Grades: Dean's List

Trinity College of Arts and Sciences and the Pratt School of Engineering are pleased to recognize academic excellence achieved each semester by their students. Both schools do so by according Dean’s List and Dean’s List with Distinction honors, but they differ in how they determine students’ eligibility for semester honors.  When determining a student's eligibility, Trinity College and Pratt will consider only grades earned in Duke courses, including those earned in Duke Study Abroad programs and in courses covered by the interinstitutional agreement.

Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

Updated for Fall 2021

Students must complete at least four course credits to qualify for the Dean’s List, including at most two academic half courses (excluding dance performance/technique, physical education activity, music activity, and house courses). Previously, the inclusion of S/U courses made students ineligible for the Dean’s List (see below). However, as a pilot policy, Trinity is now permitting students to use one of the four course credits as S/U. Students will be deemed ineligible for the Dean’s list if they receive an incomplete, failing grade, or U grade. Students enrolled in one or more S/U courses must be enrolled in at least three graded courses.

Additionally, first-year students will no longer be eligible for the Dean’s List. Eligibility for this honor will begin in a student's second year at Duke.

Traditional Policy (not applicable in Fall 2021)

To qualify for Dean’s List, undergraduates in Trinity College of Arts and Sciences must:

  1. complete at least 4.0 course credits for a letter grade (i.e., S/U courses will therefore not count); the 4.0 course credits may include at most two academic 0.5 credit courses and may not include dance performance/technique, physical education activity, music activity, and house courses;
  2. receive no incomplete (I or X) or failing grades (including no grades of U);
  3. earn a semester grade point average placing them in the highest third of undergraduates in the College. See Dean’s List Cut-Offs.

To qualify for Dean’s List with Distinction, undergraduates in Trinity College of Arts and Sciences must meet criteria 1 and 2 above, and must also earn a semester grade point average that places them in the highest 10 percent of undergraduates in the College.

Pratt School of Engineering

To qualify for Dean’s List, undergraduates in the Pratt School of Engineering must:

  1. carry a normal academic load;
  2. earn grades other than S in at least three semester courses;
  3. receive no incomplete or failing grades;
  4. earn a semester grade point average placing them in the highest one-third of their class. See Dean’s List Cut-Offs.

To earn Dean’s List with Distinction, undergraduates in the Pratt School of Engineering must meet criteria 1, 2, and 3 above, and must also earn a semester grade point average that places them in the highest 10 percent of undergraduates in the School.

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