GRADES AND HONORS

The Grading System

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences uses the following system of letter and non-letter grades to evaluate undergraduate student work:

Letter Grades:

Non-Letter Grades:

A student may request that the instructor review a grade that has been received and may also ask to consult with the chair of the department or committee of instruction offering the course. However, final authority for the assignment of grades rests with the instructor in charge of the course. Once a grade has been reported to the Registrar, it can be changed only upon the written request of the instructor to the Registrar, acting on behalf of the Dean of Harvard College (or the Dean of the Graduate School in the case of 200- or 300-level courses).

Grades of C- or higher, as well as the grades of CR, PA, and SAT, are passing and satisfactory grades. Grades of D+ through D- are passing but unsatisfactory grades. Grades of E, ABS (Absent), NCR (No Credit), FL (Fail), UNS (Unsatisfactory), and EXLD (Excluded) are failing grades.

The grade of INCOMPLETE (INC) cannot under any circumstances be given to undergraduates.

Grade Point Averages for Undergraduates

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences averages its letter grades with a 4-point scale: A = 4.00, A- = 3.67, B+ = 3.33, B = 3.00, B- = 2.67, C+ = 2.33, C = 2.00, C- = 1.67, D+ = 1.33, D = 1.00, D- = 0.67. E, ABS, NCR, FL, UNS, EXLD = 0. The grade point average is the numerical average of all grades received in letter-graded courses taken under the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for degree credit, including all failed courses, courses taken for credit in the Harvard Summer School, and cross-registration courses as appropriate. Passing grades received for courses given by other Harvard Faculties or MIT will not be used in computing a student's grade point average except when the courses are counted toward concentration requirements or taken in the Graduate School of Education as part of UTEP (see "Cross-Registration" on page 51). Grades received for course work done out of residence will not be used in computing the grade point average. Grade point averages are calculated on both a cumulative and annual basis.

Students of the Sophomore, Junior, and Senior classes in the top 5% of their respective classes will be designated John Harvard Scholars, based on the grade point average of the previous academic year; and students not in the top 5% but in the top 10% of their respective classes will be designated Harvard College Scholars.

Promotion

A student will ordinarily be promoted at the end of any term upon the basis of the number of terms completed or for which credit has been given, as follows:

Requirements for Honors Degrees

All degree candidates must satisfy the requirements of an approved field of concentration and meet all other degree requirements. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences recommends bachelor degrees for presentation to the Governing Boards of the University as follows: regular degree; cum laude on the basis of the student's overall record; cum laude in a field; magna cum laude in a field; magna cum laude with Highest Honors in a field; or summa cum laude in a field. Faculty and concentration standards for honors may change without notice; both sets of standards must be met.

All candidates for degrees with honors must have satisfactory letter grades (C- or higher) in a minimum of twenty-four letter-graded half-courses (prorated appropriately for students graduating with fewer than sixteen full courses passed at Harvard). Grade point averages are based on all completed letter-graded courses taken while at Harvard (including all failed courses, courses taken for credit in Harvard Summer School, and by cross-registration only as appropriate), as described in "Grade Point Averages" (see above).

Students normally make application to be admitted to candidacy for honors in their concentration at the time their Plan of Study is submitted. An undergraduate who completes the honors track of his or her field of concentration may be recommended by the concentration for the degree with Honors, High Honors, or Highest Honors in the field. It is possible that a student in an honors program will have his or her record judged unworthy of honors in the field but worthy of a degree; such a student may then be recommended by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for a regular degree, subject to the general regulations, or, if qualified, for the degree cum laude. Both the degree recommendation of the student's concentration as well as the final honors awarded by the Faculty (if any) are noted on the official transcript.

The Faculty will award degrees with honors based on the criteria below:

Summa Cum Laude in a Field: The candidate must be recommended for Highest Honors by a division, department, or special committee appointed by the Faculty for this purpose. Highest Honors recommendations are serious matters requiring the collective consideration of the faculty affiliated with the concentration. In making these decisions, consideration is given not only to the candidate's grades in concentration courses, but also to the level and rigor of those courses, and to other indicators of the candidate's mastery of the field, such as performance on a substantial piece of independent work or on a written or oral general examination.

The candidate's total record must demonstrate outstanding work across a range of fields. In making judgments about outstanding work across a range of fields, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences will consider such evidence as a very high grade point average, outstanding performance across various components of non-concentration requirements, and outstanding performance in upper-level courses not directly related to the concentration. Historically, the Faculty has expected to see A or A- work in any two half-courses in each of the broad curricular areas (humanities, social sciences, natural sciences). Ordinarily, the Faculty will recommend between 4 percent and 5 percent of June degree candidates for the degree summa cum laude. The standards of each June will be applied at subsequent degree meetings until the following June.

