Honors and Awards

Dean’s List
Honors
Honors Program
Graduation Latin Honors

Dean’s List

The Dean’s List is determined twice each year, at the end of the fall and spring semesters. It includes the names of all full-time degree candidates who earned at least a 3.5 grade point average the previous semester in a minimum of 12 credits with letter grades with the exception of junior-and senior-level nursing and NDT students who need 6 of the 12 credits with letter grades and senior-level neurodiagnostic technology students who need 9 of the 12 credits with letter grades. Achievement of the dean’s list is noted on the student’s transcript. Dean’s list for part-time students will be determined after a student has earned 12 Carroll credits and has a Carroll cumulative GPA of 3.50. Thereafter, a student who completes fewer than 12 credits per semester and earns at least a 3.500 GPA is designated as being on the dean’s list for that semester.

Honors

Delta Sigma Nu is the university’s honorary scholastic society. Students in the upper 10 percent of the senior class who have completed by graduation 64 letter-graded credits at Carroll and a total of 100 letter-graded credits are elected to membership. The only exception is students on approved off-campus programs where letter grades are not given. Members of the junior class with an overall grade point average of 3.9 or higher who have completed 64 letter-graded credits at Carroll and have been enrolled at Carroll University for at least four semesters are elected to membership.

Graduation honors based on the cumulative grade point average (GPA)* are awarded to those students who have completed all requirements for the degree: summa cum laude requires a GPA starting at 3.9 on a 4.0 scale; magna cum laude requires a GPA starting at 3.6; cum laude requires a GPA starting at 3.4. The complete record is considered, and there must be a minimum of 64 credits of letter grades. In order to be eligible for honors, a student must complete at Carroll, in letter-graded courses, one-half of the hours (currently 64) required for graduation. Students with transfer work must meet two criteria:

The student must have 64 letter-graded credits earned at Carroll.
Since a student with transfer work has a Carroll and an overall GPA, the lower of the two GPAs determines eligibility for honors and placement into one of the above three honors categories.

*The GPA is not rounded up.

Latin Honors for the Commencement program in May will be calculated using the student’s cumulative GPA as of the end of the Fall/Winter semester. Latin Honors for a student’s official transcript and diploma will be calculated using the final, cumulative GPA after all Spring courses have been graded. These honors may differ from the Commencement Program. Carroll University recognizes the transcript and diploma as the official record for the student, not the Commencement program.

Note: Graduating with honors, or as part of an honors society such as Delta Sigma Nu, is distinct from the Honors Program. For information on the Honors Program, see the Honors Program page.

Honors Program

The mission of the Carroll University Honors Program is to encourage motivated and talented students to pursue a breadth and depth of knowledge within an enriched curriculum. The program creates an environment designed to challenge students’ perspectives and to foster intellectual development. This interdisciplinary program offers intensive sections of courses distributed over the arts and sciences. The Honors Program also provides special cultural and social activities on and off campus for all honors scholars.

Carroll University’s Honors is an exclusive program: only a limited number of students are invited to join every year. The program keeps two separate rolling admissions during the academic year:

For prospective students: every confirmed student is automatically invited to apply; in addition, admission counselors recommend talented students to the Program who demonstrated extraordinary leadership potential.
For current first-year students: faculty and staff who teach first-year courses and work closely with first-year students nominate outstanding students who are then invited to apply.

Applications are then reviewed by the Honors Committee and the most promising applicants are invited for an in-person interview. Currently, the Honors Program admits up to 36 prospective students and 14 current first-year students every year.

For more details, see the Honors Program page.

Graduation Latin Honors

Graduation honors based on the cumulative grade point average (GPA)* are awarded to those students who have completed all requirements for the degree: summa cum laude requires a GPA starting at 3.9 on a 4.0 scale; magna cum laude requires a GPA starting at 3.6; cum laude requires a GPA starting at 3.4. In order to be eligible for honors, a student must complete at Carroll, one-half of the hours (currently 64) required for graduation:

The student must earn at least 64 credits from Carroll University with no more than 8 of those credits being graded Pass/Fail.
Since a student with transfer work has a Carroll and an overall GPA, the lower of the two GPAs determines eligibility for honors and placement into one of the above three honors categories.

*The GPA is not rounded up.

Second degree graduation honors will be awarded to students who have completed all requirements for the degree. There must be a minimum of 32 letter-graded credits completed at Carroll University. The entire undergraduate record is considered and, if there is transfer work, the lower of the Carroll or overall grade point average (GPA)* determines eligibility for honors and placement into one of the three following categories: summa cum laude requires a GPA starting at 3.9 on a 4.0 scale; magna cum laude requires a GPA starting at 3.6; cum laude requires a GPA starting at 3.4.

Note: Graduating with honors, or as part of an honors society such as Delta Sigma Nu, is distinct from the Honors Program. For information on the Honors Program, see the Honors Program page.