Academic Excellence & Honors at Goucher

All students who apply to Goucher College are considered for need- and merit-based scholarships. Our flagship undergraduate scholarship, the Dorsey Scholarship program, is our most competitive award, with up to $20,000 in funds over 4 years. Dorsey Scholars are invited to participate in certain events with Arsht Diplomats and Cohen Scholars and are publicly recognized.

The Arsht Presidential Diplomats are a distinguished group of student leaders who participate in leadership development workshops; accompany the president to meet with local, state, and national government officials; and represent Goucher at a number of community events. 

Open to second-year students with an interest in global and international issues, the Cohen International Scholars Program offers a series of co-curricular programs as well as dedicated study abroad scholarship funds for students who complete the program. 

Each summer, Goucher College supports promising STEM-field students in obtaining hands-on research experience by assisting faculty with research projects in natural sciences, data and computer science, neurobiology, and psychology. The Summer Science Research Program supports students with professional development workshops and close faculty mentorship. 

Among the many exciting international partnerships for our study abroad requirement, Goucher College has sent a select number of particularly promising students to Oxford University’s St. Anne’s College, a prestigious opportunity that opens personal and professional pathways to success. View the Study Abroad opportunity at Oxford.

Goucher has a support system for ambitious students interested in applying to undergraduate- and postgraduate-level national scholarship and fellowship opportunities. Since launching our National Fellowships Program in 2023, we have seen gains in the Critical Language Scholarship, Fulbright, and Gilman programs—all scholarships and fellowships of high selectivity and international merit. 

Each semester, the highest achieving full-time students in each class are honored for their exceptional level of academic achievement. View the Dean's List.

Goucher College is among a select number of colleges and universities to have a Phi Beta Kappa chapter, which recognizes the outstanding achievements of top students and brings them into prestigious national network of undergraduate excellence. 

Goucher also has active chapters of many disciplinary honors societies, such as Psy Chi for Psychology, Omicron Delta Epsilon for Economics, and Upsilon Pi Epsilon for Computer Science.

Honors are determined by a vote of department faculty. Guidelines for honors are determined by the individual department. Some of them require Senior Theses (PDF). Consult your advisor or department chair for requirements.

Students who have taken at least 60 semester credit hours on a letter basis at Goucher or as part of a Goucher-sponsored, study-abroad program may be awarded their degree:

• Summa cum laude with a cumulative GPA of 3.90 or above
• Magna cum laude with a cumulative GPA of 3.70-3.89
• Cum laude with a cumulative GPA of 3.50-3.69

At the end of students’ careers at Goucher College, their achievements and awards are celebrated through an honors convocation ceremony.