Honor society
In the United States, an honor society is a rank organization that recognizes excellence among peers. Numerous societies recognize 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 that 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 scholastic rank (the top x% of a class) and/or 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). It is also common for a scholastic honor society to add a criterion relating to the character of the student. Some honor societies are invitation only while others allow unsolicited applications. Finally, membership in an honor society might be considered exclusive, i.e., 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. In America, the oldest academic society, Phi Beta Kappa, was founded as a social and literary fraternity in 1776 at the College of William and Mary and later organized as an honor society in 1898, following the establishment of the honor societies Tau Beta Pi for Engineering (1885), Sigma Xi for Scientific Research (1886), and Phi Kappa Phi for all disciplines (1897).[1]
The certifying agency in the United States for college and university honor societies is the Association of College Honor Societies, which has 61 members.
List of scholastic examples
Important national and international honor societies based in or at schools include the following:
Comprehensive Colleges and Universities
General Honor Societies
- Alpha Chi, ΑΧ (All academic fields)
- Alpha Epsilon Lambda, AEΛ (graduate students)
- Alpha Kappa Mu, ΑΚΜ (all academic fields)
- Alpha Lambda Delta, ΑΛΔ (freshman scholarship)
- Alpha Sigma Lambda, ΑΣΛ (Non-traditional students)
- Alpha Sigma Nu, ΑΣΝ (general scholarship at Jesuit institutions of higher education)
- Gamma Beta Phi, ΓΒΦ (academics)
- Gamma Sigma Alpha, ΓΣΑ (academic achievement in fraternities and sororities)
- Delta Alpha Pi, ΔΑΠ (students with disabilities)
- Delta Epsilon Tau, ΔΕΤ - Distance Education and Training Council
- Delta Epsilon Sigma, ΔΕΣ (all academic fields at traditionally Catholic colleges and universities)
- Delta Epsilon Iota, ΔΕΙ - (academics
- Golden Key International Honour Society (academics)
- Kappa Theta Epsilon, ΚΘΕ (co-operative education)
- National Society of Collegiate Scholars, NSCS (scholarship/leadership/service)
- Phi Eta Sigma, ΦΗΣ (freshman scholarship)
- Phi Kappa Phi, ΦΚΦ (all academic fields)
- Phi Sigma Theta, ΦΣΘ (general scholarship)
- Phi Sigma Pi, ΦΣΠ (general scholarship) (Phi Sigma Pi is an Honors Fraternity)
- Tau Sigma, ΤΣ (transfer students)
Discipline Specific Honor Societies
Arts and Sciences
- Alpha Kappa Delta, ΑΚΔ (sociology)
- Alpha Psi Omega, ΑΨΩ (theatre)
- Alpha Upsilon Alpha, ΑΥΑ (reading and language arts)
- Beta Kappa Chi, ΒΚΧ (natural sciences/mathematics)
- Gamma Sigma Epsilon, ΓΣE (chemistry)
- Eta Sigma Phi, ΗΣΦ (classics)
- Theta Alpha Kappa, ΘΑΚ (religious studies/philosophy)
- Kappa Mu Epsilon, ΚΜΕ (mathematics)
- Kappa Omicron Nu, KON (human sciences)
- Kappa Pi, (art)
- Lambda Alpha, ΛΑ (anthropology)
- Lambda Sigma, ΛΣ (student leadership, scholarship, and service)
- Mu Alpha Theta ΜΑΘ (mathematics)
- Mu Sigma Rho, ΜΣΡ (statistics)
- Order of Omega (fraternities and sororities)
- Pi Gamma Mu, ΠΓΜ (social sciences)
