WashU Continuing & Professional Studies (CAPS) Honors programs provide students with multiple opportunities to deepen and extend their knowledge, earn scholarships and academic awards, and join communities of intellectually and socially engaged learners. Undergraduate Honors programs at CAPS include the following:

Latin Honors

Latin honors are awarded to CAPS learners who do the following:

  1. Complete a CAPS baccalaureate degree program;
  2. Earn a minimum of 45 credit units in residence at CAPS;
  3. Have no outstanding academic integrity or disciplinary sanctions at the time of degree conferral; and
  4. Meet the cumulative grade point average (GPA) thresholds established below.

Latin honors are determined at the time of degree conferral based on the student’s final cumulative CAPS GPA.

The following Latin honors distinctions are awarded based on the student's cumulative CAPS GPA:

  • Summa Cum Laude (with highest honor): GPA of 3.900 to 4.000
  • Magna Cum Laude (with high honor): GPA of 3.800 to 3.899
  • Cum Laude (with honor): GPA of 3.600 to 3.799

Calculation of GPA

  1. Latin honors are calculated using the cumulative institutional GPA.
  2. Transfer credits are excluded from GPA calculations for Latin honors but may count toward the minimum credit requirement for degree completion, unless otherwise specified.
  3. Courses graded on a Pass/No Pass basis are excluded from GPA calculation for Latin honors.

Thesis Option for Students Below the In-Residence Credit Requirement

Students who do not meet the minimum CAPS residency requirement for Latin honors may petition to qualify through completion of an approved Honors Thesis.

Students may apply for the Thesis Option if they do the following:

  1. Complete at least 30 credit units in residence at CAPS;
  2. Have a minimum cumulative institutional GPA of 3.500 at the time of application; and
  3. Receive approval from their program of study's Academic Director.

Thesis Requirements

  1. The student should be enrolled in the BSIS Capstone (3 credit units) course.
  2. The student will enroll in 1 credit unit concurrently with the BSIS Capstone course, for a total of 4 credit units.
  3. The student must complete substantial original research, creative practice, or applied project components under faculty supervision.
  4. The capstone and thesis combined must be equivalent in scope and rigor to 4 credit units of upper-division coursework.
  5. A thesis committee of at least one Academic Director and one faculty member will evaluate the work.
  6. The thesis must receive a final evaluation of Honors Pass or equivalent designation.

Thesis Approval Process

  1. The student submits a formal Latin Honors Thesis Request no later than one semester prior to graduation.
  2. Academic Directors review and approve the proposal.
  3. Upon successful completion of thesis work and committee approval, the designated Academic Director submits certification to the Assistant Director of Academic Services prior to degree conferral.
  4. Final Latin honors designation remains contingent upon the student meeting the GPA thresholds outlined above.

Limitations

  1. Completion of a thesis does not guarantee Latin honors; GPA thresholds must still be met.
  2. Students who do not successfully complete the thesis (where relevant) will graduate without Latin honors unless they meet the standard residency requirements.

Alpha Sigma Lambda 

Alpha Sigma Lambda is a national honor society that recognizes high-achieving modern learners. The CAPS chapter invites eligible undergraduate students to join the organization each spring. Eligibility is determined as follows:

  • The learner has accrued a minimum of 24 credits in residence at CAPS.
  • The learner must be in their first undergraduate degree program.
  • The learner has accrued a minimum of 12 credits from liberal arts and sciences coursework. (These courses can be from within or outside their field of study and can be comprised of combined CAPS and transfer credits.)
  • The learner has a minimum GPA of 3.5.

CAPS grants approval for membership based on the learner's entire record.

Dean's List

Recognition on the Dean's List is given to learners who are undergraduate degree or certificate candidates at WashU Continuing & Professional Studies who have completed a minimum of 6 units of coursework at Washington University during the preceding semester with a GPA of at least 3.6.

Phi Beta Kappa

For more than 200 years, election to Phi Beta Kappa has been a distinctive recognition of intellectual accomplishment in the liberal arts and sciences. Candidates for Phi Beta Kappa should have demonstrated superior scholarship as well as breadth and depth of interest in the liberal arts. Study of a foreign language and of mathematics, while not required, strongly enhance candidacy. In addition, at least 112 credits must be completed by the end of the fall semester, at least 45 of which must be earned at WashU. Candidacy is determined by a selection committee of WashU faculty and administrators; although the committee takes GPA into account, it focuses on the breadth and depth of students’ academic pursuits to inform the selection process.

Contact Info

Contact:CAPS
Phone:314-935-6700
Email:caps@wustl.edu
Website:https://caps.washu.edu/programs/special-programs/