Honor society

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For other uses, see Honor society (disambiguation).
"Honor Societies", illustration from the 1909 Tyee (yearbook of the University of Washington)

In the United States, an honor society is an organization that recognizes individuals who excel in various domains such as academics, leadership, and other personal achievements, not all of which are based on ranking systems. These societies acknowledge excellence among peers in diverse fields and circumstances. The Order of the Arrow, for example, is the National Honor Society of the Boy Scouts of America. While the term commonly refers to scholastic honor societies, which primarily acknowledge students who excel academically or as leaders among their peers, it also applies to other types of societies. The origins of honor societies can be traced back to the establishment of Phi Beta Kappa in 1776 at the College of William and Mary, which began as a debate society and did not initially impose GPA restrictions for membership.[1] [2]

Many honor societies invite students to become members based on the scholastic rank (the top x% of a class) and/or grade point averages, 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). Scholastic honor societies commonly add a criterion relating to the student's character. Most honor societies are invitation-only, and 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.

Academic robes and regalia identifying by color the degree, school, and other distinctions, are controlled under rules of a voluntary Intercollegiate Code. In addition, various colored devices such as stoles, scarves, cords, tassels, and medallions are used to indicate membership in a student's honor society. Of these, cords and mortarboard tassels are most often used to indicate membership. Most institutions allow honor cords, tassels and/or medallions for honor society members. Stoles are less common, but they are available for a few honor societies. Virtually all, if not all honor societies have chosen such colors and may sell these items of accessory regalia as a service or fundraiser.

Many honor societies are referred to by their membership or by non-members as fraternities and sororities. Honor societies exist at the high school, collegiate/university, postgraduate and professional 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. After a full century came the establishment of other honor societies including Tau Beta Pi for Engineering (1885), Sigma Xi for Scientific Research (1886), and Phi Kappa Phi for all disciplines (1897). Mortar Board was established in 1918, as the first national honor society for senior women.

The Honor Society Caucus and Association of College Honor Societies are two voluntary associations of national collegiate and post-graduate honor societies.[3] ACHS was formed in 1925 to establish and maintain desirable standards for honor societies.[3]Later, the Honor Society Caucus was formed by several prestigious founding members who left ACHS, and felt the group had diluted and lost sight of the mission of its founding members.[4][5] While ACHS membership is a certification that the member societies meet these standards, not all legitimate honor societies apply for membership in ACHS.[6][3]

Historically, honor societies, including but not limited to the defunct Ku Klux Klan Honor Society, have perpetuated systemic racism and exclusion based on racial and gender bigotry.[7][8][9][10][11]. During the era of honor society expansion in the early 20th century, people were products of a society steeped in racism, classism and sexism.[12] The presence of such historical societies underscores the necessity for a critical reassessment of the criteria and culture within honor societies.[13][14][15]

In response, initiatives like the founding of the Bouchet Graduate Honor Society by Yale University and Howard University in 2005 have been significant.[16][17][18][19] This society, among others, was established with a strong commitment to inclusivity and the recognition of diverse scholarly contributions, marking a significant shift towards addressing historical biases. Modern honor societies are increasingly focused on creating supportive environments that promote the academic and personal development of all scholars, especially those from traditionally underrepresented groups.[20][21] This evolution reflects a broader movement within academic institutions towards a more equitable and comprehensive recognition of student excellence.[22][23][24]

Scholastic honor societies

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

General collegiate scholastic honor societies

These societies are open to all academic disciplines, though they may have other affinity requirements.

Leadership

These societies recognize leadership, with a scholarship component; multi-disciplinary.

Military

These are collegiate-based honor societies for students in the armed forces. Other non-collegiate honor societies serve military branches and are often listed as professional fraternities.

Liberal arts

These societies are open to the traditional liberal arts disciplines and may be department-specific. Some are grouped by discipline subheading.

Business

Education

Fine arts

Journalism and communications

Languages

Law

Sciences

These societies are open to students in the STEM disciplines, and may be department-specific. Some are grouped by discipline subheader.

Agriculture

Architecture

Engineering

Within the larger group of STEM disciplines, these societies serve engineering disciplines.

Health sciences

This section includes all healthcare-related fields, including veterinary science.

Information technology

Mathematics

Local honor 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:

Certificate, vocational, technical, and workforce education

Two-year colleges and community colleges

Secondary school societies

Commonly referred to as high school societies.

