Association of College Honor Societies

The Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS) is a voluntary association of national collegiate and post-graduate honor societies. It was established on December 30, 1925 by six organizations: Alpha Omega Alpha, the Order of the Coif, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Sigma Xi, and Tau Beta Pi.

Association of College Honor Societies
ACHS
Founded	December 30, 1925; 99 years ago (1925-12-30)
Type	Umbrella
Affiliation	Independent
Status	Active
Emphasis	Honor societies
Scope	North America
Members	65 societies active
Headquarters	30 North Gould Street #29147 Sheridan, Wyoming United States
Website	www.achshonor.org

History

The Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS) was formed in 1925 to create a network of affiliated societies and promote standards for scholarship and leadership on campus. The founding societies intended to establish and maintain desirable standards for groups wishing to call themselves honor societies. These standards included criteria for membership, governance, and chapter operation.^[1]

Representatives of Alpha Omega Alpha, the Order of the Coif, Phi Beta Kappa, and Sigma Xi attended its preliminary meeting held on October 2, 1925. When ACHS was officially established on December 30, 1925, its founding members were Alpha Omega Alpha, the Order of the Coif, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Sigma Xi, and Tau Beta Pi.^[2]

Since then, more than 65 honors societies have joined ACHS, becoming an international organization.^[3] However, not all legitimate honor societies apply for membership in ACHS. ACHS coordinates member organizations and facilitates communications between them. It also provides both scholarships to members of its member organizations.^[4]

The honor society standards set by the Association of College Honor Societies are mentioned by the U.S. government's Office of Personnel Management for entry into government employment at GS-7 Level: "Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies listed... by the Association of College Honor Societies. Agencies considering eligibility based on any society not included in the following list must ensure that the honor society meets the minimum requirements of the Association of College Honor Societies."^[5]

In 2024, ACHS had 65 active member societies located in North America. Its headquarters are at 30 North Gould Street #29147 in Sheridan, Wyoming.

List of member organizations

As of 2024, 65 organizations are affiliated with the ACHS.^[6][7]

