Honor Societies

"An honor society is an association of primarily collegiate chapters whose purposes are to recognize and encourage high scholarship and/or leadership achievement in some broad or specialized field of study," according to the American Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS).

It can be difficult to tell a legitimate honor society from a scam. We've compiled some information about active campus honor societies and affiliated national honors societies on this webpage. ACHS offers some additional resources to help. Please feel free to contact the Cohen Honors College or Student Involvement if you have any quesitons.

Wichita State University honor societies offer professional development opportunities to support success in your major and personal development opportunities through leadership, community service, and social events.

The Cohen Honors College hosts the W.H.E.A.T. student organization and recognizes the honor societies listed below. For more information, visit the WSU OrgSync site where you can browse for opportunities to get involved.

Wichita State University is an institutional member of the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) and Great Plains Honors Council, which provide honors students the opportunity to attend a national or regional conference. There, they may present original research, organize a panel or be trained as a moderator along with networking with other honors students from across the country or the region.

Listed below are a few of the many opportunities sponsored by the NCHC.

• Alpha Sigma Lambda
• Beta Alpha Psi
• Golden Key
• IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu
• Lamda Alpha
• Lamda Pi Eta
• Omicron Delta Episilon
• Order of Omega
• Phi Alpha
• Phi Alpha Theta
• Pi Delta Phi
• Psi Chi
• Sigma Gamma Tau
• Sigma Tau Delta
• Sigma Xi
• Tau Beta Pi

• Partners in the Parks is an outdoor experiential learning program coordinated by the National Collegiate Honors Council. PITP projects at national parks across the country offer unique opportunities for collegiate honors students and faculty to visit areas of the American landscape noted for their beauty, significance and lasting value.

• Awards and Scholarships. NCHC offers several annual awards and scholarships. The most prestigious, the Portz Fellowship program, was launched in 2010 and is supported by the John and Edythe Portz Interdisciplinary Research Fellowship. It is intended to support creative and innovative endeavors that cross boundaries, inviting application from individuals who wish to undertake cross disciplinary research or from a team of two students from different disciplines who propose a single collaborative project. The project will be funded for a period of up to 18 months.

• Annual National Conference. While the National Collegiate Honors Council is active throughout the year, it is at the annual national conference held in the fall, that members from across the United States gather to share ideas and take part in panels, workshops and lectures about all different aspects of honors programs. There are numerous opportunities for honors students to participate in NCHC events and in the national conference as presenters, panel participants, moderators and more.