> The result was that Heisenberg received the lowest of three passing grades in physics and the same overall grade (cum laude) for his doctorate I don't think

> The result was that Heisenberg received the lowest of three passing grades in physics and the same overall grade (cum laude) for his doctorate I don't think that's accurate - there are usually 4 passing grades for dissertations in Germany, the lowest passing grade being "rite". It would be surprising if "cum laude", which literally means "with praise", was the lowest passing grade at Heisenberg's university (edit: Wikipedia confirms 4 passing grades for Heisenberg's dissertation: "summa cum laude", "magna cum laude", "cum laude", and "passed" [0]). The standard grades for dissertations in Germany are "summa cum laude" (=very good with distinction), "magna cum laude" (=very good), "cum laude" (=good), "rite" (=sufficient), and "insuffizienter" (=failed). Some faculties have "satis bene" as an additional grade between "cum laude" and "rite". [0] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Heisenberg#cite_note-2 https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Heisenberg#cite_note-2