Awards

National Honor Society

Teachers participate in the selection of students of junior and senior ranking for National Honor Society, a national organization for the recognition of outstanding students. Membership in National Honor Society is an honor and is based equally upon scholarship, leadership, service, and character. The selection process begins at the end of the first semester of a student's grade 11 year.

Students new to Upper Arlington High School who have been honored with membership in a chapter of National Honor Society from another high school chapter will be granted membership to Upper Arlington’s Chapter through transfer. Once membership has been transferred, the student must meet Upper Arlington’s membership requirements, which include maintaining membership status in the 12th grade (if inducted in grade 11). 

At that time, students must have a 3.75 (or higher) cumulative GPA in order to qualify.  In addition, students must have completed 48 service hours, complete an online application, and submit two faculty recommendations. The focus of the online application is critical reflexivity regarding the service hours as well as the demonstration of leadership skills throughout grades 9, 10, and 11. 

Cum Laude Society

The Cum Laude Society gives academic recognition to Juniors and Seniors meeting the following criteria: 

  • Juniors must be ranked in the top 10 percent of their class after the first semester. 
  • Seniors must be ranked in the top 20 percent of their class after the first semester. 
Induction to Cum Laude Society will be held in 4th quarter. 

Graduation Honor Cords

GPA-based Honor Cords
There are three honor cords recognizing academic accomplishment as follows: 

  • Summa Cum Laude: Students earning a 3.950 or above GPA (Blue cord)
  • Magna Cum Laude: Students earning a 3.750 to 3.949 or above GPA (Red cord)
  • Cum Laude: Students earning a 3.500 to 3.749 or above GPA (White cord) 
The GPA for these honors will be calculated at the end of the seventh semester. A notation of Summa, Magna, or Cum Laude honor designation will be made on the student’s diploma and transcript. 

Other Honor Cords
  • Capstone Honor Cord:  Students who demonstrate excellence across all components of the Capstone project will be awarded a “Capstone Honors with Distinction” cord to be worn at graduation. The cord is orange.
  • Career Center Cord:  Students who have participated in a Columbus Career Center program at Fort Hayes or Downtown Career Center will receive a cord to be worn at graduation. The cord is maroon and black. Any questions regarding eligibility should be directed to Jeanne Gogolski, [email protected]. 
  • Senior Service Honor Cord:  Students must document 120 hours of community service. The cord is black and gold.  Click here for more information.
  • Key Club Cord: Senior year club officers who successfully complete their full year in an official elected club officer position in Key Club earn a Key Club officer cord. The list of students who earn this cord is compiled by the outgoing club president and club advisor. The cord is blue and gold, and handed out by the club advisor, Mr. Chatlos. Email: [email protected].
  • International Baccalaureate (IB) Sash: Students who complete the full IB Diploma Program earn a gold sash with black letters and logo. Students who complete the IB Career Related Programmer receive a black sash with gold letters and logo.
  • Military Service Pin: This pin is handed out to any senior who is enrolling in the military upon graduation.  This pin is red/white/blue and will be handed out during graduation rehearsal.  Please contact Allen Banks with any questions at [email protected].
  • Music Cord:  All students that perform for 2 years in a large ensemble are eligible. The cord is powder blue.
  • National Art Honor Society Honor Cord:  A student must earn a GPA of 3.5 in their visual art classes and have completed 2.5 credits of visual art classes by the end of 1st semester of senior year. The cord is rainbow.
  • Publication Cord:  All seniors in publication courses senior year are eligible. The cord is platinum. 
  • Senior Class Officer Sash:  Senior Class officers will receive a gold sash. Please contact Senior Class advisor Alicia McGinty [email protected] if you have any questions. 
  • Student Council Cord:  Student council members that serve on student council for at least their senior year are eligible. The cord is red, white and blue.

National Art Honor Society

In 1978 the National Art Education Association began the National Art Honor Society program specifically for high school students, grades 11 & 12 for the purpose of inspiring and recognizing those students who have shown an outstanding ability in art, and to bring art education to the attention of the school and community. Junior and senior art students must complete 2.5 credits in visual art by the end of the first semester of their senior year and maintain a grade point average of 3.5 in those classes to be eligible for membership. Selected students are honored at an induction ceremony and are eligible for various art scholarships.

Diploma with Honors

Information for the Class of 2025: To be awarded a diploma with honors, the student shall be required to meet at least all but one of the criteria. 

The following is the criteria for the Academic Honors Diploma.

Students need to fulfill 6 of the following 7 criteria:

  1. Earn 4 units of mathematics.
  2. Earn 4 units of science including 2 units of advanced science.
  3. Earn 4 units of social studies.
  4. Earn three units of world languages or two units each of two different world languages.
  5. Earn 1 unit of fine arts.
  6. Maintain an overall high school grade point average of at least 3.5 on a four-point scale through the seventh semester; or
  7. Obtain a composite score of 27 on the American college testing services' ACT assessment (excluding the optional writing test) or a combined score of 1280 on the College Board's SAT (excluding the required essay section).* 
*Writing sections of either standardized test should not be included in the calculation of this score. 

Diploma with Honors requirements pre-suppose completion of all high school diploma requirements in Ohio Revised Code including: 

  • 0.5 unit physical education 
  • 0.5 unit health
  • 0.5 unit in American history 
  • 0.5 unit in government 
There are six different types of honors diplomas.  YOU CAN ONLY EARN ONE HONORS DIPLOMA. 


Information for the Class of 2026 and Beyond:

Please refer to the new information regarding Honors diploma provided by the State of Ohio.


Honor Roll and Awards

Honor Roll will be computed for each nine-week grading period. There will be no Honor Roll designation for either semester averages or final averages. The following procedures will be used in determining Honor Roll status: 

  1. A student will achieve Honor Roll status by earning an average of 3.5 GPA or higher.
  2. The student must not have any incomplete grades.

President's Volunteer Service Award

The President's Volunteer Service Award is available to ALL UAHS students and information about it can be found here. If you have questions, please contact [email protected]. 
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