semesters prior to graduation. Students are considered for graduation honors only if a minimum of 48 semester credit hours have been completed at Texas Tech University. The grade point average for graduation honors is calculated using all hours taken at Texas Tech University, including Texas Tech University approved reciprocal exchange study abroad credit, pass/fail credit, and graduate hours applied toward the undergraduate degree. However, no CLEP, foreign language placement tests, or similar types of credit that do not involve course enrollment should be counted in calculating the GPA for graduation honors. Only grades earned at Texas Tech are counted, and only the cumulative GPA without grade replacements is used to calculate honors.

Those who graduate from the Honors College after acquiring at least 24 Honors credit hours (including two Honors seminars) graduate with "Honors," a distinction that is noted on diplomas and transcripts and receives special recognition at graduation ceremonies. Those who also complete an Honors thesis or project consisting of 6 additional hours graduate with "Highest Honors."

Graduation with Honors for Second Texas Tech University Degree Students

Students are considered for graduation honors only if a minimum of 24 semester credit hours have been completed at Texas Tech University after the completion and awarding of the first degree. Honors for the additional undergraduate degree will be based upon all Texas Tech University coursework taken in fulfillment of the second degree requirements. Policies governing minimum coursework required to earn a second undergraduate degree are available by following this link.

Honors Certificates

Those wishing to receive Honors Certificates may contact Elizabeth Rangel in the College of Arts & Sciences Dean's Office—Student Services, Holden Hall 102.

Office of Recruitment & Student Success
Holden Hall 002, Box 41034
806.742.4086 office