Academic Honors may be gained in Sustainability Studies at three levels:
Cum Laude
Student must have 3.50 or higher GPA on all courses taken at UF beginning the semester after accumulating 60 credits.
Magna Cum Laude
Student must complete a thesis that two supervisors designate as deserving of a Magna designation.
Summa Cum Laude
Student must complete a thesis that two supervisors and a third reader designate as deserving of a Summa designation.
To achieve Magna or Summa cum Laude in Sustainability Studies, a student, in consultation with the Director of Sustainability Studies, secures a primary and a secondary faculty supervisor who are associated with the major (e.g. teach a Sustainability Studies Core or Cluster course). At least one of the supervisors must be from CLAS.
The thesis may be written for independent study credit in the primary supervisor’s department. This is to be arranged with the supervisor. Such an independent study cannot serve as a Core or Cluster credit.
In Sustainability Studies, as in all of CLAS, the magna and summa designation refer to the student’s achievement on the thesis itself:
Distinction of magna or summa cum laude may be granted based on faculty evaluation of the thesis, and the department will make the determination whether and what level of distinction will be awarded.
Distinction of magna cum laude in Sustainability Studies will be given upon recommendation of both supervisors after evaluation of the thesis. Distinction of summa cum laude will be given upon recommendation of both supervisors, and a third reader who is chosen by the Director of Sustainability Studies.
Thesis requirements in Sustainability Studies are very field specific. They are based on the standard requirements for undergraduate theses in the field of the primary supervisor.
In the field of Political Science, for instance, an undergraduate thesis would typically be a 40-page document blending an original argument with sustained research based on texts or available data. In the natural sciences, it might be an 8-page document reporting on an experiment conducted by the student and reflecting the standards of publication of experimental results. In any case, the designation of magna and summa relies on the evaluative standards of the department in which the primary thesis supervisor resides.
To be considered for Academic Honors, the Director of Sustainability Studies must have received the evaluations of both the primary and secondary supervisors and a copy of the thesis two weeks prior to the last day of classes.
For more information, see https://catalog.ufl.edu/UGRD/academic-advising/academic-honors/#graduatingwithhonorstext