AWARDS & HONORS
GRADUATION WITH HONORS
J.D. and L.L.M. students may graduate with honors based on cumulative GPA at graduation. This honor is not listed on the student's transcript or diploma, but students are encouraged to indicate their honors achievement on their personal documents (e.g. resume, LinkedIn) as "Highest Honors", "High Honors", or "Honors".
Graduation with honors is as follows:
Highest Honors (3.8 and above) | High Honors (3.6 and above) | Honors (3.4 and above)
AWARDS & OTHER HONORS
CALI Awards
The purpose of The Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI) Excellence for the Future Award is to recognize academic excellence in legal education. CALI recognizes students who receive the highest grade in a course. There are no restrictions on the number of courses or the number of students within a course. The only restriction is that all courses be law-related and taught within the law school. These students are presented with a certificate of achievement from the CALI foundation. For more information, click here.
Examples of how to list on a resume:
- CALI Excellence for the Future Award® (highest grade), Torts (Fall 2020)
- CALI Excellence for the Future Award® (highest grade), Torts (Fall 2020), Professor Doe
David T. Lewis Clinical Award
Awards are given each year to graduating seniors who have outstanding achievement in the Clinical Program. The clinical director, with the advice of a committee chosen by her, makes the awards. Nominations may come from faculty, clinical supervisors, or students may nominate themselves. A cash award of approximately $100 is presented to each recipient. The deadline for nominations is generally the end of spring semester.
Edwin Brown Firmage Student Award in International Law and Human Rights
This award honors a student who has demonstrated strong academic achievement and an ongoing commitment to international law and human rights issues through coursework, extracurricular activities, volunteer participation, and/or previous experience. The award is open to current second- or third-year students. The dean of students announces when applications will be accepetd, usually spring semester.
National Association of Women Lawyers Award
The NAWL awards a one-year honorary membership and a year’s subscription to the NAWL Law Journal to an outstanding law graduate who has demonstrated academic achievement, motivation, tenacity, and drive; who exhibits promise for future contributions to the advancement of women in society; and presents a personable and professional image. The Dean’s Office chooses the recipient.
Order of the Coif
The Order of the Coif is a national society founded to encourage legal scholarship and advance the ethical standards of the profession. Each year, the faculty confers membership on students who place in the highest 10 percent of their graduating class. To be eligible, a student must receive graded credit for at least three-quarters of the total number of hours required for graduation. (Under the current requirement of 88 hours, a minimum of 66 graded hours satisfies requirements regardless of how many hours a student may have accumulated prior to graduation.)
Reva Beck Bosone Award
The Women’s Law Caucus sponsors this $1,000 award given to a first- or second-year student who is a member of the Women’s Law Caucus and who is in good academic standing. A WLC selection committee considers the candidate’s contributions and potential to make a significant contribution in a field of importance to women. The WLC announces when applications will be accepted, currently early fall semester.
S.J. Quinney College of Law Outstanding Achievement Award (OAA)
The S.J. Quinney College of Law Outstanding Achievement Award (OAA) is given in each graded course (other than seminars) with an enrollment of at least 12 students. The course professor selects the student whose work is deemed the most outstanding. In the event of a tie, the professor will attempt to select a single winner. If the selection process does not produce one winner, co-winners will be accepted (but no more than two). Students are sent an email of achievement.
Examples of how to list on a resume:
-
S.J. Quinney College of Law Outstanding Achievement Award (OAA), Torts (Fall 2020), Professor Doe
- S.J. Quinney College of Law Outstanding Achievement Award (OAA) (selected by instructor), Torts (Fall 2020)
Stephen Pierre Traynor Legal Writing Award
The Traynor Legal Writing Award annually recognizes outstanding writing by an advanced student. The recipient receives $700. The faculty nominates student, law review, or journal papers, which, after editing, remain substantially the work of the student. The Faculty Awards Committee chooses the recipient.
Academic Awards
At the end of each academic year, the students in each class with the top GPA’s will be provided with the following awards:
- Dean’s Award (awarded to the student with the highest GPA in the class)
- Faculty Award (awarded to the second highest GPA in the class)
- College Award (awarded to the third highest GPA in the class)
- Barrister’s Award (awarded to the fourth highest GPA in the class)
- Quinney Award (awarded to the fifth highest GPA in the class).
In the case of ties, students with the same GPA will receive the same award. These students are sent an email to inform them of their achievements.
Utah Civil Rights and Liberties Writing Award
The $300 Utah Civil Rights and Liberties Award is given to the student who writes the best research paper in a class or seminar on the First Amendment, or in a comparable class that requires a research paper. The faculty nominates student papers and the Faculty Awards Committee chooses the recipient.