Your resume is your chance to make a lasting impression, and every section on your resume should reflect your best qualities. While work experience often gets top billing, your education section can also shine, especially when you include prestigious honors like cum laude.
In our article, we address common questions, such as: Is listing cum laude really important? Where should you include it? Will it still matter years into your career?
These are valid concerns, and the answer is clear—showcasing Latin honors can significantly enhance your resume by highlighting your academic dedication and excellence. We’ll guide you on how to make the most of this achievement.
Key takeaways
- Cum laude means “with honor,” or “with distinction.”
- Listing cum laude on your resume is beneficial if you’re a recent graduate, have minimal experience, or are applying for academic or specialized roles.
- Consider omitting this information if you have extensive work experience, limited resume space, or want to focus more on practical skills.
- Include cum laude in your education or a separate honors section, and format it using lowercase and italics.
- Be honest about your achievements, and if required, list your GPA alongside cum laude, ensuring clarity.
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What is cum laude?
If you perform exceptionally well in your degree program, you may receive an academic honor such as a cum laude, based on achieving a high GPA. Here’s what the different honors mean:
- Cum laude means “with honor,” “with distinction,” or “with praise.”
- Magna cum laude stands for “with great praise.”
- Summa cum laude would be “with the highest distinction.”
What cum laude means translated from Latin is “with honor,” “with distinction,” or “with praise.” Magna cum laude stands for “with great praise,” whereas summa cum laude would be “with the highest distinction.”
| HONOR | TYPICAL REQUIREMENTS |
|---|---|
| Cum laude | GPA 3.5-3.7 |
| Magna cum laude | GPA 3.7-3.9 |
| Summa cum laude | GPA 3.9+ |
The requirements for achieving cum laude vary between different universities and colleges. Generally, it’s determined by your GPA score—you must achieve a high one (plus credit hours completed, and class rank) to get the distinction.
Regardless of the criteria, featuring a cum laude on your resume definitively shows you’ve been recognized for your hard work and achievements during your academic years.
Honors in Europe and the UK
In Europe, the use of Latin honors is not as widespread as in the United States, though some countries use similar systems to recognize academic excellence. Each country has its own approach to honoring outstanding students, often through specific grading scales or classifications. Below is a general overview with examples from England, Germany, and France:
- England: For example, First Class Honours is awarded to students who achieve the highest academic distinction, typically for final grades above 70%, similar to summa cum laude.
- Germany: For example, Mit Auszeichnung (With Distinction) is granted to students with a grade of 1.0, the best possible score, equivalent to summa cum laude.
- France: For example, Mention Très Bien is given to students who score 16/20 or higher, comparable to summa cum laude.
Should you list cum laude on your resume?
Graduating cum laude is a great accomplishment, and it’s only natural you want to share it with your future employers. It doesn’t just tell them you’re smart (duh!), but that you’re consistent, persistent, ambitious, and committed to success. That’s why honors can set you apart from other candidates and get you one step closer to the job you want.
In most cases, listing cum laude is acceptable, and even encouraged.
Be sure to provide it if:
- You’re writing a resume as a recent college graduate.
- You have minimal work experience.
- You’re writing a resume for graduate school.
- You’re applying for jobs in academia or law, where importance is given to your educational background.
- You’re switching careers or industries—especially if your academic performance is more relevant than your previous work experience.
When not to add cum laude on your resume
While adding honors to your resume is mostly beneficial, there are some instances in which it might be best to omit it.
Such as:
- If you have several years of experience and have achieved significant career milestones, awards, or leadership positions, your work accomplishments might be more relevant and impressive than an academic honor.
- If you’re concerned about coming across as overly academic and want to focus more on practical skills or real-world experience, you might choose to leave out the cum laude mention.
A lower GPA and cum laude
You might raise some suspicion, as a lower GPA score (<.3.5) isn’t typically sufficient for obtaining honors. It’s also generally not advised to list such a score on your resume.
To avoid confusion, only list cum laude. After all, obtaining it already signals the reader you’ve covered the academic requirements.
However, some employers may require a GPA on your resume. In this case, list it after cum laude, in parentheses. You might also list your GPA in cases where your academic institution has exceptionally or unusually high requirements for receiving the honor.
How to list cum laude on your resume?
Okay, now that you understand the importance of listing your cum laude honors on your resume, let’s discuss how to do it right. We’ll go through the process step by step.
Where to list cum laude on your resume
The first important thing to figure out is where to include your honors.
There are two main options for you to choose from:
- In your education section: just add the honor under the academic institution and dates of attendance.
- In a separate awards and honors section. If that’s your preferred approach, make sure cum laude is not the only honor there, and the entries have more context. It’s best to create a bullet list with at least three bullet points inside it.
Regardless of the section in which you choose to feature your cum laude honors, make sure you format it properly. You want your Latin honor to be as easy to spot as possible. List it using lowercase and italics.
Like this: cum laude
Template of cum laude on your resume
Great! Now you know everything you need to list cum laude correctly on your resume. But we wouldn’t leave you without an example.
Use these templates and include your cum laude in the section you have chosen:
In the education section
In a separate awards and honors section
2000 Conclusion
Now that you know how to feature cum laude on your resume, you’re ready to highlight this achievement and stand out to potential employers. Remember to choose the right placement and maintain proper formatting to keep your resume polished and professional.
Take another look at the template to ensure you’ve nailed down the structure, and you’ll be one step closer to landing your next interview!
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