Most colleges put you on the dean’s list for a term GPA of 3.5 or higher with at least 12 graded credits, the usual full-time load. Some set the bar at 3.75 or require 15 credits. And an incomplete, a dropped class or too many pass/fail credits can keep you off the list even with the grades.
The dean’s list is a term honor: a new one comes out after every semester or quarter. That makes it the most reachable academic honor in college, and the one with the most fine print.
Dean’s list requirements at six colleges
| College | GPA needed | Minimum credits | Rule that catches people |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penn State | 3.50 term GPA | 12 credits toward GPA | S/U and audited courses don’t count |
| Ohio State | 3.5 term GPA | 12 graded hours | Any I, NP, U or E that term disqualifies you |
| University of Arkansas | 3.75 term GPA | 12 letter-graded hours | P grades allowed only above the 12 |
| University of Florida, Liberal Arts and Sciences | 3.75 term GPA | 12 letter-graded credits | No dropped courses or incompletes |
| Texas A&M (Dean’s Honor Roll) | 3.75 term GPA | 15 hours | No grade below a C |
| Purdue | 3.5 cumulative GPA, plus 3.0 that term | 12 hours cumulative, 6 that term | Uses your cumulative GPA |
Penn State. Policy G-8, last revised in June 2026, requires a one-semester GPA of 3.50 or above with 12 or more credits toward GPA. Students with 6 to 11.9 credits can make a part-time list. A student sanctioned for an academic integrity violation is ineligible for that semester, and the notation goes on both the grade report and the academic record.
Ohio State. Ohio Administrative Code 3335-8-30, effective December 2024, asks for a 3.5 over 12 or more graded hours in a single term. Up to three of those hours can come from an S/U course, but only if you earn the S. Pass/no pass (PA/NP) hours don’t count toward the 12 at all.
Arkansas. The 2026–27 catalog sets the dean’s list at 3.75 to 4.00 on at least 12 letter-graded hours. A student taking 15 hours can have up to 3 hours of P grades. Any PD or NC grade that semester rules you out.
Florida. UF lets each college pick its own bar. Its 2026–27 catalog ranges from 3.20 with 14 credits in Engineering to 3.75 in Education, in Journalism and Communications, and in Liberal Arts and Sciences. Business takes either a 3.70 on 12 credits or a 3.50 on 15. And UF doesn’t round: a 3.495 is a 3.49.
Texas A&M. Student Rule 11, revised in 2025, has two tiers for students with at least 15 hours and no grade below a C. A 3.5 makes you a Distinguished Student, and a 3.75 puts you on the Dean’s Honor Roll. Hours graded S don’t count toward the 15, and an I or U disqualifies you.
Purdue. In Purdue’s College of Science, the dean’s list uses your cumulative GPA: at least 3.5 overall, plus a 3.0 that semester. The term-only honor is Semester Honors, a 3.5 semester GPA on at least 6 credit hours.
Purdue’s version flips the usual logic. A student with one rough fall can earn a 4.0 in the spring and still miss the dean’s list, because the cumulative GPA hasn’t caught up. That spring would earn Semester Honors instead.
One semester, six answers
Here’s a 15-credit term. GPA points use the standard plus/minus 4.0 scale.
| Class | Credits | Grade | Quality points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biology | 4 | A (4.0) | 16.0 |
| Chemistry | 4 | A- (3.7) | 14.8 |
| Writing | 3 | B+ (3.3) | 9.9 |
| Psychology | 3 | A (4.0) | 12.0 |
| First-year seminar | 1 | S (satisfactory) | none |
| Graded total | 14 | 52.7 |
52.7 ÷ 14 = 3.76. That clears every term-GPA bar in the table. Whether it gets you on the list is another matter:
- Penn State and Ohio State: yes. Fourteen graded credits is above 12.
- Arkansas: yes, with 14 letter-graded hours and one hour of P above the 12.
- UF Liberal Arts and Sciences: yes, as long as the student didn’t drop a course that term.
- Texas A&M: no. The S-graded seminar doesn’t count toward the 15 hours, so this student has only 14.
- Purdue: Semester Honors, yes. The dean’s list depends on the cumulative GPA.
Now change one grade. If Writing is a B instead of a B+, the term GPA drops to 51.8 ÷ 14 = 3.70. Still fine at Penn State and Ohio State, off the list at Arkansas and UF Liberal Arts and Sciences.
