Dean’s Honour List and Medal Policy

Dean’s Honour List

Each academic year, LL.B. degree program students whose grade point average (GPA) in Queen’s law courses places them within the top 10 per cent of their class in each of the three years of study will be named to the Dean’s Honour List.

Grade point averages are calculated after the end of each academic year for all law courses taken by LL.B. degree program students during that academic year at Queen’s University and the preceding spring term in the International Law Spring Program at Queen’s International Study Centre.

Letter grades are converted to a four-point scale as set out below, and the GPA for each student is then calculated after accounting for credit weights assigned to each course.

A	4.00
A-	3.67
B+	3.33
B	3.00
B-	2.67
C+	2.33
C	2.00
D	1.00
F	0.00

Grades of PA, PN and H are not included in GPA calculations.

Consideration for the Dean’s Honour List in an academic year is subject to the following conditions:

• Full-time students in first year must have completed all of the six compulsory courses for a total of 32 credits. Full-time students in each of the upper years must have completed a minimum total of 14 credits per term and 28 credits for the academic year.

• Part-time students in first year must have completed four of the six compulsory courses for a minimum total of 20 credits. Part-time students in each of the upper years must have completed a minimum total of 7 credits per term and 14 credits for the academic year.
• Students who attend another university on an exchange or a letter of permission for one term will be considered on the basis of their GPA for law courses completed during the term at Queen’s University.
• Students who attend another university on an exchange or a letter of permission for an academic year will not be considered for that academic year.
• Students registered in a cooperative combined degree program will be considered for the first, second and third year Dean’s Honour List on the basis of grades for Law courses obtained in the second, third and fourth years, respectively of the four-year program.
• Students who are granted paper or examination deferrals by the Academic Standing and Policies Committee will be added to the Dean’s Honour List after receipt of all their final grades if their GPA is greater than or equal to that of the student with the lowest GPA who was named to the Dean’s Honour List at the end of the academic year.

Students who are placed on the Dean’s Honour List will receive a notation on their transcripts.

Full-time students in first, second and third year who obtain the top three GPAs in their classes will be recognized with awards as follows:

• Dean’s Gold Scholar Award: A plaque is awarded annually to the students obtaining the highest average in first, second and third year of the LL.B. degree program.
• Dean’s Silver Scholar Award: A plaque is awarded annually to the students obtaining the second highest average in first, second and third year of the LL.B. degree program.
• Dean’s Bronze Scholar Award:A plaque is awarded annually to the students obtaining the third highest average in first, second and third year of the LL.B. degree program.

Any tie in students’ GPAs for a Dean’s Scholar Award at the end of the academic year will be dealt with by the Faculty’s Awards Committee at its discretion. Students who are granted paper or examination deferrals by the Academic Standing and Policies Committee will be awarded a Dean’s Scholar Award after receipt of all their final grades if their GPA is equal to that of the student who received that Dean’s Scholar Award at the end of the academic year.

Medal List

Each year, the graduating students obtaining the top three cumulative GPAs will be awarded medals as follows:

1. Medal in Law:A medal is awarded annually by the University to the candidate graduating with the highest cumulative average in the LL.B. program in the Faculty of Law.
2. Medal in Law – Second Highest Standing: A medal is awarded annually by the University to the candidate graduating with the second-highest cumulative average in the LL.B. program in the Faculty of Law.
3. Medal in Law – Third Highest Standing: A medal is awarded annually by the University to the candidate graduating with the third-highest cumulative average in the LL.B. program in the Faculty of Law.

In addition to the conditions for the Dean’s Honour List, to be considered for a graduation medal, students must have completed 32 first year credits and a minimum of 42 upper year credits in law courses at Queen’s University including courses completed in the International Law Spring Program at Queen’s International Study Centre.

Students who will not be graduating until the Fall Convocation in any year will be considered for medals awarded for the subsequent academic year in competition with students graduating in the Spring Convocation of that year.

Note: GPA calculations are used for the purposes of determining students named to the Dean’s Honour List, and recipients of the Dean’s Scholar Awards and medals only. Queen’s Faculty of Law does not otherwise rank its students.