CV advice on a "cum laude" degree

I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology awarded "cum laude".  My fiance tells me that phrase is not used in England.  How should I mention that on my CV?

There is an official body "NARIC" that can advise you the Uk equivilent:

http://www.naric.org.uk/

I always guessed that cum laude was the same as an honours degree, which in your case would be stated as BSc (Hons). But that's just a guess, alas.

Not exactly. Every degree in a non-poly university is Honours, but only a sizeable minority of degrees in the US are awarded cum laude.

The closest equivalent would be for you to say that you graded with a BA Honours with a 2-1 degree. Since less than 10% of final class marks here are first, I'd say that for that you'd have to have a magna cum laude or a summa cum laude.

I sent NARIC my university transcript which says Summa Cum Laude, and they replied only that it is equivalent to a British Bachelor's degree. NARIC did not mention anything about honours.

On my CV, I just wrote Summa Cum Laude (Highest Honours). I just made parenthetical statements explaining things that I thought a British employer might not understand; for example, explaining what Phi Beta Kappa is.

things that I thought a British employer might not understand; for example, explaining what Phi Beta Kappa is.

so, what is it then?

I sent NARIC my university transcript which says Summa Cum Laude, and they replied only that it is equivalent to a British Bachelor's degree. NARIC did not mention anything about honours.

That sounds weird to me. I can't believe that something like summa cum laude or magna cum laude is the equivalent of any British bachelor's degree.

Isn't Phi Beta Kappa an honors society?

Not exactly. Every degree in a non-poly university is Honours, but only a sizeable minority of degrees in the US are awarded cum laude.

Not exactly. In Scotland, three year degrees are "ordinary" and four year degrees are "with honours".

Sorry, you're right, again, about he Scottish difference, In England, the first year of a degree course is implicitly ordinary. After the first year, a board examines the student's record and determines if they are allowed to proceed into Honours, which is the second year.

While I think that you very much should say that a cum laude degree is equivalent to a 2-1 and a summa to a first class with distinction, I'd hesitate about mentioning Phi Beta Kappa for two reasons. Firstly, it doesn't correlate to anything here. Secondly, there's a local suspicion of membership in societies that aren't State-backed (ie, Royal academy). Phi Beta Kappa is just too close to something like the Masons, which doesn't have an entirely positive association here (the comparison is not odd since PBK began as a secret society and continued as one for decades until a member outed its presence in the mid 19C). While some universities treat entry as simply a matter of the right GPA, others use it as an elite group requiring invitation. You don't want to have this confusion impact your CV (ie while it's good to tell you remployer that you're smart, I'm not sure it's a good strategy to say that you've been a member of an invite-only group).

Here's an approximation of UK vs US degree classifications

First:     Summa Cum Laude
2-1:      Magna Cum Laude
2-2:

Here's an approximation of UK vs US degree classifications

First:     Summa Cum Laude
2-1:      Magna Cum Laude
2-2:      Cum Laude

I'd just say that you got a degree "Summa Cum Laude (equivalent to UK First)". Also even if the UK
does not have academic societies like PBK I'd definitely mention it with a brief explaination like
"Phi Beta Kappa, a US academic society" as it will be a good discussion point in interviews.

The most important thing in the CV will be to highlight your experience and immediate usefulness
to a company, so put in your skills and achievements, those should not need translation

So since mine is "cum laude" I'd put:

BSc cum laude (equivalent to UK 2-2)

What do 2-1 and 2-2 mean, specifically?

Here's an approximation of UK vs US degree classifications

First:     Summa Cum Laude
2-1:      Magna Cum Laude
2-2:      Cum Laude

Respectfully, no, no, no. A cum laude is much, much better than a 2-2 degree. You've got the equivalent of a 2-1.

10% approximately of English BA Honours are firsts. So I think this is comparable with magna cum laude. A Summa cum laude is a First with Distinction.

UK (this is right for Scotland, Nibbles, yes) give final class mark and don't give a transcript of individual course marks (though the trend for this changin). The class marks a first, a first second, a second second, a third, etc. These are notated as a 1, a 2-1, a 2-2.

Do what you want with the PBK, there's no right answer. I must admit that I'm slightly prejudiced against it, since I'm no fan of honor societies, and it might confuse people here. But if you're proud of it, then use it.

So since mine is "cum laude" I'd put:

BSc cum laude (equivalent to UK 2-2)

Bsc cum laude (equivalent to a BA (Honours) 2-1

Perhaps you could just say that your Cum Laude (or Magna or Summa) means that you graduated in the top x% of your class (worded more nicely, of course).  I don't know offhand what percentiles the titles stand for, but I'm sure it could easily be researched.  That seems to be the clearest way to put it.