How many credits do you need for the dean’s list?
Usually 12 graded credits, which is what most colleges count as full time. The exceptions run both ways. UF’s Engineering college asks for 14 in fall and spring, and Texas A&M asks for 15. Penn State’s part-time list starts at 6.
The word that matters is graded. Pass/fail, S/U and audited credits often don’t count, so a 13-credit schedule with a 3-credit pass/fail class leaves you at 10. Check before the drop deadline, not after grades come out.
What knocks you off the list
Incompletes. Ohio State, Texas A&M and UF’s Liberal Arts and Sciences college all rule out a term with an incomplete. At Ohio State that includes any unresolved I that could later pull you below the standard.
Dropped classes. UF’s Liberal Arts and Sciences rule says no dropped courses, and Texas A&M’s first-semester freshmen can’t have a Q-drop. If you’re weighing a withdrawal, how a W affects your GPA covers the rest of the trade-off.
One low grade. Under Texas A&M’s “no grade lower than C” rule, a single D rules you out, whatever the rest of your transcript says.
Later fixes don’t count. Ohio State’s rule says grade forgiveness won’t add the dean’s list to an earlier term.
Dean’s list vs. president’s list vs. honor roll
The names aren’t standard, so read the rule, not the title.
| Name | Where | What it takes |
|---|---|---|
| President’s Honor Roll | University of Florida | A perfect 4.0 on 15+ graded credits (12 in summer), no S/U |
| Chancellor’s List | University of Arkansas | A 4.00 on 12+ letter-graded hours |
| Dean’s Honor Roll | Texas A&M | A 3.75+ on 15 hours, no grade below C |
| Semester Honors | Purdue College of Science | A 3.5 semester GPA on 6+ hours |
At UF and Arkansas, the president’s or chancellor’s list sits above the dean’s list and takes a perfect 4.0. UF prints its President’s Honor Roll on the transcript as a permanent record. Arkansas’s catalog calls the dean’s list itself an “honor roll,” so in college the two terms can mean the same thing.
None of these is graduating with honors, which looks at your whole record; the Latin honors guide has the cutoffs.
How to plan for the dean’s list
Work backward from the GPA you need. With five 3-credit classes, a 3.75 takes 56.25 quality points. Here’s how common grade mixes land:
| Five 3-credit classes | Term GPA | 3.50 list | 3.75 list |
|---|---|---|---|
| Five A- | 3.70 | Yes | No |
| One A, four A- | 3.76 | Yes | Yes |
| Three A-, two B+ | 3.54 | Yes | No |
| Two A-, three B+ | 3.46 | No | No |
The first row surprises people. Straight A-minuses is a 3.70, which misses every 3.75 list in this guide. At a 3.75 school you need at least one full A.
Put your expected grades in the GPA calculator before finals and change one grade at a time to see which class decides it. At a school like Purdue that uses the cumulative GPA, the raise GPA calculator tells you what term GPA gets you to 3.5 overall.
Should you put the dean’s list on your resume?
Yes, while you’re a student or a recent grad. It’s an official honor, it’s dated, and at schools like Penn State it’s on your academic record, so it can be checked.
Put it in your education section, on one line under your degree, and count the terms: “Dean’s List, 5 of 6 semesters” says more than a bare “Dean’s List.” Use your school’s own name for it, such as Dean’s Honor Roll. If you made the president’s or chancellor’s list, list that for those terms instead.
A reader can’t tell what your school’s list required; at UF alone, it ranges from 3.20 to 3.75. If your GPA is strong, list it too; what is a good GPA gives you a sense of where it stands, and the guide to your GPA on your resume covers the format. Once you graduate with Latin honors, or have a few years of work experience, the term-by-term honors can go.
Quick answers
Is a 3.5 GPA enough for the dean’s list? At Penn State and Ohio State, yes, with enough graded credits. At Arkansas, UF’s Liberal Arts and Sciences college and Texas A&M’s top tier, you need a 3.75.
Do part-time students qualify? At Penn State and Ohio State, yes, through separate part-time lists. Texas A&M and UF let students with a disability request a lower credit minimum through their disability offices.
Does the dean’s list show on your transcript? At Penn State, yes. UF’s catalog describes only the President’s Honor Roll as a permanent transcript notation.