XV.    Academic Awards and Honors

Academic Honors

The College of Law shall grant the following awards and honors:¹

1. Dean’s Award, Faculty Award, and Jurisprudence Award for Academic Excellence
   1. The Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence is awarded to the student with the highest grade in a class of at least 15 students.
   2. The Faculty Award for Academic Excellence is awarded to the student with the second-highest grade in a class of at least 40 students. In the event that more than one student earns the Dean’s Award, no Faculty Award will be conferred.
   3. The Jurisprudence Award for Academic Excellence is awarded to the student with the highest grade in a seminar enrolling at least 8 students. Students enrolled in a colloquium, practicum, or similar curricular offering are eligible for these awards.
2. Graduation with Honors
   1. In recognition of superior scholarship, the J.D. degree may be granted with special honors as follows:
      1. With Highest Distinction: cumulative weighted average of 3.90 or more;
      2. With High Distinction: top 12.5% of the graduating class;
      3. With Distinction: top 37.5% of graduating class.
   2. Eligibility for special honors is based on final GPA.
   3. The following system of ranking students by their grade point average shall be in effect:
      1. The top ten percent in each class may be informed of their exact rank;
      2. The grade point averages at the 12.5 percentile and 37.5 percentile will be posted; and
      3. The above will constitute the entire ranking system
   4. All students who will receive degrees between December 1 and August 31 of the next year will be ranked together. For purposes of ranking underclass students, the same system shall be used based upon expected date of graduation.

3. Boyd Service Award

   The Boyd Service Award recognizes law students who provide volunteer services to charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental, and educational organizations in furtherance of those organization’s missions to improve the community.

   It is given to law students at the completion of their studies during graduation. Recipients receive a seal on their diploma and wear cords during the graduation ceremony. The Boyd Service Award cords are the only cords worn by students at graduation.

   The level of distinction is based on the number of volunteer hours completed during the student’s entire law school career, with the guidelines as follows:

   • Highest Honors: 200 hours total (at least 100 of community service)
   • High Honors: 150 hours total (at least 75 of community service)
   • Honors: 100 hours total (at least 50 of community service)

4. Order of the Coif

   The Order of the Coif, a national legal honor society, has a chapter at The University of Iowa. The Order is dedicated to scholarship and advancement of high ethical standards in the legal profession and membership is highly coveted. A Chapter may elect to membership in the Order any graduating senior (1) who has completed at least 75 percent of his or her law studies in graded courses and (2) whose grade record ranks in the top 10 percent of all the graduating seniors of the school. Under a new interpretation of the Coif Constitution (November 2013), transfer students are not excluded from eligibility for Coif membership, and will be considered as having completed their first year of law studies in graded courses for calculating (1) above.

Notes

1. The College of Law did not grant these awards for courses taken in Spring 2020 because of the temporary suspension of numerical grades and shift to mandatory pass-fail grading due to COVID-19.