Honors & Awards

Dean’s List

To be eligible for Dean's List recognition for any semester, students must rank in the top 20 percent of the College in grade point average and must complete at least 12 hours taken for a letter grade (A through F) on the Urbana-Champaign campus. Transfer, study abroad and guided individual study coursework is excluded.

Students who are registered with the Center for Wounded Veterans (CWV)or with Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES) who are enrolled in less than 12 but a 9 graded semester hours who are in the top 20 percent of the College are also eligible. Such students must sign a release with CWV or DRES indicating their consent for consideration for Dean’s List eligibility and have submitted that consent to their home unit’s academic affairs office no later than Reading Day in the semester in which they wish to be considered for Dean’s List. These consent forms are valid only for the semester in which they are issued, and students must submit by the deadline updated consent forms for each semester in which they wish to be considered for Dean’s List.

The specific grade point average necessary to achieve Dean's List recognition may vary. College of Media standards are high.

Dean's List recognition is determined before the start of the ensuing semester. Students who are not initially selected but who believe they might qualify because of the late resolution of incomplete, deferred or missing grades may petition before the end of the next semester for retroactive addition to the list.

Edmund J. James Scholars

The James Scholar Honors Program is a Universitywide honors program founded to recognize and encourage the talents of academically outstanding undergraduate students within each college. The program is named for the fourth president of the University of Illinois, Edmund J. James, who believed that scholarship and research are fundamental to human progress. In the years of his presidency, from 1904-1920, he procured top scholars, developed graduate programs, and encouraged a sense of community among faculty and students. His many achievements helped to transform the University of Illinois into a university with an international reputation. Students in the College of Media are encouraged to investigative and work toward becoming James Scholars.

Honors at graduation

For graduation with honors, a student must rank in the upper 20 percent of the student's graduation class in grade point average. For graduation with high honors, a student must rank in the upper 10 percent. For graduation with highest honors, a student must rank in the upper 5 percent.

Kappa Tau Alpha

Each year, scholastically high-ranking undergraduate and graduate students in the College of Media are considered for membership in Kappa Tau Alpha, a national honorary society founded to recognize and promote scholarship in journalism and mass communication.

Phi Kappa Phi

The nation's oldest, largest and most selective honor society is Phi Kappa Phi. Inductees include students, faculty, professional staff and alumni. Each year the organization extends membership to the top 10 percent of college seniors and graduate students and 7.5 percent of juniors from more than 300 institutions. Invitations are also extended to distinctive faculty, professional staff and alumni.

Bronze Tablet

University Honors students — the top 3 percent of graduating students from each college's undergraduates — are chosen annually for Bronze Tablet honors. This is the highest honor available to undergraduates at the University and recognizes students for their academic achievement. The names of the honorees are inscribed on the tablets that hang on the walls of the Main Library, a tradition that began in 1925, with 14 honorees on the first tablet.

Chancellor’s Scholars

Each year, 125 freshmen are admitted as Chancellor's Scholars to the Campus Honors Program, which is a four-year general studies program open to undergraduates in any curriculum. Honorees participate in low-enrollment honors classes and seminars. They are selected from approximately 6,000+ new freshmen entering the university, and a few additional students join the program at the beginning of their sophomore year.