President’s and Dean’s Lists and Honoraries

President’s List Qualifications

Starting in Fall 2024, Iowa State University introduced the President’s List. This replaced the Top 2% transcript note. Each semester the university issues a President's List made up of those students who have carried at least 24 credit hours of graded or S-F courses with a 4.00 grade-point average for their two most recent semesters of enrollment at Iowa State University (summer not considered).

Courses taken on a P-NP basis do not count as part of the 24-credit hour requirement.

No President's List is issued for summer session.

Dean’s List Qualifications

To be eligible for the Dean’s List, undergraduate and professional students must meet the following criteria:

Enrolled in at least 12-credit hours of graded or S-F courses
Earned a period GPA of 3.50 GPA or higher for the semester.

Courses taken on the Pass/Not Pass grading basis do not count as part of the 12-credit hour requirement.

No Dean's List is issued for the summer session.

Due to COVID 19, the Spring 2020 Dean's List used the following criteria: A minimum of 9-credit hours of graded or S-F courses with a 3.50 GPA or above for the semester. Courses taken on a P/NP grading basis do not count as part of the 9-credit hours requirement.

Other Honors

Graduation with Distinction

At Iowa State University, candidates for graduation with distinction must have completed 60 semester credits of coursework at ISU at the time they graduate, including a minimum of 50 graded credits. Those graduating summa cum laude (with highest distinction) have earned a grade-point average of 3.90 or higher; magna cum laude (with great distinction) have a grade-point average of 3.70 to 3.89; or cum laude (with distinction) have a grade-point average 3.50 to 3.69. Grade-point averages are based on a 4.0 scale. In addition to the notation in the commencement program, this recognition appears on the official transcript and diploma.
The University Honors Program is an individually planned program of study designed to provide greater depth and breadth of scholarship than the regular curriculum.

For more information, contact the graduation team, located in the Office of the Registrar, 214 Enrollment Services Center, 294-1840, or visit the Graduation website.

Other Honors

Many additional honors are noted on the transcript. The current list is available from the Student Activities Center .

Criteria for inclusion of honors society on the transcript:

needs to be a registered student organization at ISU
must base their membership on academic achievement
must promote and recognize academic achievement and related standards of excellence on campus
must be recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies

Requests for honor societies to go on transcripts are reviewed by a committee appointed by the Provost (includes the Registrar).

Honors Release Information

The Dean’s List information is sent to the student's primary home address' hometown newspaper, approximately three to four weeks after the term. It is up to the discretion of the newspaper editor at what point they wish to publish the information. The Dean’s List is not sent to addresses outside of the United States.

Please note: If a student has checked the option for "no information release" in Workday, their information will not be released unless you specifically opt in to having Dean's List and President's List information released regardless of your privacy settings.

The cut-off dates for the university to send information to newspapers is July 1 for the Spring Dean's List and Feb. 1 for the Fall Dean's List. After these dates, it will be up to the student to contact their respective newspapers and they can refer to the Dean's List posted on this site and/or the email or letter they receive from their college.

For more information, contact the Office of the Registrar, 214 Enrollment Services Center, (515) 294-1840; or News Service at (515) 294-8986.