Magna cum laude is a Latin academic honor meaning “with great praise,” awarded to graduates who finish near the top of their class. It is the second-highest of three Latin honors distinctions, sitting above cum laude (“with praise”) and below summa cum laude (“with highest praise”). If you’ve seen this phrase on a diploma or resume and wondered what it takes to earn it, here’s what you need to know.
How the Three Latin Honors Rank
Most colleges and universities in the United States use a three-tier Latin honors system to recognize undergraduate achievement. The tiers, from highest to lowest, are:
- Summa cum laude: The top distinction, reserved for the very best GPAs in a graduating class.
- Magna cum laude: The second-highest distinction, recognizing students with excellent but not quite top-tier GPAs.
- Cum laude: The entry-level honor, recognizing strong academic performance.
Not every school uses all three tiers, and some use English equivalents like “with highest distinction” instead of the Latin phrasing, but the structure is the same.
GPA Requirements Vary by School
There is no universal GPA cutoff for magna cum laude. Each college or university sets its own thresholds, and those thresholds can differ significantly. As an example, the University of Tennessee requires a cumulative GPA between 3.70 and 3.89 for magna cum laude under its current catalog. Other schools may set the floor at 3.60 or as high as 3.80, depending on the institution and the competitiveness of the program.
Some schools don’t use fixed GPA cutoffs at all. Instead, they award Latin honors based on class rank percentile. Under that system, the top 5% of a graduating class might receive summa cum laude, the next 10% magna cum laude, and the next 15% cum laude. The actual GPA needed shifts from year to year depending on how the class performs.
Your cumulative GPA is typically calculated at the end of your final semester, so the number that matters is the one on your transcript when you graduate, not the one printed in the commencement program (which is often a preliminary estimate).
Other Eligibility Rules
A high GPA alone doesn’t always guarantee you’ll receive the honor. Many schools layer on additional requirements. Common ones include:
- Minimum credit hours at the institution: Schools often require you to have completed a certain number of graded units on their campus. UCLA’s engineering school, for instance, requires at least 90 letter-graded units (72 for transfer students) at a University of California campus.
- Major-specific GPA minimums: Some programs require a separate minimum GPA in your upper-division major coursework, not just your overall GPA.
- Good academic standing: Students with academic integrity violations or incomplete coursework may be disqualified regardless of GPA.
Transfer students should pay particular attention to credit-hour rules, since courses taken at a previous institution may not count toward the minimum. Check your school’s registrar or honors office early enough to plan accordingly.
Where It Appears
When you earn magna cum laude, the designation typically shows up in three places: on your official transcript, on your diploma, and in the commencement program. It becomes a permanent part of your academic record.
On a resume, you would list it in the education section, right next to your degree and school name. Something like “B.S. in Biology, magna cum laude, State University, 2025.” You can also include it on your LinkedIn profile in the education section. There’s no need to italicize it or translate it for an employer.
Does It Help Your Career?
Magna cum laude carries the most weight early in your career, when you don’t yet have a long professional track record. For entry-level positions, it signals strong work ethic and consistency to hiring managers who are otherwise choosing between candidates with similar internships and coursework. In fields like finance, consulting, law, and academia, recruiters actively look for Latin honors when screening new graduates.
For graduate school admissions, Latin honors reinforce a strong GPA and can give your application an extra edge, particularly at programs that value sustained academic performance across all coursework rather than just a few standout semesters.
The distinction becomes less prominent as your career progresses. After five to ten years of professional experience, employers care far more about your work history, skills, and accomplishments than your undergraduate GPA. Most professionals eventually drop it from their resume, though it remains a permanent credential on your transcript and diploma.
Graduate and Professional Degrees
Latin honors are primarily an undergraduate distinction. Most master’s and doctoral programs do not award cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude. The notable exception is law school: many law schools award Latin honors to J.D. graduates based on class rank or GPA, and those distinctions carry significant weight in legal hiring. Medical schools and MBA programs generally do not use the system, though some have their own equivalents like Alpha Omega Alpha (medicine) or Baker Scholar (certain business schools).