Cum laude. Magna cum laude. Summa cum laude. It might sound like all Greek to the uninitiated, even in halls of learning where these academic distinctions don’t exist. But for job seekers who have been awarded such Latin honors, the mystique usually centers around when and how they should appear on your resume.
We’ll cover these topics:
Variations of the following tri-level Latin honors system typically apply in some colleges and universities, primarily in the U.S. and several southeast Asian countries.
| Latin Honor | Meaning | Typically awarded to graduates in the top class range of: |
| cum laude kuːm ˈlaʊdeɪ |
with honor (praise) | 20%, 25% or 30% |
| magna cum laude ˈmæɡnə kuːm ˈlaʊdeɪ |
with great honor (praise) | 5%, 10% or 15% |
| summa cum laude ˈsuːmə kuːm ˈlaʊdeɪ |
with highest honor (praise) | 1%, 2% or 5% if awarded at all, or only in extraordinary circumstances |
You’ve come by your Latin bragging rights honestly. So why not include these noteworthy honors on your resume — especially if it sets you apart in the eyes of hiring managers?
HR experts recommend listing cum laude on your resume if you:
What if your honors are not Latin?
Never change the wording of any special distinctions you received as a graduate from institutions that don’t use the Latin honors scheme. Plain English equivalents such as “with High Honors” or “with Highest Honors” are no less honorable. The wording on your resume should match exactly what appears on your diploma. The same advice applies in reverse — don’t convert Latin honors into English.
Unless educational excellence is directly relevant to your qualifications for a particular job or industry, there’s no point listing cum laude on your resume if:
The more work experience you acquire over time, the more relevant and influential this section of your resume becomes. Except for some occupations where academic credentials remain important, you can gradually devote less attention and space to the education section, including details such as GPA and Latin honors. The relative emphasis on employment history and education in your resume should reflect what hiring managers are most interested in.
There are two possible places to list cum laude, magna cum laude or summa cum laude on your resume.
There are two slightly different variations in the way Latin honors can appear in your resume’s education section.
Either way, make sure cum laude, magna cum laude or summa cum laude is italicized but not capitalized.
In the first instance, cum laude appears on the same line beside the name of your degree, separated by a comma. See the examples below.
In these adaptable resume education examples, cum laude appears on the same line as your degree.
St. Louis University
Master of Science in Chemistry, magna cum laude
Vanderbilt University
Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering, summa cum laude
The other way to list cum laude in your resume’s education section is on a separate line below your degree, as in the following examples.
These resume education examples can be adapted for listing cum laude on a separate line below your degree.
University of Chicago
Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature
magna cum laude
University of Florida
Bachelor of Science in Nursing
cum laude
Under a separate “Honors” heading — perhaps an education subsection — list your Latin honors as a bullet point, along with other special distinctions. Obviously, you need more than one honor or award— three to five is ideal — to justify creating this section or it would not be a list.
In this instance, cum laude does not need to be italicized but should still be all lowercase.
These examples show what cum laude looks like when listed in a separate “Honors” section:
Other than listing cum laude in the education or honors resume sections as outlined above, there are two additional ways you might draw an employer’s attention to these special distinctions in appropriate circumstances:
However, Latin honors should not be listed in your resume’s employment history or skills section.
Maybe skip the GPA
As a resume clutter-proofing measure, consider omitting your GPA if you do list cum laude. Hiring managers can take for granted that your GPA would be high enough to earn the Latin honor. Exceptions — if the employer requests GPA information or if the awarding school has particularly high requirements for Latin distinctions.