- Pi Mu Epsilon, ΠΜΕ (mathematics)
- Pi Sigma Alpha, ΠΣΑ (political science)
- Sigma Pi Sigma, ΣΠΣ (physics)
- Phi Alpha Theta, ΦΑΘ (history)
- Phi Beta Kappa ΦΒΚ (undergraduate arts and sciences)
- Phi Lambda Upsilon, ΦΛΥ (chemistry)
- Phi Sigma, ΦΣ (Biological sciences)
- Phi Sigma Tau, ΦΣΤ (philosophy)
- Chi Beta Phi, XBΦ (science and mathematics)
- Psi Chi, ΨΧ (psychology)
Business
Education
Engineering
- Alpha Epsilon, ΑΕ (agricultural/food/biological engineering)
- Alpha Eta Mu Beta, ΑΗΜΒ (biomedical engineering)
- Alpha Nu Sigma, ΑΝΣ (nuclear engineering)
- Alpha Pi Mu, ΑΠΜ (industrial engineering)
- Alpha Sigma Mu, ΑΣΜ (metallurgy/materials engineering)
- Chi Epsilon, ΧΕ (civil engineering)
- Eta Kappa Nu, ΗΚΝ (electrical engineering, computer engineering)
- Pi Epsilon Tau, ΠΕΤ (petroleum engineering)
- Pi Tau Sigma, ΠΤΣ (mechanical engineering)
- Sigma Gamma Tau, ΣΓΤ (aerospace engineering)
- Sigma Sigma Pi, ΣΣΠ (energy engineering)
- Tau Alpha Pi, ΤΑΠ (engineering technology)
- Tau Beta Pi, ΤΒΠ (engineering)
- Tau Sigma Delta, ΤΣΔ (architecture)
- Phi Alpha Epsilon, ΦΑΕ (architectural engineering)
- Omega Chi Epsilon, ΩΧΕ (chemical engineering)
Journalism and Communications
Languages
Law
Leadership
Medicine
Military
Music
Other
- Alpha Delta Mu, ΑΔΜ (social work)
- Alpha Phi Sigma, ΑΦΣ (criminal justice)
- Beta Beta Beta, ΒΒΒ (biology)
- Beta Phi Mu, ΒΦΜ (library science/information science/information technology)
- Chi Epsilon Pi, ΧΕΠ (meteorology)
- Delta Sigma Rho - Tau Kappa Alpha, ΔΣΡ-ΤΚΑ (forensics)
- Delta Tau Alpha, ΔΤΑ (agriculture)
- Epsilon Delta Pi,ΕΔΠ (computer information systems, computer science)
- Epsilon Pi Phi, ΕΠΦ (emergency management, disaster research, business continuity)
- Epsilon Pi Tau, ΕΠΤ (technology)
- Epsilon Tau Pi, ΕΤΠ (Eagle Scouts)
- Gamma Nu Eta, (information technology)
- Gamma Theta Upsilon, ΓΘΥ (geography)
- Gamma Sigma Delta, ΓΣΔ (agriculture)
- Lambda Iota Tau, ΛΙΤ (literature)
- Lambda Pi Eta, ΛΠΗ (communication)
- Nu Rho Psi, NRΨ (neuroscience)
- Phi Alpha (Social Work)
- Phi Tau Sigma, ΦTΣ (Food Science and Technology)
- Phi Upsilon Omicron, ΦΥΟ (Family and consumer science)
- Pi Alpha Alpha, ΠΑΑ (public administration)
- Pi Alpha Xi ΠΑΞ (horticulture)
- Pi Epsilon, ΠΕ (environmental sciences)
- Pi Kappa Delta, ΠΚΔ (forensics)
- Pi Lambda Theta ΠΛΘ (education)
- Pi Theta Epsilon, ΠΘΕ (occupational therapy)
- Rho Chi, ΡΧ (pharmacy)
- Sigma Gamma Epsilon, ΣΓΕ (geology/Earth sciences)
- Sigma Iota Rho, ΣΙΡ (international relations)
- Sigma Lambda Alpha, ΣΛΑ (landscape architecture)
- Sigma Lambda Chi, ΣΛΧ (construction management technology)
- Sigma Pi Kappa, ΣΠΚ (historic preservation)
- Sigma Tau Chi, ΣΤΧ (technical communication)
- Sigma Tau Delta, ΣΤΔ (English)
- Sigma Zeta, ΣΖ (natural sciences/mathematics)
- Theta Chi Beta, ΘΧΒ (religious studies)
- Theta Alpha Phi, (Theatre)
- Upsilon Phi Delta, YΦΔ (health administration)
- Upsilon Pi Epsilon, ΥΠΕ (computer science/computer engineering)
- Xi Sigma Pi, ΞΣΠ (forestry)
Independent societies
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:
Post-graduate
Secondary school societies
Vocational, technical and workforce education
Two-Year Colleges and Community Colleges
References
External links