You need English honors (department honors) to receive Latin honors (College honors). The College does not confer higher honors than the department has recommended for the student. Basically, the College looks at your concentration Honors recommendation (English honors) and your college GPA to determine Latin honors. The Latin honors options are:Summa Cum Laude in Field; Magna Cum Laude with Highest Honors in Field; Magna Cum Laude in Field; Cum Laude in Field; Cum Laude*; and No Honors.
*a small percentage of students not recommended for honors by a Department may receive cum laude from the College.

To receive summa cum laude in field, you have to have a recommendation of Highest Honors from the department, and be in the top 5% of your class GPA-wise. The cut-off for summa was published beginning in May 2015. The cut-off for 2022 was 3.976.

People who are recommended for Highest Honors by their department, but don't receive summa at the College level, along with those recommended for High Honors, are then considered for magna cum laude in field. The degrees summa cum laude and magna cum laude will not be more than 20% of May degree candidates. Those recommended for Highest Honors who do not receive summa, may receive magna cum laude with highest honors in field. The College GPA cut-off for 2022 was 3.909.

Anyone who hasn't received summa or magna from the College and was recommended for Highest Honors, High Honors, or Honors is considered for cum laude in field.  The 2022 College GPA cut-off for cum laude in field was 3.757.

The degrees summa cum laude, magna cum laude, and cum laude (all in field) will not be more than 50% of all May degree candidates. Finally, it is possible that a student be recommended by the department for Honors, not meet the College threshold, and therefore graduate with no honors recognition.