WashU Continuing & Professional Studies (CAPS) Honors programs provide students with multiple opportunities to deepen and extend their knowledge, earn scholarships and academic awards, and join communities of intellectually and socially engaged learners. Undergraduate Honors programs at CAPS include the following:

Latin Honors

Latin Honors is a designation offered to only a few students. At CAPS, Latin Honors indicates that students have earned top grades and completed a substantial research project. Students admitted to Latin Honors receive a scholarship covering their thesis units and funding for research.

Before applying, students should have completed CAPS-ECOMP 2030 Critical and Researched Writing and at least 9 units of upper-level coursework (courses numbered 3000 and higher) at Washington University with a GPA of 3.65 or higher. On approval, a student will begin working with the relevant program or subject coordinator to identify a faculty research/thesis advisor. Students in Latin Honors are granted permission to take one Arts & Sciences day class per semester at CAPS rates, with approval, to prepare for their theses. CAPS Latin Honors students also will be invited to participate in any honors activities sponsored by CAPS.

Students complete two-semester research and writing projects within their fields of study, guided by their faculty advisors, to earn degrees with Latin Honors.

Latin Honors GPA minimums are as follows:

• 3.65 for cum laude
• 3.75 for magna cum laude
• 3.85 for summa cum laude

Alpha Sigma Lambda 

Alpha Sigma Lambda is a national honor society that recognizes high-achieving adult learners. CAPS has a chapter and invites eligible undergraduate students to join the organization each spring. Eligibility is determined as follows:

• The student has accrued a minimum of 24 credits in residence at Washington University as an evening student.
• The student must be in their first undergraduate degree program.
• The student has accrued a minimum of 12 credits from liberal arts and sciences coursework. (These courses can be from within or outside the student's field of study and can be comprised of combined WashU and transfer credits.)
• The student has a minimum GPA of 3.5.

CAPS grants approval for membership based on the student’s entire record.

Dean’s Honors

Undergraduate degree recipients with superior records will be recognized with Final Honors at the time of graduation. Final Honors are calculated by a formula based on the number of credits and grades earned at CAPS.

Dean’s List

Recognition on the Dean's List is given to students who are undergraduate degree or certificate candidates at WashU Continuing & Professional Studies who have completed a minimum of 6 units of coursework at Washington University during the preceding semester with a GPA of at least 3.6.

Phi Beta Kappa

For more than 200 years, election to Phi Beta Kappa has been a distinctive recognition of intellectual accomplishment in the liberal arts and sciences. Candidates for Phi Beta Kappa should have demonstrated superior scholarship as well as breadth and depth of interest in the liberal arts. Study of a foreign language and of mathematics, while not required, strongly enhance candidacy. In addition, at least 112 credits must be completed by the end of the fall semester, at least 45 of which must be earned at WashU. Candidacy is determined by a selection committee of WashU faculty and administrators; although the committee takes GPA into account, it focuses on the breadth and depth of students’ academic pursuits to inform the selection process.

Contact Info

Contact:	Rebecca O'Laughlin
Email:	rolaughlin@wustl.edu
Website:	https://caps.washu.edu/programs/special-programs/