Honor Societies

UMUC students with superior academic records have the opportunity to join several national honor societies.

Honor Societies - Descriptions

Alpha Sigma Lambda - General (for adult students)

UMUC students are eligible for membership in Alpha Sigma Lambda, the national honor society for students in continuing higher education. To qualify for membership, a student must be pursuing a first bachelor's degree, have completed at least 30 credits at UMUC in courses graded A, B, C, D, or F, and maintained a GPA of 3.7 or higher in all UMUC courses. At least 15 credits, from UMUC or transferred, must be in courses outside the major.

How to join Alpha Sigma Lambda: Students are invited into Alpha Sigma Lambda. Please contact asl@umuc.edu for more information.

Lambda Pi Eta - Communication Studies

Membership in Lambda Pi Eta, the official communication studies honor society of the National Communication Association (NCA), is open to qualified UMUC students. The goals of the honor society are to recognize, foster, and reward outstanding scholastic achievement in communication studies; stimulate interest in the field of communication, promote and encourage professional development among communication students, and provide an opportunity to discuss and exchange ideas in the field of communication among students, faculty, and professionals. To be eligible, students must have earned at least 60 credits toward the bachelor's degree, including at least 12 credits in communication studies, with a GPA of 3.5 or higher both in communication studies and in overall coursework. In addition, students must have completed at least 30 credits at UMUC.

How to join Lambda Pi Eta: Please contact commclub@umuc.edu for more information.

National Society of Collegiate Scholars

The National Society of Collegiate Scholars is an honor society recognizing students who have completed less then 60 credits towards an associate's or bachelor's degree and have shown academic excellence. The honor society encourages students to participate in honor society, campus, and community events, and provides resources for students to focus on their professional and leadership development.

To be eligible, students must be seeking a first associate's or bachelor's degree. Students must have completed at least 12 credits at UMUC in courses graded A, B, C, D, or F and have a cumulative GPA of 3.4 or higher. In addition, students must have completed between 12 and 59 credits towards their degree.

How to join National Society of Collegiate Scholars: Students will be invited to join in the spring term. Please contact umucnscs@umuc.edu for more information.

Phi Alpha Theta - History

UMCU students may qualify for membership in Phi Alpha Theta, the international honor society in history. To qualify for membership, students must attain a GPA of 3.5 or higher in at least 12 credits of UMUC History courses, and have an overall UMUC GPA of 3.4.

How to join Phi Alpha Theta: Students may contact histclub@umuc.edu if they are interested in becoming a member.

Phi Kappa Phi

The honor society of Phi Kappa Phi promotes the pursuit of excellence in all fields of higher education and recognizes outstanding achievement by students, faculty, and others through election to membership and through various awards for distinguished achievement. To qualify for membership in Phi Kappa Phi, seniors must have completed at least 90 credits toward the bachelor's degree, at least 45 credits of which must have been for UMUC courses carrying letter grades of A, B, C, D, or F. The candidate's grade point average (GPA) in UMUC courses must be in the top 10 percent of the previous UMUC graduating class.

How to join Phi Kappa Phi: Membership is by invitation. Students eligible for Phi Kappa Phi will receive an informational package regarding their nomination.

Phi Theta Kappa - Associate's Degree

Phi Theta Kappa is a national honor society for associate degree students. UMUC Europe's chapter has been chartered since the 1998-99 academic year. To be eligible for membership, students must have completed at least 45 credits toward their first associate's degree, including at least 30 credits with UMUC with a cumulative grade point average of 3.5. Students will be nominated by UMUC for Phi Theta Kappa twice each academic year, in September for November initiation and February for May initiation. Students eligible for Phi Theta Kappa will receive an informational package regarding their nomination.

How to join Phi Theta Kappa: Membership is by invitation. Students will receive a message regarding their nomination. For more information, please contact studentaffairs-europe@umuc.edu.  

Pi Gamma Mu - Social Sciences

Pi Gamma Mu is the international honor society for the social sciences and recognizes outstanding scholarship in the social sciences at UMUC. Membership is offered to qualified students interested in anthropology, criminal justice, economics, gerontology, history, political science, social psychology, sociology, and women's studies.  Students who are in their last 60 hours of undergraduate study, have earned at least 20 hours of social science credit (at least 9 earned from UMUC), and have a GPA that ranks in the upper 35 percent of their class may be invited to join. 

How to join Pi Gamma Mu: Membership is by invitation. Students may contact marylandtheta@umuc.edu for more information.

Psi Chi - Psychology

Psi Chi is the national honor society in psychology, founded in 1929 for the purposes of encouraging, stimulating, and maintaining excellence in scholarship and advancing the science of psychology. Psi Chi is affiliated with both the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science. Qualified students must be invited to join. To qualify for membership, students must have a declared major or minor in psychology and earned at least 30 credits toward a bachelor's degree, including at least 9 credits in psychology. Additionally, qualified students must be in the top 35 percent of their class, based on rankings within sophomore, junior, and senior classes; have an overall GPA of at least 3.3 for sophomores and juniors and 3.5 for seniors; and have a psychology GPA of at least 3.3 for sophomores and juniors and 3.5 for seniors. 

How to join Psi Chi: Membership is by invitation. For more information, please contact psichi@umuc.edu

Sigma Tau Delta - English

Membership in Sigma Tau Delta is the international English honor society, is open to qualified UMUC students with a major in English. To be eligible, students must have earned at least 45 credits toward a bachelor's degree with a GPA of 3.5 or high. At least 30 credits must have been earned through UMUC and must include 12 credits in English, not ENGL 101 (now WRTG 101), and 6 upper-level credits.  Students must also have earned a GPA of 3.6 in English coursework at UMUC. 

How to join Sigma Tau Delta: Students may contact englclub@umuc.edu if they are interested in becoming a member.

Upsilon Pi Epsilon - Computing and Information Disciplines

The Kappa Chapter of Upsilon Pi Epsilon, the international honor society for the computing and information disciplines, is open to graduate and undergraduate students. To qualify for membership, undergraduate students must be pursuing a bachelor's degree with a major in the computing and information disciplines, and must have completed at least 45 credits. Students should have completed at least 30 credits at UMUC in courses graded A, B, C, D, or F, including at least 15 credits in the computing and information disciplines. Additionally, he or she must have a grade point average of at least 3.5, with a grade point average of at least 3.5 in all computing and information systems coursework. Students are inducted into the honor society twice a year.

Last updated: 27 July 2012