Academic Honors

Honors may mean multiple things at UC San Diego.

Honors Programs (in Colleges)

There is no UC San Diego-wide “honors program” as some institutions have. Instead, each College may have an honors opportunity that might be invite-only. Many include a seminar course.

Honors Courses

There are Honors courses within the Chemistry and Mathematics departments. Department advisors can help you choose when you enroll whether those are a good fit.

General Chemistry Honors (CHEM 6AH, 6BH, 6CH) is offered for students in place of General Chemistry 6A, 6B, 6C. Read about the difference in these sequences.

Honors Calculus is available for exceptionally strong students in mathematics who meet the prerequisite. MATH 31AH, MATH 31BH, and MATH 31CH can be taken in place of MATH 18, 20C, and 20E. Read about Honors Calculus.

College Honors / Provost Honors (quarterly)

Similar to Dean’s List at many institutions, Provost Honors is awarded through the Colleges. Students who achieve a 3.5 or higher UC GPA in at least 12 graded units (at UC San Diego), with no grade of D, F, or NP recorded for the quarter, receive Provost Honors for the quarter. This achievement is posted on the student's transcript.

Latin Honors (graduation)

UC San Diego's Academic Senate established this standard for awarding Latin Honors at graduation:

No more than 14 percent of the graduating seniors on campus shall be eligible for Latin Honors. Normally, no more than the top 2 percent shall be eligible for summa cum laude and no more than the next 4 percent for magna cum laude, although minor variations from year to year shall be permitted. The remaining 8 percent are eligible for cum laude. The ranking of students for eligibility for Latin Honors shall be based upon the grade point average. In addition, to be eligible for Latin Honors, a student must receive letter grades for at least 72 graded units of course work at the University of California.

The cut-offs and awarding of Latin Honors is managed by the Registrar’s Office and awarded at the time of graduation. See Latin Honors for the current year's requirement.

Department Honors (graduating seniors)

Each department may honor up to twenty percent of graduating seniors who have completed a special course of study within that department. This may entail an honors research project or paper in addition to specific course work. Qualified students graduate with a degree awarded with distinction, with high distinction, or with highest distinction. Please check with your major advisor for opportunities in your department.

Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society (by invitation)

Phi Beta Kappa is a national honor society that was founded in 1776 and is the oldest and most prestigious academic honor society for undergraduates in America.

The UC San Diego chapter of Phi Beta Kappa elects student members on the basis of high scholastic achievement in a broad academic program emphasizing the liberal arts and sciences. Students with a minimum 3.8 GPA who have completed required coursework (humanities, social sciences, mathematics, natural sciences, and foreign language) are invited to join each Spring quarter.