College distinctions

Dean’s List

The Dean's List is prepared each semester to honor all full-time students whose grade-point average (GPA) for that semester ranks in the upper 20 percent of their college. The minimum GPA establishing eligibility for the LAS Dean's List in 2024-2025 is 3.94. To be eligible for Dean's List recognition, students must complete at least 12 academic semester hours taken for a letter grade (A through F). This excludes courses graded credit/no credit, satisfactory/unsatisfactory, and test-based credit that is graded pass/fail. No consideration is given for the Dean's List until all final traditional grades are posted.

Students who are registered with the Center for Wounded Veterans (CWV) or with Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES) who are enrolled less than 12 but a minimum of nine graded semester hours who are in the top 20 percent of their college are also eligible. Such students must sign a release with CWV or DRES indicating their consent for consideration for Dean's List eligibility and have submitted that consent to their home unit's academic affairs office (for LAS students the release should be submitted to the LAS Student Academic Affairs Office in 2002 Lincoln Hall) no later than Reading Day in the semester in which they wish to be considered for Dean's List. These consent forms are valid only for the semester in which they are issued, and students must submit by the deadline updated consent forms for each semester in which they wish to be considered for Dean's List.

Any student with an academic integrity infraction from the student code of conduct is not eligible for the Dean's List. The Academic Integrity Policy information can be found here.

Senior Thesis submission

Students who wish to pursue a senior thesis should consult with their department/academic unit on how to get started. Details about how to submit your thesis to the Undergraduate Thesis & Capstone Online Submission System are provided in the Senior Thesis Submission Guide. All submitted senior theses must include a thesis certification form. Please be sure to consult with your thesis advisor throughout the submission process.

Distinctions are determined by departments. Please confer with your department for submission deadlines, though the College of LAS recommends that the College submission be completed by the end of the final exams.

College Latin Honors in LAS

Based on December 2023-August 2024 LAS graduates, the following GPAs may be used to determine LAS College Honors on graduation lists between December 2024 and August 2025.

  • (Top 3 percent) Summa Cum Laude (GPA of 3.99)
  • (Top 7 percent) Magna Cum Laude (GPA of 3.97)
  • (Top 12 percent) Cum Laude (GPA of 3.94)

To earn College Latin Honors, a student is required to have both the appropriate GPA and to have completed one of the following:

  • 25 honors hours, OR
  • 35 advanced hours (300/400 level), OR
  • LAS James Scholar Graduation Honors, OR
  • Departmental Distinction

The minimum must be met by both the comprehensive university GPA (including transfer work) and the cumulative GPA of work taken on this campus. All semesters of coursework count for College Latin Honors, so College Latin Honors isn't determined until the final semester grades post. Final semester grades do not post until after commencement occurs, so the College of LAS is unable to award College Latin Honors regalia for graduation. 

Bronze Tablet

Continuous academic achievement is recognized at the University of Illinois by inscribing students’ names on the Bronze Tablets which hang in the campus Library. Bronze Tablet recipients must rank in the top 3 percent of the students of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. The actual GPA is recalculated every year and is based on all work completed at the university through the academic term prior to their graduation. To be identified as a Bronze Tablet recipient, transfer students, in addition to meeting the general rules for qualification, must also have earned at least 40 semester hours at this university and have cumulative University of Illinois grade point averages as high as the lowest eligible students who completed all of their academic work on this campus.

Students who receive the Bronze Tablet distinction will be notified by the Chancellors Office in April.

The 23-24 academic year cut-off was 3.99.

The 22-23 academic year cut-off was 3.99.

The 21-22 academic year cut-off was 3.99.

The 20-21 academic year cut-off was 3.98.