Current Practices of Awarding Graduation Honors within Doctor of Pharmacy Degree Programs
Document Type
Peer-Reviewed Article
Publication Date
5-2017
Abstract
Objective. To survey the practices of awarding honors upon graduation with a doctor of pharmacy degree.
Methods. College and school of pharmacy websites were systematically searched to identify if, and then how, graduation honors are awarded. Programs that offer graduation honors were categorized and quantified based upon grade point average (GPA) cutoffs, honors enrollment, research project completion, faculty vote, course failure considerations, and ethics code violations.
Results. Of the 132 doctor of pharmacy programs reviewed, 86% (n=114) had accessible online resources and were included in data analysis. Of these 114 programs, 43% (n=49) award honors upon graduation, and 57% (n=65) do not. Among the 49 programs that award honors, 30 award the Latin honors. Of the remaining 19 programs, 18 award alternative graduation honors, and one awards both.
Conclusions. Latin honors are the most common form of graduation honors utilized by doctor of pharmacy programs that award honors upon graduation. There is a variety of GPA cutoffs utilized across programs.
DOI
10.5688/ajpe81469
PMID
28630510
Recommended Citation
DiPietro, P.A., Longo, S.L., Welch, B.E., Kennedy, D.R., Nemec, E.C. (2017). Current practices of awarding graduation honors within Doctor of Pharmacy degree programs. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 81(4), Article 69. doi:10.5688/ajpe81469
Publication
American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education
Volume
81
Issue
4
Pages
1-5 (Article 69)
Comments
At the time of manuscript submission, Eric C. Nemec was affiliated with Western New England University College of Pharmacy in Springfield, Massachusetts.