SFSU Bulletin 97/98 - Scholastic Distinction

SCHOLASTIC DISTINCTION

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

Satisfactory Scholarship: An undergraduate student working for a baccalaureate degree is expected to maintain a grade point average of 2.0 (C) or better in all work at San Francisco State University. To be eligible for a baccalaureate degree, a student must have a grade point average of at least 2.0 (C) in: (1) all courses taken at San Francisco State University, (2) all courses taken at the college or university level, and (3) all courses in their major.

SEMESTER DEAN'S LIST

Each semester the university recognizes undergraduate students who have attained high scholastic achievement. The following criteria are used:

The students registered for and completed a minimum of twelve (12) semester units for the semester. Only those courses where A-F grades were assigned are counted.
The student attained a grade point average of 3.25 or higher for the semester.
Only resident courses are used in computing the grade point average (see Residence Requirement).
Only grades for the semester under consideration are used in computing the grade point average.

GRADUATION WITH HONORS

Honors are granted with the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Science, and Bachelor of Vocational Education. The following conditions must be met by all students to be considered for honors:

A minimum of 45 graded units on the A-F system offered for the degree must be earned at San Francisco State University.
The grade point average of work completed at San Francisco State University must be at least a 3.5.
The grade point average of all university and college work attempted must be at least a 3.5.
The level of honors granted is determined by the grade point average earned in all university and college work attempted according to the following scale:
```
	3.50-3.69	cum laude
	3.70-3.84	magna cum laude
	3.85-4.00	summa cum laude
```

A preliminary honors list is compiled based on all work completed excluding the last semester. Those meeting honors requirements on this basis are designated on the commencement program as "candidates for honors." The final honors list is compiled at the time of final clearance for graduation and is based on all course work completed.

PHI BETA KAPPA

Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest honor society in the United States, maintains a chapter at San Francisco State University. Known as Omicron of California, the chapter grants membership, by invitation only, to students in their senior year. Requirements for membership as established by the Phi Beta Kappa Society in Washington, D.C. and by the campus chapter are:

A student must have completed at least 100 semester units towards graduation.
At least 45 of those 100 semester units must have been earned at San Francisco State University.
A student's grade point average must place him/her among the top students in the graduating class. For the past several years, most initiates have earned a grade point average above 3.7. Courses taken on a credit/no credit basis will not be counted, nor will courses with incompletes not yet cleared.
A student must be majoring in one of the liberal subjects. That means the major normally would be in some subject taught in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, or the College of Ethnic Studies, or the College of Humanities, or the College of Science and Engineering.
A student must have earned at least 90 semester units of credit in liberal subjects as listed above.
Applied, professional, or vocational courses cannot be considered as qualifying for Phi Beta Kappa membership. Work in such courses as business, and practical experience in the creative arts, education, engineering, and journalism are normally considered "professional."
The program must include a broad spectrum of studies in the sciences, the humanities, and the behavioral and social sciences. Evaluators are looking for some indication of depth as well as breadth and will, consequently, expect to find that a student has taken some courses beyond a mere introduction to a given subject.
A student must have completed at least three units of mathematics beyond pre-calculus. A partial list of mathematics courses includes MATH 110, Mathematics for Business Analysis; MATH 124, Elementary Statistics; MATH 220, Calculus and Analytic Geometry I; MATH 223, Calculus and Analytic Geometry IV; BA 110, Mathematical Analysis for Business; CSC 330, Discrete Mathematical Structures; PHIL 205, Formal Logic I; PSY 371, Introductory Statistics; ECON 310, Mathematics for Economists; ECON 311, Statistical Method and Interpretation; or any course for which these are prerequisite. Remedial courses and mathematics courses for elementary and secondary teachers will not be counted.
A student must have studied a foreign language and be able to demonstrate an ability to read and write in that language. Evaluators will look for evidence that a student has progressed at least through three semesters of a foreign language or equivalent at the college level. Some students may have entered San Francisco State University with six units of Advanced Placement credit in a language and could, therefore, go directly into a third semester language course. Students who can demonstrate that their native language was not English may count English competence as fulfilling the foreign language requirement.

An interested student who meets these minimum qualifications should contact his/her adviser for possible nomination for membership in the society.

The selection process starts at the beginning of the fall semester of each year. Transcripts are reviewed and a final vote on all candidates is made by the entire Chapter no later than spring. Once this vote is taken, it is impossible to elect any more new members until the following spring. New members who accept the invitation to membership are initiated at a formal ceremony. Persons graduated at the end of fall semester may be considered for election during the spring semester immediately following graduation. Persons graduated earlier than one semester preceding the spring election process will generally not be considered for membership.

GRADUATE STUDENTS

Satisfactory Scholarship: Graduate students are expected to develop their full potential as scholars and to maintain a grade point average (GPA) and continuity of effort that indicates high scholastic ability and achievement. All courses completed by a student after award of the baccalaureate degree count in the overall graduate grade point average and are used in determining a student's academic standing.

GRADUATE STUDENT AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT

This award is conferred on a few master's and doctoral students who have a distinguished record of academic performance and service in the major field on this campus which sets them apart in some special way from the norm. Selection for the award is based on the criteria determined by the faculty in the respective graduate program areas. Scholarship, service to the department, community activities, research, and publications are examples of student accomplishment which may be taken into consideration. Criteria utilized vary from discipline to discipline consistent with standards of excellence. The selection of the awardees for the year is made each Spring. Recipients are recognized at the Graduate Recognition Ceremony in May and are issued an award certificate.

Any questions regarding this award program should be directed to the Graduate Division, ADM 254.