Professional fraternities, in the North American fraternity system, are organizations whose primary purpose is to promote the interests of a particular profession and whose membership is restricted to students in that particular field of professional education or study. This may be contrasted with service fraternities and sororities, whose primary purpose is community service, and social fraternities and sororities, whose primary purposes are generally aimed towards some other aspect, such as the development of character, friendship, leadership, or literary ability.

Professional fraternities are often confused with honor societies because of their focus on a specific discipline. Professional fraternities are significantly different from honor societies in that honor societies are associations designed to provide recognition of the past achievement of those who are invited to membership. Honor society membership, in most cases, requires no period of pledging, and new candidates may be immediately inducted into membership after meeting predetermined academic criteria and paying a one-time membership fee. Because of their purpose of recognition, most honor societies will have much higher academic achievement requirements for membership.

Professional fraternities, on the other hand, work to build brotherhood among members and cultivate the strengths of members to promote their profession and to provide assistance to one another in their mutual areas of professional study. Membership in a professional fraternity may be the result of a pledge process, much like a social fraternity, and members are expected to remain loyal and active in the organization for life. Within their professional field of study, their membership is exclusive; however, they may initiate members who belong to other types of fraternities.

History The first professional fraternity was founded at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky in 1819: the Kappa Lambda Society of Aesculapius, established to bring together students of the medical profession. The fraternity lasted until about 1858.

Of the professional fraternities still in existence, the oldest is Phi Delta Phi founded at the University of Michigan in 1869; however, Phi Delta Phi changed its mission in 2012 to become an honor society for law school students.

Title IX applied to professional fraternities In the United States fraternity system, professional fraternities are usually co-educational in accordance with Federal Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (commonly referred to as "Title IX"). This federal law discourages discrimination based on sex in any college or university receiving federal financial assistance.Title IX , United States Department of Justice However, the membership practices of social fraternities and sororities are exempt from Title IX in section (A)(6)(a). The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) regulations adopted under Title IX also allow such an exception for "the membership practices of social fraternities and sororities." (34 C.F.R. Sec. 106.14(a))." Code of Federal Regulations, Part 106: Nondiscrimination on the Basic of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance

Before Title IX, many professional fraternities were all male, and most professional sororities/women's fraternities were all female. Several of these professional fraternities and sororities even considered themselves both professional and social organizations because they often emphasized the social aspects of their activities. During the ensuing years since the enactment of Title IX, single-sex professional fraternities and sororities became coeducational to conform to Title IX. Several organizations simply opened their membership to both men and women. For example, Phi Chi (medicine) opened membership to women in 1973; Phi Beta (music and speech) opened membership to men in 1976; and Delta Omicron (music) opened membership to men in 1979. A few single-sex groups merged with other organizations, such as Phi Delta Delta, a women's professional law fraternity, which merged with Phi Alpha Delta (law) in 1972.

Even though Title IX was enacted in 1972, there are still professional fraternities and sororities or their chapters that have not become coeducational and therefore, do not conform to Title IX. Generally, these groups still claim to be both professional and social organizations, for instance, Alpha Gamma Rho (men in agriculture), Alpha Omega Epsilon (women in engineering), and Sigma Phi Delta (men in engineering).

Several social fraternities and sororities have membership practices of selecting their members primarily from students enrolled in particular majors or areas of study, including Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Phi Sigma Rho, and Triangle. Nevertheless, these groups are social, rather than professional, organizations.Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia – Sinfonia's Classification Although they select members from students in a particular field of study, like a professional fraternity, they are single-sex social organizations because their purposes focus only on the social development of their members. Examples of groups that have been officially granted exemption from Title IX by the DOE to remain single-sex include Sigma Alpha Iota in 1981 and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia in 1983.

Umbrella organizations Many professional fraternities, particularly those of the highest esteem and reputation, are members of the Professional Fraternity Association (PFA). This group resulted in 1978 from a merger of the Professional Interfraternity Conference (PIC) (for men's group) and the Professional Panhellenic Association (PPA) (for women's groups). In 2013, faced with an increase in campus policies that require student organizations to take all students, the PFA adopted a resolution against All Comers policies.