Society	Greek letters	Discipline	Founded	Joined ACHS	References
Alpha Beta Gamma	ΑΒΓ	Business and Professional Studies	1970	1996
Alpha Chi	ΑΧ	All Academic Fields	February 22, 1922	February 1955
Alpha Epsilon	ΑΕ	Agricultural, Food, and Biological Engineering	May 14, 1959	1968 (Associate); 1970 (Full)
Alpha Epsilon Delta	ΑΕΔ	Premedical	April 28, 1926	April 22, 1945	[8]
Alpha Epsilon Rho	ΑΕΡ	Electronic Media	April 30, 1943	2009	[9][a]
Alpha Eta Mu Beta	ΑΗΜΒ	Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering	March 15, 1979	2013
Alpha Iota Delta	ΑΙΔ	Decision, Information, and Operations Sciences	1971	2009
Alpha Kappa Delta	ΑΚΔ	Sociology	November 21, 1920	1967
Alpha Kappa Mu	ΑΚΜ	General Scholarship	November 26, 1937	1952
Alpha Lambda Delta	ΑΛΔ	First-year Success/Freshmen	May 31, 1924	1939
Alpha Phi Sigma	ΑΦΣ	Criminal Justice	January 1942	1981
Alpha Pi Mu	ΑΠΜ	Industrial Engineering	January 5, 1949	February 1952 (Associate); February 1959 (Full)	[10]
Alpha Sigma Lambda	ΑΣΛ	Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning	1946	2011
Alpha Sigma Mu	ΑΣΜ	Materials Science and Engineering	January 1932	1965
Alpha Sigma Nu	ΑΣΝ	General Scholarship - Jesuit Institutions of Higher Education	June 4, 1915	1975	[b]
Beta Gamma Sigma	ΒΓΣ	Business and Management	February 19, 1913	February 27, 1937; 1990 (Readmitted)
Beta Kappa Chi	ΒΚΧ	Natural Sciences and Mathematics	January 31, 1923	1961
Beta Phi Mu	ΒΦΜ	Library and Information Studies and Information Technology	August 1948	1969
Chi Sigma Iota	ΧΣΙ	Counseling	January 1, 1985	2001
Delta Epsilon Sigma	ΔΕΣ	General Scholarship in Colleges and Universities with a Catholic Tradition	April 13, 1939	1967
Delta Mu Delta	ΔΜΔ	Business Administration	November 18, 1913	1963
Epsilon Pi Phi	ΕΠΦ	Emergency Management	2006	2017
Epsilon Pi Tau	ΕΠΤ	Professions in Technology	March 13, 1929	2005
Gamma Theta Upsilon	ΓΘΥ	Geography	May 15, 1931	1976
Kappa Mu Epsilon	ΚΜΕ	Mathematics	April 18, 1931	1968
Kappa Omicron Nu	ΚΟΝ	Human Sciences	February 21, 1990	February 25, 1951	[11][c]
Kappa Tau Alpha	ΚΤΑ	Journalism and Mass Communication	March 10, 1910	February 25, 1951	[11]
Lambda Pi Eta	ΛΠΗ	Communication	1985	February 1996	[12]
Lambda Sigma	ΛΣ	Student Leadership, Scholarship and Service	November 7, 1922	1981	[d]
Mortar Board		Scholarship, Leadership, and Service	February 15, 1918	February 27, 1937
Mu Kappa Tau	ΜΚΤ	Marketing	1966	1996
National Society of Collegiate Scholars		Scholarship, Leadership, and Service	April 30, 1994	2004
Omega Chi Epsilon	ΩΧΕ	Chemical Engineering	Spring 1931	1967
Omega Rho	ΩΡ	Operations Research, and Management Science	April 1, 1976	1983 (Associate); 1986 (Full)
Omicron Delta Epsilon	ΟΔΕ	Economics	January 1, 1963	1965; 1981 (Readmitted)	[9]
Phi Alpha	ΦΑ	Social Work	1962	January 2019
Phi Alpha Theta	ΦΑΘ	History	March 17, 1921	April 22, 1945 –2012; 2017 (Readmitted)	[8]
Phi Beta Delta	ΦΒΔ	International Education	February 27, 1986	2013	[13]
Phi Eta Sigma	ΦΗΣ	Freshman Scholarship	March 22, 1923	February 27, 1937 – 2011; 2018 (Readmitted)
Phi Lambda Sigma	ΦΛΣ	Pharmacy Leadership	March 1965	2018	[14]
Phi Sigma	ΦΣ	Biological Sciences, All Pure and Applied Fields	March 17, 1915	1950
Phi Sigma Iota	ΦΣΙ	Foreign Language, Literature, and Cultures	October 1922	1950
Phi Sigma Tau	ΦΣΤ	Philosophy	October 21, 1955	1958	[9]
Phi Upsilon Omicron	ΦΥΟ	Family and Consumer Sciences	February 10, 1909	1979
Pi Delta Phi	ΠΔΦ	French	1906	1967
Pi Gamma Mu	ΠΓΜ	Social Sciences	December 1, 1924	1953
Pi Kappa Lambda	ΠΚΛ	Music	May 17, 1918	February 24, 1940	[8]
Pi Sigma Alpha	ΠΣΑ	Political Science	October 1, 1920	1949
Pi Tau Sigma	ΠΤΣ	Mechanical Engineering	March 16, 1915	March 1, 1947
Pi Theta Epsilon	ΠΘΕ	Occupational Therapy	1959	February 1996	[15]
Psi Beta	ΨΒ	Psychology at Two-Year Colleges	November 5, 1981	1994
Psi Chi	ΨΧ	Psychology	September 4, 1929	1965
Rho Chi	ΡΧ	Pharmacy	May 19, 1922	March 1, 1947
Sigma Beta Delta	ΣΒΔ	Business, Management, and Administration	January 16, 1994	1994
Sigma Delta Pi	ΣΔΠ	Spanish	November 14, 1919	1966
Sigma Lambda Alpha	ΣΛΑ	Landscape Architecture	September 24, 1977	1983 (Associate); 1986 (Full)	[16]
Sigma Lambda Chi	ΣΛΧ	Construction Management Technology	April 30, 1949	1991
Sigma Pi Sigma	ΣΠΣ	Physics and Astronomy	December 11, 1921	1945	[8]
Sigma Tau Delta	ΣΤΔ	English Language and Literature	December 12, 1922	1972	[9]
Sigma Theta Tau	ΣΘΤ	Nursing	October 4, 1922	1959
Tau Beta Pi	ΤΒΠ	Engineering	June 15, 1885	December 30, 1925	[e]
Tau Sigma Delta	ΤΣΔ	Architecture and Allied Arts	May 1913	February 28, 1948	[17]
Theta Alpha Kappa	ΘΑΚ	Religious Studies and Theology	Fall 1976	1985 (Associate); 1986 (Full)
Upsilon Pi Epsilon	ΥΠΕ	Computing and Information Disciplines	January 10, 1967	1997	[18]
Xi Sigma Pi	ΞΣΠ	Forestry	November 24, 1908	1966–1999; 2017 (Readmitted)

1. Founded as Beta Epsilon Phi on December 1, 1941.
2. Merged with Gamma Pi Epsilon March 30, 1973.
3. Kappa Omicron Nu founded in 1990 through consolidation of Omicron Nu (founded April 1912) and Kappa Omicron Phi (founded December 11, 1922)). (Omicron Nu admitted to ACHS 1951, readmitted 1968, Kappa Omicron Phi admitted 1972)
4. November 7, 1922 as Cwens, March 6, 1976 as Lambda Sigma
5. Association of College Honor Societies founding organization.

