Honor Societies

International and National Honor Societies

To give recognition to students of exceptional accomplishment and to promote intellectual and cultural achievement, a number of honor societies are active at Immaculata. The order in which the honor societies are listed below is determined by the date on which the society was chartered at Immaculata University. The society with the longest tenure at the University is listed first and the most recently chartered society is last.

• KAPPA GAMMA PI … a national post-graduate honor and service society open to people who have graduated from Catholic colleges with honors and have been leaders in extracurricular campus or volunteer off-campus projects. The number of candidates who may be nominated by a college in any one year is limited to ten percent of the graduating class.
• DELTA EPSILON SIGMA … a national scholastic honor society for students at Catholic colleges and universities, established for the purpose of recognizing academic accomplishments, fostering scholarly activities, and providing an intellectual meeting-ground for its members. To be eligible for membership in the society, applicants must be persons who possess good character, have a record of outstanding academic accomplishment, have helped to foster intellectual activities, and give promise of becoming leaders within the scope of their activities. The Alpha Epsilon chapter was established at Immaculata University in 1940.
• KAPPA OMICRON NU … a national honor society in the field of Family and Consumer Sciences and related academic disciplines. The purpose of Kappa Omicron Nu is to recognize and encourage excellence in scholarship, research, and leadership. The honor society fosters the spirit of inquiry and promotes attitudes of professional responsibility. Undergraduate students who have completed nine semester hours in the current majors of Fashion Merchandising and Nutrition- Dietetics and achieve a 3.00 cumulative average and a 3.20 average in department courses are invited for membership.

