Magna Cum Laude vs Summa Cum Laude: The Difference (+ How to List It)

Contents

• What Each Honor Means (Literal Translation)
• How They Rank (Lowest to Highest)
• Typical GPA Cutoffs (They Vary by School)
• How to Pronounce Them
• How to List Latin Honors on Your Resume
• Do Latin Honors Still Matter to Employers?
• Turn a Strong Resume Into Interviews
• Frequently Asked Questions

Quick answer: Both are Latin honors awarded at graduation for academic excellence, and the difference is the level of distinction. Summa cum laude ("with highest praise") is the top honor; magna cum laude ("with great praise") is the next tier down. From lowest to highest, the three Latin honors rank: cum laude → magna cum laude → summa cum laude. There's no universal GPA cutoff — each school sets its own — but summa is the rarest and most prestigious of the three.

What Each Honor Means (Literal Translation)

• Cum laude — Latin for "with praise" or "with honor." The entry level of graduating with distinction.
• Magna cum laude — "with great praise." The middle tier — above cum laude, below summa.
• Summa cum laude — "with highest praise." The top academic honor a graduate can receive.

The easy way to remember which outranks which: "summa" shares a root with *summit* (the highest point), while "magna" shares a root with *magnify* (great/large). Summit beats large — so summa cum laude beats magna cum laude.

How They Rank (Lowest to Highest)

Typical GPA Cutoffs (They Vary by School)

Critically, there is no national standard — every institution sets its own thresholds, and some use class-rank percentiles instead of GPA. That said, a common pattern on a 4.0 scale looks like this:

• Cum laude: roughly 3.5–3.7 GPA (or top ~10–20% of the class).
• Magna cum laude: roughly 3.7–3.9 GPA (or top ~5–10%).
• Summa cum laude: roughly 3.9–4.0 GPA (or top ~1–5%).
• Some schools require a minimum number of graded credit hours, an honors thesis, or a departmental nomination on top of the GPA.

Because the cutoffs differ, magna cum laude at one university can require a higher GPA than summa cum laude at another. Always check your own school's registrar page for the exact requirements.

How to Pronounce Them

• Cum laude: "koom LAO-day" (also commonly "kum LAW-dee").
• Magna cum laude: "MAHG-nah koom LAO-day."
• Summa cum laude: "SOO-mah koom LAO-day."

How to List Latin Honors on Your Resume

This is where most people searching the difference actually land — so here's the correct way to put it on a resume or CV:

• Put it in your Education section, on the same line as your degree or just beneath it. Example: *B.S. in Finance, University of X — summa cum laude.*
• Italicize it. Latin honors are conventionally written in lowercase italics: *summa cum laude*, not "Summa Cum Laude." (Capitalize only if it starts a line or your resume's style capitalizes all honors.)
• Keep it lowercase — the Latin phrase is not a proper noun.
• You can add your GPA alongside it if it's strong (3.5+), but the honor already implies a high GPA, so it's optional.
• List it once, where it has the most impact — next to the degree it applies to.

One caution: Latin honors are graphic-free plain text, so they parse fine — but if they're trapped inside a resume template's decorative sidebar or a text box, an applicant tracking system may miss them. Keep your Education section in the normal document flow.

Do Latin Honors Still Matter to Employers?

For new graduates and early-career candidates, yes — Latin honors are a credible signal of discipline and consistency when you don't yet have a long track record, and they're worth listing. For experienced professionals (5+ years in), your work achievements carry far more weight, and a decades-old honor takes a back seat — many senior candidates drop it entirely to make room for results. List it while it helps; retire it once your experience speaks louder.

Turn a Strong Resume Into Interviews

Latin honors help your resume get noticed — but a strong resume only pays off if enough of the right employers see it. That's the tedious part: applying to every relevant opening. LoopCV automates it — set your target roles once and it finds matching jobs across 30+ job boards and applies for you, so your credentials actually reach hiring teams.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between magna cum laude and summa cum laude?

Both are Latin honors for academic excellence, but summa cum laude ("with highest praise") is the top tier and magna cum laude ("with great praise") is the level just below it. Summa cum laude typically requires a higher GPA or class rank and is the rarer, more prestigious honor.

Which is higher, magna or summa cum laude?

Summa cum laude is higher. The three Latin honors rank, from lowest to highest: cum laude, magna cum laude, then summa cum laude. "Summa" means highest, while "magna" means great — so summa outranks magna.

What GPA do you need for magna vs summa cum laude?

There's no universal standard — each school sets its own cutoffs. A common pattern on a 4.0 scale is roughly 3.7–3.9 for magna cum laude and 3.9–4.0 for summa cum laude, though many schools use class-rank percentiles instead. Check your institution's registrar for exact requirements.

How do you write cum laude on a resume?

List it in your Education section, on or just below the degree line, in lowercase italics — for example: "B.A. in Economics, magna cum laude." Keep it in plain text within the normal document flow so applicant tracking systems can read it, and list it once where it applies.

Do employers care about Latin honors?

For new graduates and early-career candidates, yes — Latin honors are a useful signal of consistency when you have limited work history. For experienced professionals, work achievements matter far more, and many drop the honor after several years to prioritize results.