Degrees with Distinction

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Students should read carefully the general guidelines and procedures for degrees with distinction which are formally presented in the Undergraduate Bulletin. If the student plans to submit a thesis, the section below headed ‘Quality of Thesis’ should be discussed with the thesis co-advisors. Since  recommendations for degrees with distinction are made by the Committee on Academic Distinction and Awards for Students, the Committee is making available the following additional information clarifying their interpretation of the guidelines and listing factors considered by the Committee in their deliberations.

In recognition of outstanding academic excellence, the College recommends the bachelors degree With Distinction, With High Distinction and With Highest Distinction. Distinction and High Distinction may be recommended on the basis of a student’s academic record alone although they may be awarded on the basis of the combination of GPA and a thesis. Highest Distinction requires a thesis.

A degree with distinction is an award which is recommended by the Committee on Academic Distinction and Awards for Students after it carefully weighs and considers all aspects of a student’s record including the GPA, the number of courses taken P/NP, number of courses at the 300/400 level, the strength of the student’s program, and (when submitted) the quality of the thesis and comprehensive examination as defined by evaluations provided by the co-advisors and the major department.

Levels of Distinction Offered Without a Thesis
Degrees with High Distinction and degrees with Distinction may be recommended on the basis of a student’s transcript alone. To receive High Distinction without a thesis a student must be within the top 5% of the graduating classes of the preceding 12-month period; to receive Distinction he or she must be within the top 10% of the graduating classes of the preceding 12-month period.

The Committee has endeavored to standardize the grade point levels for the different categories of Distinction so that variations between May, August, and December graduations are minimal. The Committee does not want it to be more difficult to get honors in May than in August or December. As a result, for the past several semesters the GPA cutoff for the top 10% of Arts and Sciences graduates has ranged from 3.848 to 3.884; that for the top 5% has ranged from 3.921 to 3.956. The exact grade point cutoff is based on the number of Arts and Sciences students graduating and varies each semester.

A recommendation for Distinction or High Distinction on the basis of GPA alone should not be considered automatic. In reviewing candidates, a consideration of the GPA is followed by an evaluation of the transcript, which includes: the general quality and breadth of the program, the quality of any transfer credit hours, the number of 300/400 level courses, the number of courses taken P/N, and the number of courses retaken to remove “C-”, “D” or “F” grades. Ordinarily only students who have taken their last 48 hours of graded course work while registered in the College of Arts and Sciences are considered. Consequently, it is possible for a student to have a GPA above the cutoff point and still not receive a recommendation for distinction.

The Role of the Thesis in Awarding Degrees with Distinction
Submission of a thesis is a prerequisite for a degree with Highest Distinction and makes a student eligible to be considered for this honor when the GPA falls within the top 5% of the graduating class. In addition, the student should receive an Excellent or Very Good recommendation from the department based upon both the thesis (or comparable creative effort) and the comprehensive thesis examination.

If a student’s GPA falls within the top 10% of the graduating class, submission of a thesis will make a student eligible to be considered for High Distinction. In addition, the student should receive at least a Good recommendation from the department based upon both the thesis (or comparable creative effort) and the comprehensive thesis examination.

Submission of a thesis will allow a student to be considered for a degree with Distinction when the GPA is not in the top 10% of the graduating class but is above 3.5 (cumulative GPA as of the end of the term prior to graduation). No student will be considered for distinction with a cumulative GPA below 3.5. Submission of a thesis provides a mechanism by which students with grade point averages below the 10% cutoff point (ca. 3.85) may exhibit distinctive scholarship. Students eligible for a degree with Distinction whose GPA is above 3.5 but below the 10% cutoff should also receive at least a Fair recommendation from the department based upon both the thesis (or comparable creative effort) and the comprehensive thesis examination.

