Honor Societies
Alpha Kappa Delta
Alpha Kappa Delta, International Sociology Honor Society,
was founded in 1920. The Mu Chapter at USC Upstate was chartered in 2009. AKD
recognizes students with outstanding academic achievements in sociology.
Because the mission statement of AKD is "To investigate humanity for the
purpose of service," students also engage in a number of service
activities throughout the year. To be a member, students must be a sociology
major or minor, have junior standing (completed at least 60 hours), have a
grade point average of 3.0 or higher – both overall and in sociology, and must
have completed at least four sociology courses at USC Upstate.
Alpha Mu Gamma
Alpha Mu Gamma is the national collegiate foreign language
honor society of the United States, founded in 1931. Its primary purpose is
that of honoring students for outstanding achievement in foreign language study
in college. For more information, contact Dr. June Carter
at 864-503-5881.
Alpha Psi Omega
Alpha Psi Omega National Theatre Honor Society is an
American recognition honor society
recognizing participants in collegiate theatre. For more information, contact Jimm Cox at
864-503-5697.
Alpha Sigma Lambda
ASL is an academic honor society for nontraditional students
aged 25 or above who are combining work, raising families, with earning a
degree at USC Upstate. The organization has been at USC Upstate for six years.
An induction ceremony is held in April to recognize nontraditional students
usually with 3.6 or 3.7 and above academic averages. Nontraditional students
nominate faculty for recognition as nontraditional student advocates.
Beta Gamma Sigma
Beta Gamma Sigma
is the international honor society
recognizing the outstanding academic achievements of students enrolled in
collegiate business and management programs accredited by AACSB International –
The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Membership in the
Society is the highest recognition a business student anywhere in the world can
receive in a baccalaureate program in business.
Gamma Beta Phi
This honor and service organization seeks to recognize and
encourage excellence in education, to promote the development of leadership
ability and character of its members, and to foster, disseminate, and improve
education through service projects. For more information, contact Dr. Richard
Combes at 864-503-5676.
Lambda Pi Eta
The purpose of Lambda Pi Eta is to recognize, foster, and
reward outstanding scholastic achievement in communication studies, to
stimulate interest in the field of communications, to promote and encourage
professional development among communications majors, and to provide the
opportunity to discuss and exchange ideas in the field of communications. For
more information, contact Dr. Desiree Rowe
at 864-503-5645.
Phi Kappa Phi
This organization, the nation's oldest and largest
all-discipline honor society, is dedicated to the recognition and promotion of
academic excellence in all fields of higher education. Membership in Phi Kappa
Phi is by invitation only. Those invited to membership include the top 7.5
percent of last-term juniors and the top 10 percent of seniors, along with
outstanding graduate students, faculty, professional staff, and alumni.
Pi Sigma Alpha
This is the national political science honor society. The Nu
Kappa chapter was chartered at USC Upstate in 1982. Membership is open to
students who attain a B average, both overall and in political science courses.
Applicants must have completed 10 semester hours in political science and be
ranked in the upper third of their college class. For more information, contact
Trevor Rubenzer
at 864-503-5633.
Psi Chi
This National Honor Society in Psychology was founded in
1929 for the purposes of encouraging, stimulating, and maintaining excellence
in scholarship and advancing the science of psychology. The chapter at USC
Upstate was chartered in 1993. To be eligible for membership, students must be
psychology majors (or IDS bi-disciplinary majors) who have completed at least
three semesters of college work including nine hours of psychology. Eligible
students must rank in the top 35 percent of their class and have a minimum GPA
of 3.0 in psychology courses. For more information, contact Susan Ruppel at
864-503-5786.
Sigma Tau Delta
The purposes of Sigma Tau Delta is to confer
distinction for high achievement in English language and literature in
undergraduate, graduate, and professional studies, to promote interest in
literature and the English language on local campuses and their surrounding
communities to foster the discipline of English in all its aspects, including
creative and critical writing. For more information contact George
Williams at 864-503-5285.