Honor society

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In the United States, an honor society is an organization of rank, the induction into which recognizes excellence among one's peers. There are numerous societies recognizing various fields and circumstances; the Order of the Arrow, for example, is the national honor society of the Boy Scouts of America. Chiefly, the term refers to scholastic honor societies, those which recognize students who excel academically or as leaders among their peers, often within a specific academic discipline.

Many honor societies invite students to become members based on the grade point averages of those students, either overall, or for classes taken within the discipline for which the honor society provides recognition. In cases where academic achievement would not be an appropriate criterion for membership, other standards are usually required for membership (such as completion of a particular ceremony or training program). In some cases, membership in an honor society is considered exclusive; a member of such an organization cannot join other honor societies representing the same field.

Many Fraternities and sororities are referred to by their membership or by non-members as honor societies, and vice-versa, though this is not always the case. Honor societies exist at the high school, collegiate/university, and postgraduate levels, although university honor societies are by far the most prevalent.

The certifying agency in the United States for college and university honor societies is the Association of College Honor Societies, which has 61 members.

1 List of scholastic honor societies
2 References
3 External Links

[edit] List of scholastic honor societies

Important national and international honor societies based in or at schools include the following:

[edit] Independent

Some universities have their own independent, open honor societies, which are not affiliated with any national or international organization. Such organizations typically recognize students who have succeeded academically irrespective of their field of study. These include:

Aquinas Honor Society at University of St. Thomas
Cap and Skull at Rutgers University
Florida Blue Key at University of Florida
Burning Spear Society at Florida State University
Iron Arrow Honor Society at the University of Miami
Order of the Torch at Florida International University
HGH Senior Honor Society at Brenau University
Boulder Society at the University of Vermont
Lion's Paw, Parmi Nous at the Pennsylvania State University^[1]
Skull and Bones (Penn State) at the Pennsylvania State University^[2]
Mask and Wig at the University of Pennsylvania
Matteo Ricci Society at Fordham University
Quill and Dagger at Cornell University
Skull and Circle at St. John's University (New York)
Skull and Dagger at University of Southern California^[3]
Raven Society at the University of Virginia
Caledonian Society of John Muir College at the University of California, San Diego

[edit] References

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