Honor Society Membership

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by learnaswego, Jan 19, 2006.

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  1. learnaswego

    learnaswego New Member

    I was wondering if any DL graduates have been members of any national/international honor societies.

    It is my understanding that Phi Beta Kappa http://www.pbk.org and Phi Theta Kappa http://www.ptk.org are honor societies for those studying the liberal arts. Does it really help to have honor society memberships like these listed on one's resume, or is it better only to list membership in say, an honor society for engineering majors, if one wants a job in that field.

    Thanks for any insight you can provide.
     
  2. RobbCD

    RobbCD New Member

    The honor society for nontradional, adult students is Alpha Sigma Lambda (www.alphasigmalambda.org). I became a member when I graduated from UConn with a BGS degree. I got my BGS by going to night school, but UConn does offer BGS degrees online as well, so I imagine there's no difference as far as Alpha Sigma Lambda is concerned. Anyhoo--I do list it on my resume, but I can't say whether it's been a help to me or not.
     
  3. Tireman44

    Tireman44 member

    I am a member of Phi Alpha Theta, the history honor society for historians, but I did not join because of my distance learning.
     
  4. JoAnnP38

    JoAnnP38 Member

    I am a member of Upsilon Pi Epsilon, *the* honor society for Computer Science. I have a single reference to it on my resume along with my memberships in IEEE and ACM. Honestly, I believe they contribute very, VERY little to your qualifications; however, I'm proud of my memberships and the work I do through them -- so, I list them.
     
  5. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    Honor Society Inflation

    There has been a huge proliferation in college honor societies in recent years, seemingly in every academic niche. My guess is that in most cases, membership in an honor society is not a huge plus on a resume; there's just too many societies and too many members for it to mean much. But it can't hurt either.

    The original college honor society, which all the others are based on, is Phi Beta Kappa, which was established in 1776. Membership in Phi Beta Kappa still carries significant prestige in certain circles, particularly those associated with older and more selective private schools (the "Ivy League" and the like). As noted by Wikipedia:
    But most students at most schools would probably not recognize Phi Beta Kappa as any different from any of the dozens of other honor societies on campus. Wikipedia notes that many graduates of large state universities turn down the chance to join.

    Incidentally, Phi Beta Kappa was originally established as a fraternity. They initiated the practice of naming fraternities and sororities with Greek letters.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 19, 2006
  6. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Re: Re: Honor Society Membership

    There is a new honor society for distance learning students called Delta Epsilon Tau.
     
  7. Daniel Luechtefeld

    Daniel Luechtefeld New Member

    In competition for US Government positions, membership in an accredited honor society confers a certain number of points (applications are points-based). So, yes, here it helps.

    The certification body for college honor societies is the Association of College Honor Societies:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association%5Fof%5FCollege%5FHonor%5FSocieties

    I am a member of Golden Key National Honour Society, which I attained during my B&M undergrad studies. BTW, I hate their use of the word "Honour" - it's kinda pretentious for a US-based organization to use that form of the word.
     
  8. RobbCD

    RobbCD New Member

    WOW! Great info Daniel. I am very surprised that Alpha Sigma Lambda, which has been around for over 50 years, is not accredited by this body, but the National Society for Collegiate Scholars (which I also belong to) which was founded in 1994 is accredited. Perhaps I'll have to start listing both on my resume.
     
  9. dntw8up

    dntw8up New Member

    Phi Beta Kappa is not on the list of accredited honor societies but it has higher minimum GPA requirements than those that are accredited. Does its absence from the list mean that our esteemed U.S. government does not award any points for membership in Phi Beta Kappa?
     
  10. Daniel Luechtefeld

    Daniel Luechtefeld New Member

    Perhaps it has never come up. Can you see a PBK applying for a guv'mint job?

    ;)
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 20, 2006
  11. RobbCD

    RobbCD New Member

    IIRC the wikipedia article you provided a link for said that PBK was a founding member of ACHS. I wonder why they are not a member now?
     
  12. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    The US Government has a list of recognized honor societies that serve as indicators of "Superior Academic Achievement". I haven't checked it in detail, but it does appear to include organizations that are not members of the Association of College Honor Societies, including Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi (for scientific research), and Sigma Gamma Epsilon (for earth sciences).

    Apparently Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi were among the six founding members of the ACHS in the 1920s, but they pulled out a few years later, for whatever reason. The US Government apparently recognizes them anyway, which makes sense, because they are both among the most highly regarded honor societies in the country.

    The three non-ACHS societies that I noticed on the list are all relatively old (Phi Beta Kappa = 1776, Sigma Xi = 1886, Sigma Gamma Epsilon = 1915). Perhaps they were initially granted government recognition before ACHS was started, and have maintained that status despite not being current ACHS members.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 20, 2006
  13. wcitizen

    wcitizen New Member

    I received an invitation to join the Golden key National Honour Society sometime ago. Is it of any value? Have I missed out on anything?
     
  14. BinkWile

    BinkWile New Member

    I too am a member of Phi Alpha Theta, but my membership was not based on taking DE Courses or not, but rather because of my school's chapter and my overall GPA and GPA in my major (history).

    Interestingly, I put Phi Alpha Theta on my resume, and I was asked in a job interview why I was listing my fraternity on my resume :rolleyes:
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 20, 2006
  15. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    I was inducted into the Iota Nu Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta at Western State College of Colorado in Gunnison, Colorado, on February 25, 1985.
     
  16. CocoGrover

    CocoGrover New Member

    While completing my BA as a distance student at DePaul I was invited to and did join Phi Kappa Phi, Alpha Sigma Lambda, National Collegiate Scholars.
     
  17. clydemosis

    clydemosis New Member

    Psi Chi, *The* (LOL) Honor Society for Psychology...
     
  18. blahetka

    blahetka New Member

    I'm a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, the national biz honor society (through AACSB accredited schools).

    I agree with JoAnn as to how valuable it may or may not be on a resume. I do have it on my bio sheet I include in my introduction pack I send new clients...... just in case.

    I do inclue it on resumes when I apply to teach- again, you never know.

    I noticed it is an acceptable NHS on the government list. Maybe I'll run for dog catcher.
     
  19. eckert16

    eckert16 New Member

    Always ask yourself this question:
    "Why am I putting it on my resume?"
    If it's a detractor, leave it off.
     

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