Honors

Quarterly Dean’s List

The quarterly Dean's list includes the names of matriculated undergraduate students who are pursuing their first undergraduate degree and have attained a quarterly GPA of 3.50 in the final grades for at least 12 numerically graded credits. S/NS and CR/NC courses do not count as graded credits. Students who have been approved for a Reduced Course Load through Disability Resource Services must attain a quarterly GPA of 3.50 and complete 6 graded credits. Appropriate entries regarding inclusion on the Dean's List are made on the student’s permanent academic record.

Dean's Letters

Students are notified of their quarterly Dean's List standing with a Dean's Letter, which are distributed electronically. Recipients receive notification and download instructions via their UW e-mail address. To comply with FERPA regulations, Dean's Letter notifications are not sent to non-UW e-mail addresses.

Dean's Letters are generated once per quarter, after grades are due for that quarter often at the end of the subsequent quarter. Dean's Letters are only generated for students who meet the Dean's List criteria at that time. Dean's Letters are not issued or updated based on late changes to the academic record. Students are notified via email of their academic achievement and presented with an option to access their Dean's Letter (PDF) for the most recent quarter. Students will receive this email no earlier than one quarter after they've made the Dean's List.

The official University record that a student has qualified for the Dean's List is the notation on the student's UW transcript.

The Quarterly Dean's List website is updated quarterly and lists those students included on the previous quarter's Dean's List. Only students who have authorized the release of Student Directory Information and who have received a Dean's List letter appear on the Quarterly Dean's List website.

Annual Dean’s List

The Annual Dean's List high-scholarship award is recorded on the academic transcript of matriculated undergraduate students who are pursuing their first undergraduate degree and have achieved a quarterly GPA of 3.50 in 12 or more numerically graded credits each quarter for three quarters of the academic year (summer through spring).

Students enrolled for four quarters of the academic year (summer through spring) must satisfy the conditions outlined above and attain a quarterly GPA of 3.50 or better in the fourth quarter, if enrolled for 10 or more credits. Students receive a certificate and a letter of congratulations from the UW Tacoma chancellor.

The Office of the University Registrar has discontinued the printing and mailing of the Annual Dean’s List Certificate. Students who attain the Annual Dean’s List achievement are recognized only on the UW website. Names will only appear for those students who have authorized the release of Student Directory Information.

Baccalaureate Honors

Baccalaureate honors (summa cum laude, magna cum laude, cum laude) are awarded only to recipients of a first baccalaureate degree. These honors are earned by those students who have completed no fewer than 90 residence credits at this institution. At least 60 of the 90 credits must have been acquired on a graded basis. Only students earning their first baccalaureate degree are eligible to receive honors.

The University’s Honors Committee determines annually the grade-point requirement for each baccalaureate honor. In recent years, approximately 10 percent of the students have been awarded baccalaureate honors. Online courses are included in the UW cumulative GPA and therefore count toward baccalaureate honors.

Faculty Honors

At the University of Washington Tacoma, faculty honors are awarded to those students receiving their first baccalaureate degree whose GPA is in the upper 10 percent of their program and who have earned between 43 and 89 numerically graded credits at the UW. The grade-point requirement is at the same level as baccalaureate honors. Only students earning their first baccalaureate degree are eligible to receive honors.