How to Use summa cum laude in a Sentence

summa cum laude

adverb or adjective
  • For the record, graduating in three years summa cum laude is a very Ben Gross thing to do.
    — Dallas News, 10 Aug. 2022
  • Now, the top 5% of the class graduates summa cum laude, the next 8% magna and the next 12% cum laude.
    — Melissa Korn, WSJ, 2 July 2018
  • Three of its former employees graduated from college, one of them summa cum laude.
    — Crocker Stephenson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 3 July 2018
  • That doesn’t mean students who don’t test well can’t succeed, or that students with high scores are guaranteed to graduate summa cum laude.
    — The Editorial Board, WSJ, 1 July 2018
  • Macdonald was on his way to graduating summa cum laude and was well on his way to a lucrative business career.
    — Jeff Howe, The Athletic, 6 Aug. 2024
  • Mae had graduated summa cum laude from an elite private university.
    — Dr. David P. Weber, The Conversation, 3 Sep. 2024
  • Logan Baumann earned his bachelor's degree, summa cum laude, in economics from U of L.
    — Stephanie Kuzydym, The Courier-Journal, 29 Dec. 2022
  • The groom is a summa cum laude graduate of Hendrix College with bachelor's degrees in economics and business.
    — Cary Jenkins, Arkansas Online, 23 Oct. 2022
  • Kimes graduated summa cum laude from Yale University with a bachelor of arts in English.
    — Todd Spangler, Variety, 16 May 2026
  • Macdonald was a straight-A student in high school and graduated summa cum laude with a finance degree from the University of Georgia.
    — Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2026
  • The couple met at the University of Pennsylvania, from which the bride graduated summa cum laude and received a law degree, and the groom received a law degree.
    — New York Times, 11 Mar. 2018
  • Chelsea graduated summa cum laude from Howard University in 2018.
    — Alexandra Hurtado, People.com, 5 Dec. 2024
  • McKellar graduated summa cum laude with a BS in mathematics in 1998.
    — Alexandra Schonfeld, Peoplemag, 17 Aug. 2022
  • While this is the first time the school didn’t honor a valedictorian or salutatorian, 24 students graduated summa cum laude, nine students magna cum laude and 10 cum laude.
    — John Benson, cleveland, 6 June 2022
  • The school cited mental health as a reason for the change and will still offer the Latin distinctions of summa cum laude, magna cum laude and cum laude in an effort to encourage high achievement without as much pressure and competition.
    — Rachel Berry, Cincinnati.com, 12 June 2019
  • Zachary Lang, a summa cum laude graduate from Dartmouth College, will pursue a bachelor's in philosophy at Oxford.
    — Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023
  • Groch graduated summa cum laude from California Western School of Law in 1992.
    — Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026
  • At 19, Harold graduated from college, summa cum laude, with a Bachelor of Science degree in organic chemistry.
    — Jerry Large, The Seattle Times, 18 Mar. 2018
  • Wrembel is a 2002 summa cum laude graduate of Boston’s prestigious Berklee College of Music.
    — George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Jan. 2022
  • Yates completed a bachelor’s degree in English from UT Dallas and graduated summa cum laude in 1978.
    — Teri Webster, Dallas News, 14 June 2021
  • Bryce graduated summa cum laude from Iowa State University in 2020 with a double major in journalism and Spanish.
    — Bryce Jones, Better Homes & Gardens, 31 July 2022
  • As a summa cum laude graduate of UCLA with a degree in mathematics, numbers fundamentally changed McKellar’s life.
    — Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 5 Nov. 2025
  • Syed, who earned her English degree summa cum laude, also received the Alumni Association’s Outstanding Senior Award.
    — Mona Darwish, Oc Register, 18 May 2026
  • Jimmy Chilimigras graduated summa cum laude from Loyola University New Orleans law school over the weekend — about three years after beginning his studies there at the age of 15, according to a statement from the school.
    — Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 13 May 2026
  • Newberger graduated summa cum laude from Northwestern University and was valedictorian of the university’s Medill School of Journalism.
    — Adam Bednar, Baltimore Sun, 21 Apr. 2026
  • In June 2025, Talia celebrated Erik for graduating summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Irvine.
    — Caroline Blair, People.com, 28 Aug. 2025
  • Turner graduated valedictorian from her high school in South Dallas, earned her bachelor’s degree summa cum laude from the University of Texas at El Paso, and graduated from Notre Dame Law School in 2019.
    — Mark Curriden, Dallas Morning News, 16 Jan. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'summa cum laude.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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