Independent Honor Societies

The University sponsors numerous discipline-specific and general honor societies across campus, ranging from organizations which are solely honorific to those honor societies which offer service to the campus and community, giving students the opportunity to develop leadership skills, academic networks, and social skills.

Honor societies specific to the various academic disciplines are sponsored by different academic departments at Illinois State, while general honor societies are sponsored at the college or university level.

The Honors Program provides a list of campus honor societies as a courtesy to the Illinois State community.  The Honors Program has no administrative control over any of the societies listed here, nor do we maintain a complete or comprehensive list.  Please refer to the listed department for more information on specific societies.

Should I join?

Honors colleagues across the country suggest that one way you might want to use to "check out" an honor society is to see if it has been accepted as a member of the Association of College Honor Societies (founded in 1925). The ACHS maintains up-to-date lists of member honor societies.

If an honor society is a member of ACHS, you can assume that it has met the high standards of that Association and is therefore a fully-legitimate honor society. While this isn't necessarily a foolproof approach, it certainly seems like a good way to start in your evaluation of any honor society that invites you to join.

If you have been invited to join an Honor Society but are unsure of whether or not you would like to become a member, ask yourself these questions to find out if it has what you are looking for.

• What is the purpose of this particular honorary? Am I looking for an opportunity for involvement and/or recognition for scholastic achievement?
• Is the organization active? Are there opportunities for leadership and service in the organization? (contact the organization’s student leaders or talk to current members)
• What do current members say about the organization?
• Does the honorary offer scholarships?
• Is the honorary well-established (i.e. easily recognizable to prospective employers)?
• Does the honorary have a strong national/parent organization?
• If the honorary is recognized in a specific academic field, does the honorary provide name recognition and/or networking opportunities in the field?
• If I put the honorary on my resume, and a prospective employer asks me about it, how will I respond?
• If an honorary is an active organization, do I have time to participate?
• Do I have room for multiple honoraries on my resume? Which honoraries best fit my interests and goals?