General

Subject-specific

Non-scholastic honor societies

Boy Scouts

See also

References

  1. ^ "PBK History of Phi Beta Kappa". Phi Beta Kappa. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  2. ^ "A Brief History of Phi Beta Kappa". University of Washington. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  3. ^ a b c "History". www.achshonor.org. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
  4. ^ "Honors Societies - Honors College - Purdue University". honors.purdue.edu. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved 2021-09-06 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ "Honor Society Caucus | Honor Society". www.phikappaphi.org. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
  6. ^ "ACHS FAQs". www.achshonor.org. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Smile Politely was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ku Klux Klan at Illinois FAQ was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ The Badger. Vol. 51. University of Wisconsin-Madison. 1936. p. 314. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  10. ^ The Illio. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Urbana: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 1922. p. 527 – via Internet Archive.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  11. ^ The Illio. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Urbana: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 1909 – via Internet Archive.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  12. ^ "A College and Klan Traditions". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  13. ^ "A Medical School Tradition Comes Under Fire For Racism". NPR. 5 September 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  14. ^ Boatright, Dowin; Ross, David; o'Connor, Patrick; Moore, Edward; Nunez-Smith, Marcella (5 May 2017). "Racial Disparities in Medical Student Membership in the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society". JAMA Internal Medicine. 177 (5): 659–665. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.9623. PMC 5818775. PMID 28264091. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  15. ^ "An Examination Of Honor Society Membership, Mistreatment, And Discrimination By Medical Student Demographics". Yale University EliScholar. 1 January 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  16. ^ "Edward Alexander Bouchet Graduate Honor Society". Yale GSAS. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  17. ^ "Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society". Howard University. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  18. ^ "Bouchet Graduate Honor Society Scholars". Cornell University. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  19. ^ "About the Program: BGHS". University of California, Los Angeles. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  20. ^ "Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEI&B)". Mortar Board National College Senior Honor Society. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  21. ^ "Tau Beta Kappa Conversation on Race & Equity". Tau Beta Pi. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  22. ^ "Diversity". Association of College Honor Societies. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  23. ^ "Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging". Alpha Lambda Delta. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  24. ^ "Diversity". Psi Chi. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  25. ^ "Honor Society, Academic Organization". www.deths.org. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  26. ^ "Home". salute.colostate.edu.
  27. ^ "Honor Society". Association for Biblical Higher Education. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  28. ^ "Alpha Mu Alpha". www.ama.org. Archived from the original on 2015-04-23. Retrieved 2015-04-10.
  29. ^ "Home - International CHRIE". www.chrie.org. Archived from the original on 2016-10-15. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  30. ^ "Nu Lambda Mu". Nonprofit Academic Centers Council.
  31. ^ "Home". sigmanutau.org.
  32. ^ "Eta Sigma Gamma". Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  33. ^ "Home". chitauepsilon.dance.
  34. ^ "Chi Tau Epsilon Dance Honor Society | ULM University of Louisiana at Monroe". www.ulm.edu. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  35. ^ "National Delta Tau Alpha". Archived from the original on 2014-02-19. Retrieved 2014-02-19.
  36. ^ "Gamma Sigma Delta – The Honor Society of Agriculture". www.gammasigmadelta.org. Archived from the original on 2014-02-24. Retrieved 2014-02-19.
  37. ^ Alpha Nu Sigma's web page Archived 2016-12-07 at the Wayback Machine notes the Society was established in 1979. Reference accessed 28 Nov 2016.
  38. ^ "About PET". Pi Epsilon Tau at UT. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  39. ^ "Rho Beta Epsilon – The Robotics Engineering Honor Society". Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  40. ^ "Home". alphaeta.net.
  41. ^ "Home". betasigmakappa.net.
  42. ^ "Iota Tau Alpha: The Athletic Training Honor Society". NATA. 2016-04-08. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  43. ^ "Pi Delta National Honor Society | Kent State University". www.kent.edu. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  44. ^ "Sigma Phi Alpha - National Dental Hygiene Honor Society". sigma-phi-alpha.org. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  45. ^ "Sigma Phi Omega - Gerontology Honor Society". Sigma Phi Omega. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  46. ^ "TUA Home". www.nationalhumanservices.org. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  47. ^ "Order of the Sword & Shield". Order of the Sword & Shield National Honor Society. Archived from the original on 2015-10-21. Retrieved 2015-10-17.
  48. ^ Friar Society website Archived 2009-03-27 at the Wayback Machine Friar Society Website
  49. ^ "Miami magazine - Arrow Heads". 2009-11-20. Archived from the original on 2009-11-20. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  50. ^ Fordham. "The Matteo Ricci Society". www.fordham.edu. Archived from the original on 2008-04-20. Retrieved 2008-01-16.
  51. ^ Phalanx and White Key Society website Archived 2010-07-10 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 2010-07-04.
  52. ^ U of Nebraska student organization list Archived 2014-05-17 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 15 May 2014.
  53. ^ "Skull and Bones Senior HAT Society". Skull and Bones Senior HAT Society. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  54. ^ "Home". Skull & Dagger Society. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  55. ^ "Tate Society | Home". tatesociety.uga.edu. Retrieved 2023-02-03.

External links

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