Pursuant to Rule 5.3 of the Academic Rules, academic honors at graduation are awarded as follow:
- To graduate Cum Laude, a student must be within the top 25% of the graduating class and have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0;
- To graduate Magna Cum Laude, a student must be within the top 10% of the graduating class and have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.5; and
- To graduate Summa Cum Laude, a student must be within the top 2% of the graduating class and have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.9.
Notation of academic honors is based upon a student’s cumulative grade point average including the student’s final semester. Notation of honors at hooding and commencement are provisional pending finalization of the student’s grades.
Grading Scale
Grades are reported by using a letter grade scale as follows: A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D, or F. Letter grades are converted to a 4.0 point scale for purposes of calculating students’ grade point averages as set forth in the Academic Rules.
First Year Grades
Grades in 1L courses are released to students only after grades have been submitted by all faculty members teaching 1L courses. Following the fall semester, 1L students are told the grade point averages necessary to rank in the top 10%, 25%, 33 1/3%, 50%, 66 2/3%, and 75% of the class. Following the spring semester, full-time 1L students receive their exact cumulative class ranks.
Upper-Class Grades
Grades in upper-class courses are released to students as soon as possible after each professor submits them. When all upper-class grades have been received, they are submitted to the Creighton University computer center which computes grade point averages. Full-time 2L and 3L students who completed their 1L year as full-time students at Creighton University School of Law (“Creighton”) receive their exact class ranks for each semester and also their exact cumulative class rank for each semester.
Any student who has received permission from Creighton to enroll for a semester of their 2L or 3L year at another law school or program shall not receive a semester rank for such semester or a specific cumulative rank (unless Creighton expressly permits such cumulative ranking). Upon graduation, such student will receive their cumulative percentage ranking, but not a specific cumulative ranking (unless Creighton expressly permits such cumulative ranking). These students will be eligible for graduation honors.
AJD Grades
At the end of the fall semester, first-year AJD students will receive a percentage ranking (e.g., top 10%, top 25%, etc.) in relation to the traditional 1L students based only on the GPA in their first-year classes. For first-year AJD students, a student rank will be calculated in relation to the traditional 2L students at the end of the spring semester. This method will rank AJD students who have completed approximately three semesters against those traditional students who have completed approximately four semesters, and with whom they will graduate. For the AJD students, all grades earned will be figured in the ranking. The AJD cohort will remain ranked against that same class of traditional students through graduation.
AJD students who leave the AJD track will be ranked against the class of students they ultimately graduate with. Similarly, those students who join the AJD program after their 1L year will be ranked against the class of students they ultimately graduate with. AJD students who graduate in August will be ranked with the traditional graduates from the previous May and those AJD students who graduate in December will be ranked with the traditional graduates from the following May.
Part-Time Students
Part-time students are given an indication of which percentage of a class they can “rank” themselves with according to the following guidelines. Part-time students are not given a class percentage “rank” until they have completed at least 32 hours of course work. Part-time students are given percentage “ranks” in increments of ten percentage points, i.e., top 10%, top 20%, etc. They are never given a specific cumulative rank. Part-time students are given percentage cumulative “ranks” based on a comparison with full-time students who have earned equivalent hours as follows: Part-time students who have earned 33-56 hours are compared with the current 2L class of full-time students; Part-time students who have earned 57-90 hours are compared with the current 3L students. Full-time students are not bumped from a ranking because a part-time student falls within their percentile.
In addition, part-time students who have earned all of their law school credits from Creighton are eligible to graduate with honors. Their honors will be calculated with the class that they ultimately graduate with. If they graduate in August or December, their honors will be calculated with the graduates from the prior or following May, respectively. If a part-time student has approved credits from another law school, they may also be eligible to graduate with honors subject to Rule 5.4 of the Academic Rules (see below). Full-time students are not bumped from honors because a part-time student falls in their percentile.
Special Students
Other special students not addressed above and those who did not complete their 1L year as full-time students at Creighton University School of Law, receive their exact class ranks for each semester that they are enrolled as full-time students and are not enrolled in any 1L courses. However, such students are given comparisons like part-time students (see above) for their cumulative grade point averages. They are never given a specific cumulative class rank. These students are not eligible for graduation honors unless they meet the conditions of Academic Rule 5.4 (see below).
Dean’s List and Honors
Full-time students who rank in the top 10% of their class each semester will receive letters informing them that they are on the Dean’s List. To receive this honor, students must be enrolled for at least 10 hours of graded credit. Students who receive the highest grade in each course receive letters notifying them of their accomplishment. Other recognition may also be awarded to students by various legal publishers and students will be notified of any such awards.
Graduation Honors
Pursuant to Rule 5.4 of the Academic Rules, students receiving a Juris Doctor degree from Creighton, but who have completed one or two semesters at another law school shall be able to graduate with honors only if the following conditions are met:
- The student must submit evidence that the grades earned for the work completed at another law school would have placed the student in the upper 20% of the appropriate class at that law school; and
- The cumulative average for the work completed at Creighton would permit graduation with honors.
If these conditions are met, such student shall be allowed to receive honors at graduation but shall not bump full-time students from any such honors. The student honors will be calculated with the current graduating class. If graduating in August, such student will have honors calculated with the class graduating the previous May. If graduating in December, such student will have honors calculated with the class graduating the following May.