Honors
Whatever your passion, opportunities exist to stand out and shine in your field of expertise. Alma College features a diverse selection of distinctions and honors.
Barlow Trophy
Alma’s most prestigious award for graduating seniors, the Barlow Trophy, is awarded on the basis of scholarship and leadership. Candidates must rank in the top 10 percent of the graduating class, and the recipient is elected by a vote of the College faculty and Student Congress.
Dean’s List
Students who achieve a 3.5 term GPA while carrying a minimum load of 13 credits (eight of which must be graded A-E) qualify for the Dean’s List. The Dean’s List is compiled at the end of both the Fall and Winter terms.
President’s Outstanding Senior Award
The President of Alma College may select seniors who have completed four full (Fall or Winter) terms at Alma College and demonstrated scholastic superiority to receive the President’s Outstanding Senior Award.
President’s Cup Award
Juniors, sophomores and first-year students who have been at Alma College for one year and who attain the highest academic ranks in their classes based on GPA receive the President’s Cup award.
Departmental Honors
To graduate with Departmental Honors, students must demonstrate superior performance on the departmental comprehensive evaluation (where offered), present a thesis of honors caliber and achieve a GPA of at least 3.5 in the major field. Each department has autonomy over the comprehensive evaluation and the thesis.
Graduation Honors
Graduation Honors are awarded to graduating seniors who have completed at least 60 credits at Alma College. These include:
- Summa cum laude, awarded to students who have achieved a 3.8 GPA (and 3.6 in credits outside the division of the major);
- Magna cum laude, awarded to students who have achieved a 3.6 GPA (and 3.4 in credits outside the division of the major);
- Cum laude, awarded to students who have achieved a 3.4 GPA (and 3.2 outside the division of the major).
Membership standards for the following organizations are available from each academic department:
| Alpha Mu Gamma | Modern Languages |
| Alpha Psi Omega | Theatre |
| Beta Beta Beta | Biology |
| Chi Epsilon Mu | Chemistry |
| IPH Honor Society | Integrative Physiology and Health Science |
| Kappa Delta Pi | Education |
| Kappa Pi Zeta | Art and Design |
| Lambda Pi Eta | Communication and New Media Studies |
| Lambda Alpha | Anthropology |
| Omicron Delta Epsilon | Economics |
| Phi Alpha Theta | History |
| Pi Delta Chi | Dance |
| Pi Mu Epsilon | Mathematics |
| Pi Sigma Alpha | Political Science |
| Psi Chi | Psychology |
| Rho Chi Epsilon | Business |
| Sigma Delta Pi | Spanish |
| Sigma Pi Sigma | Physics and Engineering |
| Sigma Tau Delta | English |
