2013–2014 The Bulletin - USS at Tufts - Tufts University

College of Liberal Arts >
Quality Requirements
Students in the College of Liberal Arts must earn
grades of C- or better in three-fourths of their
courses taken at Tufts under standard grading.
Dean’s List
Each semester, students who have been enrolled
with a minimum of 4.0 credits, received letter
grades in a minimum of three credits with no work
incomplete (with the exception of Y), and earned a
minimum grade point average of 3.40 in the
College of Liberal Arts will be placed on the Dean’s
List in recognition of their academic achievement.
An indication of Dean’s List status will be placed
on their permanent record. Students in the
combined-degrees program with New England
Conservatory of Music whose total course load
equals 4.0 credits or more will be awarded Dean’s
List honors at both institutions if they meet Dean’s
List GPA requirements for the course work taken
at each institution.
Degrees with Honors
Distinction (cum laude) is conferred at commencement
on liberal arts students who achieved a record
of five credits of A or A- in satisfying their
concentration requirements, including related fields,
and whose cumulative average for all courses is 3.50
or higher.
High distinction (magna cum laude) may be
conferred at commencement on liberal arts students
who achieved a record of six credits of A or A- in
satisfying their concentration requirements,
including related fields, and whose cumulative
average for all courses is 3.65 or higher. Students
must be recommended in writing by their departmental
major.
Highest distinction (summa cum laude) may be
conferred at commencement on liberal arts students
who achieved a record of six credits of A or A- in
satisfying their concentration requirements and
whose cumulative average for all courses is 3.80 or
better. Such candidates must also have earned at
least one credit of A or A- in four of the five areas
of the distribution requirement. All of these A or
A- grades must be received in courses offered by a
department or interdisciplinary program at Tufts or
in Tufts Programs Abroad. Please note that
Advanced Placement scores are not interpreted as
grades.
It is important to emphasize that the numerical
criteria for magna cum laude and summa cum laude
determine only eligibility for consideration; actual
award of these honors is contingent on departmental
recommendation. A description of additional
departmental criteria (such as independent
research) for honors recommendations is available
from each academic department or program. In
addition, for students recommended for summa cum
laude, the department must supply a letter supporting
the recommendation. Finally, summa cum laude
is awarded only by special vote of the entire faculty,
recognizing extraordinary achievement in the
breadth, as well as the depth, of the student’s
intellectual development. Students whose record
includes a serious disciplinary infraction will not
normally be eligible for summa cum laude honors.
Exceptions to this policy can be made only after
disclosure by the Dean of Student Affairs of the
details of the infraction and subsequent vote by the
faculty.
Grades in courses taken at institutions other
than Tufts shall not be considered as criteria for
honors. Exceptions to this rule are courses taken
through cross-registration, the Swarthmore
Exchange Program, the Mystic Seaport Program,
or Tufts programs abroad.
See also Thesis Honors Program.
Phi Beta Kappa
Founded at the College of William and Mary in
Virginia on December 3, 1776, Phi Beta Kappa is
the highest national academic honor for students in
the liberal arts. There are chapters of Phi Beta
Kappa at 242 colleges and universities. Delta
Chapter of Massachusetts at Tufts University was
established on September 7, 1892, and women
became eligible from the time of their acceptance
at Tufts. Although second-semester juniors and all
seniors will be considered without any action on
their part, students can be recommended for
election to Phi Beta Kappa by their major departments
or programs or by individual professors.
Election is determined by the student’s cumulative
average together with his or her program: the
courses selected in the field(s) of concentration and
in fulfilling the foundation and distribution
requirements, the general nature and difficulty of
the program, its breadth and depth, the student’s
progress in the program, and the use of the pass-fail
option.
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