Former members

While the Association of College Honor Societies remains the largest trade association of honor societies, some former members have resigned from ACHS membership to operate independently. Of these, several have emerged into successor groups that remain part of the ACHS or have gone dormant.

Recently, four of the oldest independent honor societies, including three of the original six founding members of the ACHS, have formed a new coordinating organization called the Honor Society Caucus.^[19][20]

Society	Greek letters	Discipline	Founded	Joined ACHS	Left ACHS	Status	References
Alpha Delta Mu	ΑΔΜ	Social Work	Fall 1976	1983 (Associate); 1986 (Full)	February 9, 2007	Independent	[21][22]
Alpha Omega Alpha	ΑΩΑ	Medical	August 25, 1902	December 30, 1925	1977–1998	Independent	[9][a]
Chi Epsilon	ΧΕ	Civil Engineering	May 22, 1922	1953	2023	Independent	[9][b]
Delta Phi Delta	ΔΦΔ	Art	January 10, 1909	1961	1977–1988	Independent	[9][c]
Delta Sigma Rho	ΔΣΡ	Forensics	April 13, 1906	February 1955	August 18, 1963	Merged into Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha	[23][d]
Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha	ΔΣΡ-ΤΚΑ	Forensics	August 18, 1963	February 27, 1937 (ΤΚΑ); February 1955 (ΔΣΡ)	November 2013–January 2014	Independent	[23][d]
Delta Tau Alpha	ΔΤΑ	Agriculture	March 19, 1960	1992	2023
Eta Kappa Nu	ΗΚΝ	Electrical and Computer Engineering	October 28, 1904	March 1, 1947	2008	Independent
Golden Key		General	November 29, 1977	2005	December 31, 2013	Independent	[3]
Iota Sigma Pi	ΙΣΠ	Women in the sciences, especially chemistry	1900 or 1902	February 1955	1957–1963	Independent	[9][24]
Kappa Delta Pi	ΚΔΠ	Education	March 8, 1911	1974	2008	Independent
Lambda Iota Tau	ΛΙΤ	Literature of all Languages	December 3, 1953	1965	2015	Merged with Sigma Tau Delta	[24]
National Collegiate Players/Pi Epsilon Delta	ΠΕΔ	Theatre Honors	June 8, 1919	1963	1977–1988	Independent
Omicron Delta Kappa	ΟΔΚ	Leadership and Scholarship	December 3, 1914	March 3, 1930	2005	Honor Society Caucus
Omicron Nu	ΟΝ	Human Sciences	April 23, 1912	February 25, 1951; 1968 (Readmitted)	1990	Merged into Kappa Omicron Nu
Order of the Coif		Law	1902	December 30, 1925	1947–1957	Independent	[25][a]
Phi Beta Kappa	ΦΒΚ	Liberal Arts	December 5, 1776	December 30, 1925	December 15, 1937	Honor Society Caucus	[8][a]
Phi Kappa Phi	ΦΚΦ	All Fields	March 15, 1897	December 30, 1925	2006–2007	Honor Society Caucus	[a]
Pi Alpha Alpha	ΠΑΑ	Public Affairs and Administration	1974	1983 (Associate); 1984 (Full)	2017	Independent
Pi Omega Pi	ΠΩΠ	Business Education Teachers	June 13, 1923	1965	2023
Scabbard and Blade, National Society of		Reserve Officer Training Corps	Fall 1904	2010	2022	Independent
Sigma Gamma Tau	ΣΓΤ	Aerospace Engineering	February 28, 1953	February 27, 1965	2001	Independent	[26]
Sigma Tau	ΣΤ	Engineering	February 24, 1904	March 3, 1930	1963	Merged into Tau Beta Pi	[9][e]
Sigma Xi	ΣΞ	Scientific Research	November 1886	December 30, 1925	1933	Honor Society Caucus	[9][a]
Tau Alpha Pi	ΤΑΠ	Engineering Technology	1953	2000	2023
Tau Kappa Alpha	ΤΚΑ	Forensics	May 13, 1908	February 27, 1937	August 18, 1963	Merged into Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha	[23][d]

1. Association of College Honor Societies founding organization.
2. Founded by two groups of civil engineering students at the University of Illinois in 1922.
3. Founded as Pallet Club at U of Kansas on January 10, 1909. On May 28, 1912, plans for a national organization were completed, Delta Phi Delta adapted as name
4. Delta Sigma Rho and Tau Kappa Alpha merged on August 18, 1963, to form Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha.
5. Merged with Tau Beta Pi in 1974.

See also

• Honor society
• Olivaint Conference of Belgium