• SIGMA ZETA … a national honorary science society. Its purpose is twofold: to encourage and foster the attainment of knowledge of the sciences; to recognize the attainment of high scholarship among those fitted for membership in this society. To be eligible for membership, students above the sophomore level must have a major in any one of the natural sciences, computing sciences, or mathematics and have completed 12 semester hours in the major. The Alpha Mu chapter was established March 1971. The motto of this society is “Seek diligently together for truth.”
• PSI CHI … a national psychology honor society that seeks to encourage, stimulate, and maintain scholarship and to advance the science of psychology. Eligibility for the Immaculata chapter, established in May 1977, requires that the student:  a) must have completed at least nine credits in psychology; b) achieve a cumulative grade point average of 3.0; and c) attain at least a 3.25 grade point average in all psychology courses.
• PI KAPPA LAMBDA … a national music honor society established to provide an organization dedicated to furtherance of music in education and education in music, whose motto is “Strive always for the beautiful.”  Seniors and juniors who achieve the highest level of musical performance and academic scholarship are eligible for faculty nomination and election. The local chapter, Delta Psi, was founded at Immaculata in April 1980.
• PHI ALPHA THETA … an international honor society in history that seeks to bring together intellectually students, teachers, and writers of history. The society encourages and assists, in a variety of ways, historical research and publication by its members. Eligibility for the Alpha Rho chapter, established at Immaculata in March 1983, requires that the student a) maintain a 3.10 grade or above in history courses; b) maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.0 or above; and c) rank in the highest 35% of the class.
• ALPHA SIGMA LAMBDA …a national honor society for students in continuing higher education. The purpose of this society is to provide an association of continuing education students who have demonstrated academic excellence. To be eligible for membership, students must have completed a minimum of 30 semester hours (with at least 15 semester hours taken outside the major field in the liberal arts and sciences), have attended Immaculata University for at least four semesters, and maintain a 3.20 grade point average. The Delta Xi chapter was founded at Immaculata University in November 1984.
• THETA ALPHA KAPPA … Theta Alpha Kappa (TAK) is the national honor society for religious and/or theological studies. To be eligible for this society a student must be enrolled in the Theology Major or Minor programs. She/ he must also have completed a minimum of twelve Theology credits, have a 3.0 cumulative average, a 3.5 in Theology, and have completed three full semesters at Immaculata University.
• SIGMA THETA TAU … the International Honor Society of Nursing, which was founded in 1922, provides leadership and scholarship in practice, education, and research to enhance the health of all people. The Delta Tau Chapter– At –Large of Immaculata University was chartered in November 2005. The honor society supports the learning and professional development of its members, who strive to improve nursing care worldwide. To be eligible for membership undergraduate candidates are required to have completed at least one-half of the nursing curriculum, have at least a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale, rank in the upper 35% of the graduating class and meet the expectation of academic integrity.
• PHI EPSILON KAPPA … a national honors society in the field of exercise science and related disciplines. Zeta Tau, the Immaculata chapter, was established April 2008. Its purpose is to promote and honor academic excellence among students in the Exercise Science major and recognize these students for their academic achievements within the Immaculata community. To be eligible for membership in the society, students must be of junior or senior standing and have achieved a cumulative grade point average of greater than or equal to 3.25 and a major grade point average of greater than 3.5.
• DELTA MU DELTA … an international honor society recognizing outstanding scholastic achievement in business program majors at schools accredited by the Accreditation Council of Business Schools and Programs. The society recognizes outstanding achievement and supports enhanced learning experiences as well as professional opportunities. To be eligible for membership in Immaculata’s Mu Iota chapter, founded in 2012, students must have completed half of the credits required for their degree, have completed at least 24 credit hours at Immaculata University, and be among the top 20% of their college class.
• KAPPA DELTA PI… an International Honor Society in Education, founded in 1911, which fosters excellence in education and promotes fellowship among educators. The Alpha Eta Delta chapter at Immaculata was established in spring 2013. Membership is open to education students who meet the following criteria: intend to continue academically and professionally in the field of education; demonstrate leadership attributes; have completed at least 30 credit hours of collegiate course work; have at least 12 credit hours in education course work programmed, in progress, or completed; achieve a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or greater.
• ALPHA PHI SIGMA… the National Criminal Justice Honor Society, founded in in 1942, which encourages analytical thought, academic rigor, lifelong learning, and ethical standards within the criminal justice professions. Society goals promote and honor “academic excellence; service; leadership and unity.” Criminology majors and minors may apply to join Phi Tau, the Immaculata University chapter of Alpha Phi Sigma founded in 2014, if they meet the following national criteria: achieve a minimum GPA of 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, with a minimum GPA of 3.2 in courses in criminal justice related fields, rank in the top 35% of their class, and complete a minimum of four courses in the criminal justice field.
• LAMBDA PI ETA … the National Communication Association student honor society. The goals of this society are to recognize, maintain, and reward communication majors and minors who have established a 3.0 overall grade point average, as well as achieved a 3.25 grade point average in their communication courses. Immaculata’s Tau Omega chapter was established in September 2015.
• SIGMA TAU DELTA…  an international English honor society, founded in 1924, that strives to: “confer distinction for high achievement in English language and literature … and provide…cultural stimulation on college campuses” as it promotes English literature, language, and writing, upright character and fellowship among members, high academic standards, and service to “society by fostering literacy.”  A candidate must have completed at least three college semesters, achieve a minimum of two college courses in English language or literature with a B or higher average, and rank in the top 35% of his or her class. Immaculata University established its Alpha Phi Sigma chapter in 2015.
• ORDER OF THE SWORD & SHIELD… an academic and professional honor society, established in 2010, is the first and only such society dedicated to “homeland security, intelligence, emergency management, cyber and information security, and all protective security disciplines.”  Immaculata’s chapter, established in January 2016, supports the national group’s mission to foster critical thinking and strong academic and professional development while enhancing the ethical standards of security-related fields.
• PI GAMMA MU… an international honor society for the social sciences, established in 1924, seeks to “foster good scholarship” in the social sciences and provide such students “with increased opportunities and recognition.”  Immaculata’s Alpha Rho chapter was established in September 2020.
• ALPHA ALPHA ALPHA … a national honor society for first-generation college students. Established in 2018, the society, also called Tri-Alpha, recognizes the accomplishments of high-achieving first-generation students, alumni, staff, and faculty. Eligibility for the Immaculata chapter, Theta Alpha, founded in 2023, requires that: a) the student has earned at least 30 credit hours towards an associate or baccalaureate degree; b) the student has achieved an overall undergraduate GPA of at least 3.2; and c) that neither of the student’s parents have completed a bachelor’s degree.