List of professional fraternities

Arts, literature, and media

NameSymbolsCharter date and rangeEmphasisScopeTypeStatusDelta Chi Xi2010DanceNational (US)Fraternity, coedActiveDelta Iota Mu2008Performing arts, African AmericanFraternity, coedActiveDelta Kappa Phi 1899TextilesLocal, Lowell Textile SchoolFraternityActiveDelta Kappa Alpha1936CinemaNational (US)Gender InclusiveActiveDelta Omicron Omega Performing arts, African AmericanRegional (Illinois)FraternityActiveDelta Phi DeltaDance, African AmericanNational (US)Fraternity, coedActiveEta Phi Sigma1981Arts, African AmericanSorority InactiveGamma Epsilon Tau 1953Graphic artists honor societyNational (US)Fraternity, coedActiveGamma Xi PhiArtists and creators, African AmericanNational (US)Fraternity, coedActiveLambda Phi Delta1917Fine artsNational (US)SororityInactiveLambda Phi Lambda1990Fine arts, African AmericanSororityInactive ?Nu Rho Sigma Eta Beta Mu 2005Fine arts, African AmericanFraternityOmega Xi Alpha 1928JournalismRegionalFraternityInactivePhi Alpha Tau1902Communicative artsLocal, Emerson CollegeFraternityActivePhi Beta 1912Creative and performing artsNational (US)Fraternity, gender inclusiveActivePhi Iota Phi 2009Dance, African AmericanLocalFraternityActivePhi Mu Gamma 1921Drama and oratoryNational (US)SororityInactivePhi Psi1903Textile arts and manufacturing engineeringNational (US)Fraternity, coedActiveTheta Sigma Phi1909–1996Journalism and communicationNational (US)Fraternity, womenInactiveTheta Sigma Upsilon1979Arts, African AmericanSororityInactiveZeta Phi Eta1893Communication arts and sciencesNational (US)Fraternity, coedActive

Agriculture

NameSymbolsCharter date and rangeEmphasisScopeTypeStatusAlpha Gamma Rho1904AgricultureInternational (US)FraternityActiveAlpha Gamma Sigma 1923AgricultureNational (US)FraternityActiveAlpha Tau Alpha1921Agriculture and extension educationNational (US)FraternityActiveAlpha Zeta1897Agriculture and natural resourcesNational (US)Fraternity, coedActiveDelta Theta Sigma1906AgricultureNational (US)FraternityActiveSigma Alpha1978AgricultureNational (US)SororityActive

Business and economics

NameSymbolsCharter date and rangeEmphasisScopeTypeStatusAlpha Kappa Psi1904BusinessInternationalFraternity, coedActiveAlpha Iota 1905BusinessNational (US)SororityActiveBeta Pi SigmaBusiness, African AmericanRegional (California)SororityActiveDelta Sigma Pi 1907BusinessNational (US)Fraternity, coedActiveEpsilon Nu Tau2008EntrepreneurshipNational (US)Fraternity, coedActiveEta Phi BetaBusiness, African AmericanNational (US)SororityActiveEta Rho Sigma2020BusinessNational (US)Sorority/WomenActiveKappa Eta PhiΚΗΦ2011Business, International BusinessLocalFraternity, coedActiveGamma Iota Sigma1966Insurance, risk management, actuarial sciencesInternationalFraternity, coedActiveIota Phi LambdaBusiness, African AmericanNational (US)SororityActiveLambda Kappa MuBusiness, African AmericanNational (US)SororityActiveOmicron Delta Epsilon1963Economics honor societyInternationalSociety, coedActivePhi Chi Theta1924BusinessNational (US)Women's fraternity, coedActivePhi Gamma Nu 1924BusinessNational (US)Sorority, coedActivePhi Theta Kappa 1918–1924Business administration, commerce, accountingNational (US)SororityInactivePi Sigma Epsilon1952Marketing and sales managementNational (US)Fraternity, coedActiveSigma Iota Epsilon1927Management honorary and professional societyInternationalFraternity, coedActive

Education

NameSymbolsCharter date and rangeEmphasisScopeTypeStatusAlpha Gamma Pi1963Education, African AmericanSororityInactive ?Delta Kappa Gamma1929EducationInternationalSociety, femaleActiveKappa Delta Epsilon1933EducationNationaSociety, coedActiveKappa Delta Pi 1911Education honor societyInternationalSociety, coedActivePhi Delta Kappa1906EducationInternationalFraternity, coedActivePhi Delta Kappa Education, African AmericanInternationalSorority, coedActivePhi Delta PiΦΔΠ1916Physical education, health sciences, and recreationNational (US)SororityInactivePhi Epsilon Kappa1913Physical education, performance, sports managementNational (US)Fraternity, coedActive

Law

NameSymbolsCharter date and rangeEmphasisScopeTypeStatusDelta Theta Phi1900LawInternationalFraternity, coedActiveEpsilon Sigma IotaLaw, African AmericanLocal (Howard University School of Law)SororityActiveGamma Eta Gamma1901LawNational (US)Fraternity, coedActiveKappa Alpha Pi 2007LawNational (US)Fraternity, coedActiveLincoln's Inn Society1907LawLocal, Harvard Law SchoolSocial club, coedInactivePhi Alpha Delta1902LawInternationalFraternity, coedActivePhi Delta Delta1911–1972LawNational (US)SororityInactivePhi Delta Phi1869Law honor (formerly professional)InternationalFraternity, coedActivePi Lambda Sigma2016Pre-law, GovernmentLocal, Cornell UniversitySociety, coedActiveSigma Alpha Nu2005Pre-lawLocal, University of California, BerkeleyFraternity, coedActiveSigma Delta TauLaw, African AmericanNationalFraternityActiveTau Delta Sigma – before 1934Law, African AmericanLocal, Howard UniversityFraternityInactive

Medicine