Academic Regulation B-8

(Approved by the Senate on September 23, 2019, and effective immediately)

The University recognizes student merit by awarding several distinctions at convocation.

Academic distinctions are not awarded for certificates since a certificate is not a degree.

No decision regarding distinctions can be retroactively modified as a result of a repeated course or of an academic reset request.

Once the Senate has officially conferred degrees, awarded distinctions cannot be revoked.

B-8.1. Medals

(Approved by the Senate on October 16, 2023, effective immediately)

Note: At the undergraduate level, students must have completed a minimum of 60 units in a program of studies at the University of Ottawa to be eligible for a Governor General or University medal.

Governor General's Silver Medals - undergraduate level 

At the undergraduate level, three silver medals are awarded each year to students who have obtained the highest cumulative grade point average (CGPA) (rounded to two decimal places) in an honours bachelor's or equivalent program. 

Three silver medals are awarded at the convocation:

A medal for the student with the highest cumulative grade point average (CGPA) (rounded to two decimal places) in an honours bachelor's program or equivalent in the humanities.

A medal for the student with the highest cumulative grade point average (CGPA) (rounded to two decimal places) in an honours bachelor's program or equivalent in the sciences.

A medal for the student with the highest cumulative grade point average (CGPA) (rounded to two decimal places), with the exception of the two recipients of the two medals mentioned above, which alternates from year to year between the sciences and the humanities.

Candidates eligible for medals will be drawn from a pool of students who earned a degree in the spring-summer, fall or winter terms preceding the spring convocation.

Each of the following faculties submits to the Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) Office the name of two students who has achieved distinction by view of their cumulative grade point average (CGPA) (the two best CGPA): Arts, Common Law, Civil Law, Education, Telfer School of Management and Social Sciences (for the humanities) and Engineering, Science, Health Sciences and Medicine (for the Honours Bachelor of Science in Translational and Molecular Medicine) and the Undergraduate Doctor in Pharmacy) (for the sciences).

Determining the recipient in case of a tie

In case of a tie in the cumulative grade point average (CGPA) among several candidates for the Governor General’s Silver Medals, the average obtained in the compulsory courses for the completed program of study (rounded to two decimal places) is used to determine the recipient.  If there is still a tie, the average of class averages of all the courses on the transcript is calculated for each candidate. The candidate with the lowest class average will be the recipient of the medal since this student is deemed to have had the harder set of courses. 

Gold and Silver University Medals - undergraduate level

Gold and silver University medals are awarded at the convocation ceremonies. One gold medal and two silver medals are awarded for each faculty to the top three students in each of the following two types of programs:

1. Honours bachelor’s 
2. Bachelor’s

Eligible students are those who earned a degree in the spring-summer, fall or winter terms prior to convocation.

Determining the recipient in case of a tie

In case of a tie in the cumulative grade point average (CGPA) among several candidates for the gold and silver University medals, the average obtained in the compulsory courses for the completed program of study (rounded to two decimal places) is used to determine the recipient. If there is still a tie, the average of class averages of all the courses on the transcript is calculated for each candidate. The candidate with the lowest class average will be the recipient of the medal since this student is deemed to have had the harder set of courses.

B-8.2. Awards

(Approved by the Senate on December 4, 2006)

Students receiving an award at the convocation ceremony must obtain a degree at the ceremony in question.
 
Awards are conferred according to the criteria set out by the sponsors.

B-8.3. Plaques

(Approved by the Senate October 16, 2023, effective immediately)

Note: At the undergraduate level, students must have completed a minimum of 60 units in a program of studies at the University of Ottawa to be eligible for a plaque.

Each faculty is invited to award plaques to the best students in each of its disciplines. Plaques are awarded to students having obtained the highest cumulative grade point average (CGPA) in each of the faculty's programs. A minimum cumulative grade point average of 7.00 is required to obtain a plaque.

In case of a tie in the cumulative grade point average (CGPA) among several candidates eligible for a plaque, the average obtained in the compulsory courses for the completed program of study (rounded to two decimal places) is used to determine the recipient. If there is still a tie, the average of class averages of all the courses on the transcript is calculated for each candidate. The candidate with the lowest class average will be the recipient of the plaque since this student is deemed to have had the hardest set of courses.

B-8.4. Dean’s honour list 

(Approved by the Senate on April 17, 2023, effective May 1, 2023)

Note: This regulation does not apply to the Faculty of Education, graduate programs, or the Faculty of Medicine, except for its undergraduate program in Translational and Molecular Medicine (TMM) and the undergraduate Doctor of Pharmacy program. 

The Dean’s Honour List is determined each term.

Only full-time students who have maintained a term grade point average (TGPA) of 8.5 or higher (7.5 in law programs) without any failures and who have completed at least 9 units with alphanumeric grades during the term will have their names placed on the Dean’s Honour List.

Students who are unable to complete 9 units with alphanumeric grades during the term due to their program requirements, but who otherwise meet the requirements stipulated in the preceding paragraph, will also have their names placed on the Dean’s Honour List if, at the end of the term in question, they have maintained a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 8.5 or higher (7.5 in law programs).

Students who have a reduced course load approved by the Student Academic Success Service that recognizes that they cannot enrol full time for medical reasons, but have maintained, at the end of the term in question, a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 8.5 or higher (7.5 in law programs), will also have their names placed on the Dean’s Honours List.

Dean’s Honour List is indicated on the transcript for the term when it was awarded.

B-8.5. Citations

(Approved by the Senate on April 17, 2023, effective May 1, 2023)

For programs in the faculties of Arts, Engineering, Science, Health Sciences, Social Sciences, Telfer School of Management and the Honours Bachelor of Science in Translational and Molecular Medicine offered by the Faculty of Medicine and the undergraduate Doctor of Pharmacy program, citations are awarded to students who complete the requirements of an undergraduate degree, according to the following cumulative grade point averages:

In the Common Law and Civil Law sections of the Faculty of Law, citations are awarded according to the following cumulative grade point averages:

At the Faculty of Education, citations are awarded according to the following cumulative grade point averages:

The Faculty of Medicine does not use citations, with the exception of  the Honours Bachelor of Science in Translational and Molecular Medicine and the undergraduate Doctor of Pharmacy program.