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.

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.

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.Anchora of Delta Gamma January 1929 They were joined by Omicron Delta Kappa and Sigma Tau in March 1930. The organization's first president was Francis W. Shepardson of Phi Beta Kappa.

Since then, more than 65 honors societies have joined ACHS, becoming an international organization. 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.

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 the 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."

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 2026, 68 organizations are affiliated with the ACHS.

Society Greek letters Discipline Founded Joined ACHS References Alpha Beta Gamma Business and Professional Studies Alpha Chi All Academic Fields Alpha Epsilon Agricultural, Food, and Biological Engineering (Associate);1970 (Full) Alpha Epsilon Delta Premedical Alpha Epsilon Rho Electronic Media Alpha Eta Mu Beta Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Alpha Iota Delta Decision, Information, and Operations Sciences Alpha Kappa Delta Sociology Alpha Kappa Mu General Scholarship Alpha Lambda Delta First-year Success/Freshmen Alpha Phi Sigma Criminal Justice Alpha Pi Mu Industrial Engineering (Associate); (Full) Alpha Sigma Lambda Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning Alpha Sigma Mu Materials Science and Engineering Alpha Sigma Nu General Scholarship - Jesuit Institutions of Higher Education Beta Gamma Sigma Business and Management ;1990 (Readmitted) Beta Kappa Chi Natural Sciences and Mathematics Beta Phi Mu Library and Information Studies and Information Technology Chi Alpha Sigma Athletics Chi Alpha Sigma granted unanimous certification by Association of College Honor Societies Chi Epsilon Civil Engineering Chi Sigma Iota Counseling Delta Epsilon Sigma General Scholarship in Colleges and Universities with a Catholic Tradition Delta Mu Delta Business Administration Epsilon Mu Eta Engineering Technology Epsilon Pi Phi Emergency Management Epsilon Pi Tau Professions in Technology Gamma Theta Upsilon Geography Kappa Mu Epsilon Mathematics Kappa Omicron Nu Human Sciences Kappa Tau Alpha Journalism and Mass Communication Lambda Pi Eta Communication Sample Induction Ceremony for Honors Membership in Lambda Pi Eta Lambda Sigma Student Leadership, Scholarship and Service Mortar Board Scholarship, Leadership, and Service Mu Kappa Tau Marketing National Society of Collegiate Scholars Scholarship, Leadership, and Service Omega Chi Epsilon Chemical Engineering Spring 1931 Omega Rho Operations Research, and Management Science (Associate);1986 (Full) Omicron Delta Epsilon Economics -1973;1981 (Readmitted)Gunther, William D. “The History of Omicron Delta Epsilon: The International Honor Society in Economics.” The American Economist, vol. 58, no. 2 (2013): 90-91. Phi Alpha Honor Society Social Work Phi Alpha Chapter Handbook 2021 Phi Alpha Theta History –2012;2017 (Readmitted) Phi Beta Delta International Education Oswego - Phi Beta Delta Phi Eta Sigma Freshman Scholarship – 2011;2018 (Readmitted) Phi Sigma Biological Sciences, All Pure and Applied Fields Phi Sigma Iota Foreign Language, Literature, and Cultures Phi Sigma Tau Philosophy Phi Upsilon Omicron Family and Consumer Sciences Pi Delta Phi French Pi Gamma Mu Social Sciences Pi Kappa Lambda Music Pi Sigma Alpha Political Science Pi Tau Sigma Mechanical Engineering Pi Theta Epsilon Occupational Therapy Psi Beta Psychology at Two-Year Colleges Psi Chi Psychology Rho Chi Pharmacy Sigma Beta Delta Business, Management, and Administration Sigma Delta Pi Spanish Sigma Lambda Alpha Landscape Architecture (Associate);1986 (Full)Michael Richard Hodges and Miriam Easton Rutz, "An Historical Summary of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture", Landscape Journal, Vol. 16, No. 1 (Spring 1997), pp. 108–114. Sigma Lambda Chi Construction Management Technology Sigma Pi Sigma Physics and Astronomy 1945 Sigma Tau Delta English Language and Literature Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Tau Alpha Pi Engineering Technology -; Tau Beta Pi Engineering Tau Sigma Delta Architecture and Allied Arts Tau Sigma Delta Mss.0345 Records of the Grand Chapter Recorder Theta Alpha Kappa Religious Studies and Theology Fall 1976 (Associate);1986 (Full) Upsilon Pi Epsilon Computing and Information Disciplines Upsilon Pi Epsilon Initiation Ceremony Xi Sigma Pi Forestry –1999;2017 (Readmitted)

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.

Society Greek letters Discipline Founded Joined ACHS Left ACHS StatusReferences Alpha Delta Mu Social Work Fall 1976 (Associate);1986 (Full) Independent Alpha Omega Alpha Medical – Independent Chi Epsilon Civil Engineering 1953 Independent Delta Phi Delta Art 1961 – IndependentDelta Sigma RhoForensics Merged into Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha - Forensics (); () –January 2014 IndependentDelta Tau AlphaAgriculture Eta Kappa Nu Electrical and Computer Engineering Independent Golden Key General Independent Iota Sigma Pi Women in the sciences, especially chemistry or 1902 – IndependentIota Sigma Pi -About Kappa Delta Pi Education Independent Lambda Iota Tau Literature of all Languages Merged with Sigma Tau Delta National Collegiate Players/Pi Epsilon Delta Theatre Honors – IndependentOmicron Delta KappaLeadership and ScholarshipHonor Society Caucus Omicron Nu Human Sciences ;1968 (Readmitted) Merged into Kappa Omicron Nu Order of the Coif Law – IndependentNational conference on college fraternities and societies 1947Phi Beta KappaLiberal ArtsHonor Society CaucusPhi Kappa PhiAll Fields–Honor Society Caucus Phi Lambda Sigma Pharmacy Leadership Pi Alpha Alpha Public Affairs and Administration (Associate);1984 (Full) IndependentPi Omega PiBusiness Education Teachers Scabbard and Blade, National Society of Reserve Officer Training Corps Fall 1904 Independent Sigma Gamma Tau Aerospace Engineering IndependentUniversity of Texas - Cactus Yearbook 1968 p 302 Sigma Tau Engineering Merged into Tau Beta PiSigma XiScientific ResearchHonor Society CaucusTau Kappa AlphaForensics Merged into Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha

See also Honor society Olivaint Conference of Belgium

References

External links Association of College Honor Societies website Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education - The Role of College Honor Societies, CAS Standards Contextual Statement Qualifying for U.S. Government GS-7 under Superior Academic Achievement through Honor Society Membership