Grading

Honors recommendations

Departmental recommendations for honors will be based on the composite thesis grade and your concentration grade-point average.

Concentration grade-point averages are calculated from your best twelve half-courses. These GPAs must, however, include your grades in all required courses (Psy 1, sophomore tutorial, methods). If you took Psychology 985 (Preparation for the Honors Thesis), your concentration grade-point average will be calculated from your best eleven courses.

Composite thesis grades and concentration GPAs are combined according to the chart below. Using the chart, the Department's Committee on Undergraduate Instruction will review your record and then present its recommendations to the Departmental faculty, which will in turn vote the final departmental degree recommendation (honors, high honors, or highest honors).

These recommendations will then be sent to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, which will decide which honors degree (cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude) you will be awarded. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences bases its decisions on both departmental recommendations and on non-departmental course and grade requirements. These requirements are listed in the Handbook for Students, and described here. For clarification of them, you may consult your Allston Burr Resident Dean in your House.

In general, we discourage you from attempting to compute your own honors average and speculating about your relative standing. The most you can do to improve your chances of graduating with a high degree of honors is to perform as well as you can in the areas which contribute to your total honors recommendation, and at this point what can help you most is strong performance in your remaining courses and, above all, the presentation of a well-done thesis.

(Approved at Department Meeting, 27 October 1981)

© by the President and Fellows of Harvard College
Last updated 1 September, 2008