Procedure for Submitting a Thesis for a Degree with Distinction
Students typically register for the independent study course in their major area of study (usually 399H) starting with the semester prior to the semester in which they plan to graduate. A thesis proposal must be filed by each student in the semester prior to graduation with the department in which the student is writing the thesis. This thesis proposal must be approved by two faculty co-advisors who have agreed to guide the student’s work and by a faculty group designated by the department in question. After approval by the co-advisors, the student will submit the completed thesis to the same faculty group for final evaluation. This group will also be responsible for overseeing the quality of the examination required for all students submitting a thesis. Each department has developed discipline-specific guidelines for theses. Please ask your major advisor for a copy of these guidelines.

The deadline for the designated departmental distinction group to submit a student’s materials to the Dean’s office for consideration for distinction is six weeks prior to the Monday following commencement, except for the August commencement in which case the deadline is four weeks prior to the Friday before commencement. These materials must include a copy of the student’s thesis, the student’s prospectus, an evaluation by the co-advisors, and a final evaluation by the faculty group. The forms for making these evaluations are available in 1223 Oldfather Hall. Students are responsible for contacting the department in which they are writing a thesis for department deadlines.

The following are the dates on which materials are due in the Dean’s Office for the next three years:
NOTE: these dates are based on tentative graduation dates.

Fall 2007	November 12, 2007
Spring 2008	March 31, 2008
Summer 2008	July 18, 2008
Fall 2008	November 10, 2008
Spring 2009	March 30, 2009
Summer 2009	July 17, 2009
Fall 2009	November 9, 2009
Spring 2010	March 30, 2010
Summer 2010	July 16, 2010

Quality of Thesis or “Comparable Creative Effort”
The thesis should approach the form and quality of a Master’s thesis, but need not be as long or as broad in scope. It should be substantially more extensive than a term paper. The thesis must be the result of independent, sustained thought and intellectual curiosity. A survey of the literature about a particular topic is not sufficient however novel it may be. Ideally, there should be a clear formulation of a problem or question, a scholarly study which illuminates it, and a conclusion supported by evidence. A bibliography and reference to existing literature in the field should be included where appropriate.

The phrase “comparable creative effort” acknowledges the possibility of having a scholarly endeavor which might not be in the form which would meet the narrow definition of a “thesis.” This is particularly true, for example, for students in the humanities. Since it is difficult to make this description more specific and yet make it applicable to the entire College, the following examples are offered. One student translated certain texts in French literature and accompanied the translation with a scholarly piece on the translation process. Yet another student prepared an extensive collection of exhibits to demonstrate one phase of the evolution of the process of photography, and accompanied it with a lengthy historical background with literature references. In short, the Committee’s interpretation requires that the effort must have a significant scholarly component, but it need not be in the format of a formal thesis.

The Comprehensive Thesis Examination
The Committee interprets the Bulletin strictly in that the comprehensive examination is mandatory for all students who submit a thesis. Students should arrange with the relevant department group to take the comprehensive examination at a mutually agreed time before the college deadline. The exact nature of the exam and who will give it is determined by the major department and, the department faculty distinction evaluation committee is responsible for overseeing the quality of the examination. Normally this examination is an oral thesis defense, but it may be a written examination if the department deems it appropriate. In case the student’s major includes two or more departments, the thesis work and examination are normally supervised by at least two faculty persons representing the different departments. It is the responsibility of the student to arrange for joint supervision.

If any deviation from these procedures is anticipated, the student or his supervising faculty member should contact the Arts & Sciences Dean’s Office at 1223 Oldfather Hall, 402/472-2891.

The Committee on Academic Distinction and Awards for Students (2007-08)

Professor Lawrence Harshman, Biological Sciences, (402-472-3218)
Professor John Gruhl, Political Science, (402-472-6616)
Professor Mary Willis, Anthropology & Geography, (402-472-9677)
Professor Shirleen Adenwalla, Physics & Astronomy, (402-472-2709)
TBA
Associate Dean Amy Goodburn, Dean’s Office, (402-472-2891)

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