Each quarter a Dean’s List is compiled of students in Weinberg College whose grade-point average during the previous quarter was 3.70 or above based on no fewer than three courses taken for a regular letter grade. The students’ parents receive notification that the work of the previous quarter was completed with "Distinction." Inclusion on the Dean’s List is not noted on the permanent record.
Graduating with College Honors
Students whose cumulative GPAs are in the top three percent of their Weinberg College graduating class have the notation "summa cum laude" placed on their records; those in the next five percent receive the notation "magna cum laude," and those in the next eight percent receive the notation "cum laude." These percentages may be shifted slightly up or down at the discretion of the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Academic Affairs to take into account ties for a given rank. The exact GPAs meeting these criteria vary somewhat from year to year. In one recent year, the cutoffs were 3.91 for summa cum laude, 3.82 for magna cum laude, and 3.74 for cum laude; cutoffs will probably be somewhat different for the year in which you graduate.
Each spring, the Northwestern chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, a secret liberal arts honorary society, elects juniors and seniors in Weinberg College to that society. Phi Beta Kappa members are identified in the commencement program. Criteria for election include GPA, the selection of courses, and instructors' recommendations. Students cannot apply to Phi Beta Kappa, and the details of election criteria and procedures are not made public.
