Phi Beta Kappa
Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest, largest and most widely recognized academic honor society in America. Founded in 1776 by a group of students at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, Phi Beta Kappa has grown to include chapters at nearly every major college and university in the country. The society's aim has long been to encourage intellectual excellence, not in a narrowly focused or specialized sense, but in the broad range of the liberal arts. Over the years, Phi Beta Kappa membership has been founded onEmerson's belief that the "American scholar" is one who "takes unto himself all the contributions of the past, all the hopes of the future...a university of knowledge."

Fordham University's chapter of Phi Beta Kappa (Tau of New York) was established in 1962, and each May it installs new members from among the most academically distinguished upper class students. Admission is limited to seniors and a highly select group of juniors who have completed at least four full semesters in Fordham College at Rose Hill, have compiled outstanding academic records, and have shown excellence in a broad liberal arts curriculum that includes English, history, philosophy or theology, mathematics, a foreign language, and the social sciences. Students with outstanding grade point indexes are screened for membership, but the society limits its ranks to those who have also exhibited a wide range of intellectual interests. Accordingly, selection is contingent upon the variety of the student's course work outside the major, evidence of intellectual maturity and the quality of evaluative remarks written by professors.

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Alpha Sigma Nu
Alpha Sigma Nu is the national honor society of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. It was established in 1915 at Marquette University. Alpha Sigma Nu has more than 14,000 members and initiates approximately 1,000 students each year, less than 2 percent of the combined enrollment of Jesuit Colleges and Universities having active chapters.

The purpose of the society is to honor students of Jesuit Colleges and Universities who distinguish themselves in scholarship, loyalty and service and to encourage those honored in this way to appreciate and promote the ideals of Jesuit education.

Fordham University's chapter was established in 1982. Admission is in junior and senior years to those students who are approved by a selection committee. Candidates must demonstrate an above-average interest and proven competence in academic work; a proven concern for others demonstrated by co-curricular and extracurricular activities in support of the College, University or community; an intelligent appreciation of and commitment to Jesuit ideals of higher education (intellectual, moral, social and religious); and a sufficiently visible identification with those ideals to warrant a candidate's being singled out for membership in Alpha Sigma Nu.

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Sigma Xi
Founded in 1886 at Cornell University, Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, actively promotes the promise of science and technology. The society's goals are to foster interaction among science, technology and society; to encourage appreciation and support of original work in science and technology; and to honor scientific research accomplishments.

Membership in Sigma Xi is by invitation. The most promising young scientists and students with demonstrated research potential are invited to join as associate members. Full membership is conferred upon individuals who have demonstrated noteworthy achievements in research.

Membership is drawn from the disciplines of biology, chemistry, computer science, economics, mathematics, physics, psychology and sociology. Undergraduates who have completed research projects are nominated for associate membership by their major departments. The board of directors of the Fordham University chapter of Sigma Xi reviews the applications and invites qualified students to join the society. The initiation ceremony is held in May.

The Fordham chapter sponsors lectures in the scientific disciplines throughout the academic year.

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Alpha Kappa Delta
Alpha Kappa Delta is the international sociology honor society. In 1920, it was founded at the University of Southern California by sociologist Dr. Emory S. Bogardus. The purpose of the society is to stimulate scholarship and promote the scientific study of society. Alpha Kappa Delta’s motto is “To investigate humanity for the purposes of service.”

Iota, Fordham’s chapter of Alpha Kappa Delta, distributes a call for membership in January of each academic year. Students may nominate themselves if they are members of the Junior or Senior classes with a GPA of “B” (3.0) or better.

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Alpha Mu Gamma
Alpha Mu Gamma is the national collegiate foreign language honor society of the United States, founded in 1931. The society's aim has long been to recognize achievement in any language and to bring the best students of various languages together into a cosmopolitan, cohesive and stable organization. The ideals of the society are enlightenment, friendship and a sympathetic understanding of other people.

Gamma Beta, Fordham University's chapter of Alpha Mu Gamma, was established in 1965. Each May it initiates new members from among the outstanding students of French, German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish.

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Phi Alpha Theta
Phi Alpha Theta is the history honor society. Its mission is to promote the study of history and to create a space for intellectual exchange among students and faculty members.

The Chi Phi Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta at Fordham University sponsors many activities throughout the year, including field trips to museums in the New York metropolitan area and lectures by notable speakers each semester. Phi Alpha Theta members at Fordham have been active in regional competitions for paper prizes. These competitions give undergraduate and graduate history students the opportunity to present their work to a scholarly audience. In recent years, members have won not only regional competitions, but also national level prizes, which include cash awards and publication of the prize winning paper.

Undergraduates must have completed at least 12 credits in History with a grade point average of 3.1 or better, have an overall GPA of 3.0 or better, and rank in the top 35% of their class. Graduate students should have completed a minimum of 12 semester hours towards their Master's Degree, have a GPA of better than 3.5, and shall have completed approximately 30% of the residence requirements for the Master's Degree.

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Phi Kappa Phi
The national honor society of Phi Kappa Phi was originally founded in 1897. Its stated purpose is the recognition and encouragement of superior scholarship in all academic disciplines. This honor society maintains a truly high standard of eligibility; at the same time, it extends its interest and membership across the entire range of fields offered at the modern university, calling attention to the fact that the world needs a breadth of understanding far beyond that of scholars who restrict their outlook to their specialty. The objective of promotingacademic excellence is supported by a generous scholarship and fellowship program. Fordham students have typically received these awards. Fordham's Alpha Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi was founded in 1982. Membership is by invitation and based primarily on grade point average (3.900 for juniors, 3.800 for seniors), though graduate students can be nominated by individual departments. Letters of invitation circulate in April, and the initiation occurs in May.

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Phi Sigma Tau
Phi Sigma Tau was founded at Muhlenberg College in 1930 as Alpha Kappa Alpha, with chapters at colleges in Maryland and Pennsylvania. It remained in this regional status until October 1955 when it was incorporated as Phi Sigma Tau, a National Honor Society in philosophy. Today it has more than 100 chapters in accredited colleges and universities throughout the United States.

The aims of the society are to honor academic excellence and philosophical concern, to encourage a professional spirit and friendship among those who have displayed marked ability in philosophy, and to popularize interest in philosophy among the general collegiate public. These aims are expressed in the Greek motto, philounton sophian time, which means "the honor of those who love wisdom." The motto serves to remind us that the quest for truth is not the province of a single culture or time or person, but that there is a unity among all those who seek knowledge.

Fordham's Chapter of Phi Sigma Tau was founded in 1991. Membership is by invitation, is based primarily on grade point average, and is limited to senior and junior philosophy majors and minors. Students are invited to membership in April and initiation occurs in May.

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Psi Chi
Founded on September 4, 1929 at Yale University, Psi Chi is the National Honor Society in Psychology. Its purpose is "to encourage, stimulate, and maintain excellence in scholarship and to advance the science of psychology." Psi Chi is the world's largest honor society, with 350,000 life members, and chapters at 940 U.S. colleges. Membership is for life, with no annual dues.

Fordham's two chapters of Psi Chi at Rose Hill and at Lincoln Center accept undergraduate or graduate students who have completed at least 12 credits of psychology and have maintained a B+ average in their courses. Induction ceremonies are held in May and December of each year. The two Fordham Psi Chi chapters often work in tandem, and are very active to sponsor some 20 co-curricular activities per semester for the Fordham community - workshops, lectures, trips, and symposia on career preparation and graduate work in psychology.

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