Honor society

In the United States, an honor society is an organization that recognizes individuals who rank above a set standard 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.

History

The origins of honor societies in the United States can be traced back to the establishment of Phi Beta Kappa in 1776 at the College of William and Mary, which began as a debating society and did not initially impose grade point average restrictions for membership.
Many honor societies invite students to become members based on the scholastic rank 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. 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.
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 the United States, the oldest academic society, Phi Beta Kappa, was founded as a social and literary fraternity in 1776. Other honor societies were established a century later, including Tau Beta Pi for engineering, Sigma Xi for scientific research, and Phi Kappa Phi for all disciplines. Mortar Board was established in 1918 and was the first national honor society for women who were college seniors.
During the era of honor society expansion in the early 20th century, these organizations were generally supportive of cultural changes that challenged racism, classism, and sexism. Like other aspects of academia, honor society integration and diversity grew with the expansion of an increasingly multicultural and co-educational student body. There were some holdouts, but academia in general, and its honor societies as a reflection, were on the vanguard of change. Several Jewish-only organizations merged into formerly Christian-exclusive societies. Title IX forced most single-sex societies to admit women, though many had already opted to embrace this change. Racial barriers, where they existed, were challenged and retired, with any holdouts subject to significant criticism. The presence of these holdovers and the demise of those that exhibited overt racism offer an opportunity for a critical reassessment of the criteria and culture within honor societies.
While changes sparked from within these societies were prevalent between the massive influx of students after World War II and before and after the adoption of Title IX, additionally, the demand for recognition of racially diverse scholars spurred the 2005 founding of the Bouchet Graduate Honor Society by Yale University and Howard University. Rather than adopting the traditional tapping to identify top students from a given academic class based on merit, a distinct aspect of this society's nomination process is its focus on self-nominations. A Ph.D. or Ph.D. track is required, among other qualifications. 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. This evolution reflects a broader movement within academic institutions towards a more equitable and comprehensive recognition of student excellence.

Regalia

identifying by color the degree, school, and other distinctions, are controlled under rules of the voluntary Intercollegiate Code of Academic Costume. 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.

Umbrella organizations

The Honor Society Caucus and Association of College Honor Societies are two voluntary associations for national collegiate and post-graduate honor societies. ACHS formed in 1925 to establish and maintain desirable standards for honor societies. Later, four founding members of ACHS established the Honor Society Caucus, expressing that the ACHS had diluted and lost sight of the mission of its founding members. While ACHS membership is a certification that the member societies meet these standards, not all legitimate honor societies apply for membership in ACHS.

Collegiate honor societies

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

General and leadership societies

General collegiate societies are open to all academic disciplines, although they may have other affinity requirements. Leadership societies recognize leadership, with a multi-disciplinary scholarship component.

Society	Symbols	Emphasis	Colors	Status
Alpha Alpha Alpha	ΑΑΑ	General, first-generation college students	Blue and Grey/Silver	Active
Alpha Chi	ΑΧ	General	Emerald green and Sapphire blue	Active
Alpha Kappa Mu	ΑΚΜ	General	Royal blue and White	Active
Alpha Lambda Delta	ΑΛΔ	General, Freshman	Maroon and Gold	Active
Alpha Sigma Lambda	ΑΣΛ	General, Non-traditional students	Burgundy and Gold	Active
Alpha Sigma Nu	ΑΣΝ	General, scholarship and service at Jesuit institutions of higher education	Maroon Gold	Active
Bouchet Graduate Honor Society		General, Doctoral and Post-Doctoral		Active
Chi Alpha Sigma	ΧΑΣ	General, student athletes	Gold and Black	Active
Delta Alpha Pi	ΔΑΠ	General, students with disabilities	Royal blue and Gold	Active
Delta Epsilon Sigma	ΔΕΣ	General at traditionally Catholic colleges	Black and Gold	Active
Delta Epsilon Tau	ΔΕΤ	General, Distance Education Accrediting Commission institutions		Active
Epsilon Tau Pi	ΕΤΠ	General, Eagle Scouts	White, Red, Blue, and Black	Active
Golden Key International Honour Society		General	Navy Blue, Gold, and White	Active
Ku Klux Klan		Interfraternity leadership, Juniors	Black	Inactive
Lambda Sigma	ΛΣ	Scholarship, leadership, and service	Blue and Gold	Active
Mortar Board		General, Seniors	Gold and Silver	Active
National Residence Hall Honorary		Residence hall leadership and service	Blue and White	Active
National Society of Collegiate Scholars		Leadership, scholarship, and service	Purple and Gold	Active
Omicron Delta Kappa	ΟΔΚ	Leadership and scholarship, upperclassmen and graduate students	Sky blue, White, and Black	Active
Order of Omega		General, fraternities and sororities	Ivory and Gold	Active
Phi Beta Kappa	ΦΒΚ	Arts and sciences, undergraduate	Pink and Sky blue	Active
Phi Eta Sigma	ΦΗΣ	General, freshman	Gold and Black	Active
Phi Kappa Phi	ΦΚΦ	General	Blue and Gold	Active
Phi Sigma Pi	ΦΣΠ	General	Purple and Gold	Active
Phi Tau Phi	ΦΤΦ	General		Active
SALUTE Veterans National Honor Society		General, veterans and active military		Active
Scabbard and Blade		General, ROTC. JROTC. and midshipmen	Red, White, and Blue	Active
Sigma Alpha Lambda	ΣΑΛ	Leadership and scholarship	Navy, Black, and Gold	Active
Tau Sigma	ΤΣ	General, transfer students	Burgundy and Gold	Active
Tu–Mas		Interfraternity leadership, Juniors	Black	Inactive