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Cureus Honors Explained: What It Is and How to Earn Points

Written by Cureus Team | Jun 17, 2026 9:01:35 PM

If you publish, review, or read on Cureus, you're already eligible for rewards you may not be using. Cureus Honors is the journal's rewards program for active authors, reviewers, and readers — you perform actions on the platform, earn points, and unlock benefits as you climb through four tiers.

Here's the short version: Honors has four reward tiers — Scholar, Magna, Summa, and Laureate. You earn points by doing things that strengthen the Cureus community, like publishing articles, completing peer reviews, and rating articles with SIQ. The more effort an action takes, the more points it's worth. Below is how the program works and the smartest ways to earn points.

What is Cureus Honors?

Cureus Honors is a points-based rewards program designed to recognize and reward people who actively contribute to the journal. Rather than rewarding spending, it rewards participation — publishing your research, reviewing the work of your peers, scoring articles, and keeping your profile and engagement active.

As you accumulate points, you reach one of four tiers, each unlocking progressively better perks.

The four Cureus Honors tiers

The tiers, from entry level to the most prestigious, are Scholar, Magna, Summa, and Laureate. Point values are deliberately hidden, but Cureus is transparent about the relative weighting: higher-effort actions are worth far more. For example, publishing an article is worth roughly five times the points of submitting advisory feedback, while smaller actions like completing your profile or scoring articles with SIQ earn a lesser — but still substantial — amount.

How the reward windows work

Each calendar year is split into two six-month windows: January through June and July through December.

This timing matters. Progress toward the Scholar, Magna, and Summa tiers resets at the end of each window, so you need to stay active within a window to reach or maintain those tiers. The exception is Laureate: your progress toward Laureate status never resets.

What are the rewards?

Benefits grow as you move up the tiers. Across the program, perks can include:

  • Priority customer support
  • Higher-weighted SIQ score — your article ratings carry more influence
  • Higher search results rankings for your work
  • A profile and search results badge signaling your status
  • Preferred editing discount — 5% at Scholar, 10% at Magna, 20% at Summa, and 30% at Laureate (applies to the submitting author only and can't be combined with other offers)
  • Expedited PMC discount — 20% at Summa and 30% at Laureate (submitting author only)
  • A lifetime award that never expires at the Laureate level

Reaching Laureate: the best of the best

Laureate is the program's highest honor, and it works differently from the others. Because progress toward it never resets, it rewards long-term contribution rather than a single active window. To be eligible, you must publish at least one article as the submitting author and complete five peer reviews. Laureates enjoy a full list of permanent benefits. One important caveat: rejected peer reviews may result in permanent loss of Laureate status, so quality matters as much as quantity.

Tips to earn Honors points faster

  1. Publish your research as the submitting author. This is the highest-value action in the program — and the only way to start your path toward Laureate.
  2. Join the peer review panel and complete reviews. Reviews are worth significant points, count toward Laureate eligibility, and support fellow authors. Apply through your Cureus profile.
  3. Submit thoughtful, high-quality reviews. Volume helps, but rejected reviews can cost you Laureate status. Careful, constructive reviews protect your standing.
  4. Score articles with SIQ. Rating articles is a quick, repeatable way to accumulate points while engaging with the literature.
  5. Complete your profile. A small one-time action that earns points and adds your badge once you reach a tier.
  6. Submit advisory feedback. Lower-value than publishing or reviewing, but it adds up over a window.
  7. Stay active across the full six-month window. Since Scholar, Magna, and Summa progress resets in June and December, consistent activity beats last-minute pushes.
  8. Think long-term toward Laureate. Even if you can't reach a tier in a single window, your Laureate progress is permanent — so every article and review keeps building.

Frequently asked questions

What is Cureus Honors?
It's Cureus's rewards program for active authors, reviewers, and readers. You earn points for actions on the platform and unlock benefits across four tiers: Scholar, Magna, Summa, and Laureate.

How do I earn points on Cureus?
By publishing articles (worth the most), completing peer reviews, scoring articles with SIQ, completing your profile, and submitting advisory feedback. Higher-effort actions earn more points.

What are the Cureus Honors tiers?
Scholar, Magna, Summa, and Laureate, in ascending order of prestige and benefits.

Do Cureus Honors points expire?
Progress toward Scholar, Magna, and Summa resets at the end of each six-month window (January–June and July–December). Progress toward Laureate never resets.

How do I become a Cureus Laureate?
Publish at least one article as the submitting author and complete five peer reviews. Note that rejected peer reviews may cause permanent loss of Laureate status.

Where can I check my Honors status?
On your Cureus profile, which shows your current rewards status and tier.