Magna Cum Laude in a Field: A candidate may be recommended by the Faculty for the degree magna cum laude in a concentration or joint concentration provided he or she has been recommended to the Faculty for High Honors or Highest Honors by a division, department, or special committee appointed by the Faculty for this purpose. For June degrees, the Faculty will recommend those students with the highest grade point averages who have not already been recommended for the degree summa cum laude, so that the total number of degrees summa cum laude and magna cum laude sum to 20 percent of all June degree candidates. The minimum grade point average that is awarded a degree magna cum laude each June will constitute the standard to be applied for that degree at subsequent degree meetings until the following June.

Cum Laude in a Field: A candidate may be recommended by the Faculty for the degree cum laude in a concentration or joint concentration provided he or she has been recommended to the Faculty for Honors, High Honors, or Highest Honors by a division, department, or special committee appointed by the Faculty for this purpose. For June degrees, the Faculty will recommend those students with the highest grade point averages who have not already been awarded the degree summa cum laude or magna cum laude, so that the total number of degrees summa cum laude, magna cum laude and cum laude in field sum to 50 percent of all June degree candidates. The minimum grade point average that is awarded a degree cum laude in field each June will constitute the standard to be applied for that degree at subsequent degree meetings until the following June.

Cum Laude: A candidate not recommended for honors in a concentration or joint concentration may be recommended by the Faculty for the degree cum laude on the basis of overall grade point average alone if his or her grade point average is at or above the minimum grade point average awarded the degree magna cum laude. In any June, if the number of candidates with a sufficient grade point average exceeds 10 percent of all June degree candidates, only those with the highest grade point averages totaling 10 percent of all June degree candidates will be awarded the degree cum laude on the basis of overall grade point average alone. The minimum grade point average that is awarded a degree cum laude each June will constitute the standard to be applied for that degree at subsequent degree meetings until the following June.

Prizes

The awarding of prizes at Harvard can be traced back to Edward Hopkins, a London merchant who came to America in 1637. His bequest continues to provide prizes for "Hopeful youth in the way of Learning...for the publick Service of the Country in future times."

Today, over 200 different prizes are awarded each year in recognition of academic excellence, achievement in a particular field, or outstanding individual qualities. The Bowdoin Prizes, established by the bequest of Governor James Bowdoin, AB 1745, are among many noteworthy prizes for which students submit essays, theses, or other scholarly works.

Prize descriptions, eligibility requirements, submission deadlines and lists of past winners may be found at www.fas.harvard.edu/~secfas, under "Student Prizes." Further information is available from the Prize Office, University Hall, Ground Floor (617-495-4780 or fas-prizes@harvard.edu). Information on all athletic prizes may be obtained from the Department of Athletics.

Phi Beta Kappa

Phi Beta Kappa is an academic honors society committed to the promotion of scholarship and cultural interests among the students of American colleges. Alpha Iota of Massachusetts at Harvard, founded in 1781, is the oldest chapter of Phi Beta Kappa in continual existence. Undergraduate members, selected from a pool of candidates with the highest cumulative numerical grade point averages in their academic divisions, are elected on the basis of their scholarly achievement and breadth of intellectual interest. Twenty-four juniors are elected each spring, forty-eight seniors are elected each fall, and in the final election, before Commencement, a sufficient number of degree candidates are elected to bring the total membership to no more than ten percent of each graduating class.

The undergraduate members of Alpha Iota, led by four Phi Beta Kappa Marshals, decide on the Phi Beta Kappa awards for teaching excellence given to three members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at the Literary Exercises during Commencement Week. The chapter also awards grants for independent research to a number of juniors each spring. For more information see www.fas.harvard.edu/~pbk/.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

All students are required to maintain a satisfactory academic record and meet the obligations of the courses in which they are enrolled. Failure to do so will be dealt with as the Faculty and its designated Boards shall determine. In all cases, midyear grades in full year courses will be considered along with all other grades in the calculations for minimum requirements and satisfactory records.

Minimum Requirements

To meet the minimum academic requirements in any term, a student may have at most one failing grade, which may not be accompanied by another unsatisfactory grade; and at least two satisfactory grades, one of which must be a letter grade in an FAS course taken for degree credit (or in a course taken by cross-registration and counted toward concentration or UTEP requirements). A student who fails to meet the minimum requirements ordinarily will be required to withdraw for two terms, whether or not his or her previous record was unsatisfactory.

Satisfactory and Unsatisfactory Academic Records

The requirements for a satisfactory academic record are satisfactory grades in all courses, and at least one letter grade in an FAS course taken for degree credit (or in a course taken by cross-registration and counted toward concentration or UTEP requirements). However for freshmen in their first term, an academic record will be considered satisfactory if all grades are passing, at most one grade is unsatisfactory, and at least one grade is a satisfactory letter grade. A student whose record is unsatisfactory is ordinarily placed on probation. A student with two consecutive unsatisfactory records ordinarily will be required to withdraw for two terms.