Academic Honors

President’s List

To qualify for the President’s List at the end of any fall or spring semester, an undergraduate student must earn a 4.0 semester Grade Point Average (GPA) and complete at least 12 credit hours of Texas State coursework (in-person, online, or hybrid) during that semester. Distance and extension, along with Graduate-level courses, also count for President’s List calculation. Please note that correspondence courses, developmental courses, and courses completed through testing do not count toward the 12 required credit hours or the GPA calculation for President’s List eligibility.

Dean’s List

To qualify for the Dean’s List at the end of any fall or spring semester, an undergraduate student must earn a semester Grade Point Average (GPA) between 3.5 and 3.99 and complete at least 12 credit hours of Texas State coursework (in-person, online, or hybrid) during that semester. Distance and extension, along with Graduate-level courses, also count for Dean’s list calculation. Please note that correspondence courses, developmental courses, and courses completed through testing do not count toward the 12 required credit hours or the GPA calculation for Dean’s List eligibility.

Graduation with Academic Honors

Students earning a GPA of 3.40-3.59 will graduate cum laude; 3.6-3.79 will graduate magna cum laude; 3.8-4.0 will graduate summa cum laude.

Effective fall 2021, to be eligible for graduation with academic honors, a student seeking a baccalaureate degree must have completed at least 48 semester credit hours at Texas State preceding graduation. Calculation of the GPA to determine academic honors status is based on all Texas State work applied to the first baccalaureate degree, including work completed in the final semester.

Hours earned through Texas State correspondence courses and extension courses count toward GPA and academic hours eligibility. Hours earned through Texas State credit-by-examination, work/life experience and other courses that offer only "CR" (pass/fail) grades also count toward academic honors eligibility, but they do not count toward GPA. All coursework to count toward academic honor eligibility must be evaluated and graded by Texas State faculty. 

Transfer students who have earned at least 48 semester hours at Texas State are eligible to graduate with academic honors if their Texas State GPA meets the above criteria. Students earning second baccalaureate degrees are eligible for graduation with academic honors if they complete 48 or more semester credit hours at Texas State, meeting the GPA criteria, in pursuit of a second degree. All coursework to count towards academic honors eligibility must be evaluated and graded by Texas State faculty.

Honor Societies

The following honor societies are open to qualified Texas State students. More information may be obtained through the Student Organizations Council (SOC). For a complete list of all Honor Societies, see the get involved website at www.getinvolvedlbjsc.txst.edu.

Alpha Chi

Alpha Chi is a national honor society, which promotes academic excellence and exemplary character among undergraduate college and university students. To qualify for membership at Texas State, a student must be a first-time undergraduate, a junior or senior (having attained  at least 60 credit hours), have a minimum Texas State GPA of 3.50 on at least 45 semester hours at Texas State. Graduate students with a 4.0 and at least 15 hours of graduate coursework at Texas State also qualify for Alpha Chi membership. Alpha Chi is the oldest honor society at Texas State, founded in 1922. For more information about Alpha Chi at Texas State, contact  us at alphachihonor@txstate.edu. The national website (https://alphachihonor.org/) discusses the national activities,  a professional journal for student members, its annual conferences, and national scholarship opportunities for members.

Alpha Lambda Delta

Alpha Lambda Delta is a national academic honor society for freshmen that honors academic excellence during a student’s first year in college. Its purpose is to encourage superior academic achievement, to promote intelligent living and a continued high standard of learning, and to assist women and men in recognizing and developing meaningful goals for their roles in society. Membership is open to all freshmen who are registered for a full course of study leading to a bachelor’s degree, who achieve a minimum scholastic average of 3.50 (based on grades of the first full semester or on the cumulative average of the first year in college), and who have paid the initiation and lifetime membership fee. For more information, contact the Honors College at honorsadvising@txstate.edu.

The Phi Beta Kappa Society

Phi Beta Kappa is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. Founded on December 5, 1776, at the College of William & Mary, it recognizes exceptional achievement in the liberal arts and sciences and a sustained commitment to intellectual rigor. Election to Phi Beta Kappa is reserved for students who rank in the top ten percent of their graduating class and demonstrate significant proficiency in a foreign language through at least two years of collegiate study. Candidates must have completed coursework with significant depth and breadth in the liberal arts and sciences, which includes humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and mathematics. Fewer than ten percent of colleges and universities in the United States are granted a Phi Beta Kappa chapter, underscoring the society’s uncompromising standards and national distinction. The Texas State chapter is named Nu of Texas and was established in 2025.  For more information, please contact the local chapter at phibetakappa@txstate.edu.  

The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi

Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest, largest, and most selective collegiate honor society for all disciplines. This prestigious honor society was chartered at Texas State in 2013 and 30 members of the faculty, staff, and administration signed the charter petition. To qualify for membership, undergraduates must be juniors who are in the top 7.5 percent or seniors in the top 10 percent of their respective classes. Graduate students must rank in the upper 10 percent of their class. Students who are invited to become members may join by paying the initiation and membership fee and participating in an induction ceremony. In addition to numerous membership benefits, the national organization awards over $1 million in scholarships and fellowships each biennium. For more information, please contact the local chapter at phikappaphi@txstate.edu.