BOSTON, Mass. — Boston University has announced local students who have earned distinction for academics by being named to the Dean’s List for the Fall 2018 semester.

Each school and college at Boston University has their own criterion for the Dean’s List, but students generally must attain a 3.5 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale), or be in the top 30 percent of their class, as well as a full course load as a full-time student.

Area students on the Dean’s List include:

• Rachel M. Novack of Wells

• Nia M. Irving of Kennebunk

• Joel D. Herbert of Biddeford

• William D. Saunders of Saco

• Megan E. Brown of Waterboro

Founded in 1839, Boston University is an internationally recognized institution of higher education and research. Consisting of 16 schools and colleges, BU offers students more than 250 programs of study in science and engineering, social science and humanities, health science, the arts, and other professional disciplines, along with a number of multi-disciplinary centers and institutes integral to the University’s research and teaching mission.

With more than 33,000 students, BU is the fourth-largest private university in the country and a member of the American Association of Universities (AAU), a nonprofit association of 62 of North America’s leading research-intensive institutions.