Honor Societies and Organizations
Beta Gamma Sigma
Beta Gamma Sigma is the highest national recognition a student in business can achieve. Students selected are in the upper ten percent of their class.
Chi Epsilon
Chi Epsilon is an honorary organization to recognize outstanding Civil Engineering students who possesses characteristics necessary for the pursuit of a Civil Engineering career. The organization promotes the status of civil engineering as a profession and aids in the development of professionalism in students.
Hyer Society
Named for the founding President of SMU, the Hyer Society was established in 1983 to recognize SMU’s most intellectually gifted undergraduates who have distinguished themselves through high academic achievement. At a minimum, Hyer Society members must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.85 after 36 SMU credit hours. Members are then chosen by a faculty committee based on academic performance and on an essay written each year on a different topic. Only a small fraction of SMU students are nominated each year for membership, roughly the top 4% of the student body.
Kappa Tau Alpha
Kappa Tau Alpha is an honor society for Communication Arts that recognizes academic excellence and promotes scholarship. Membership is a mark of high distinction and honor.
Phi Beta Kappa
Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honor society in the liberal arts, was founded in 1776 at the College of William and Mary. SMU was granted a chapter in 1949, a true vote of confidence for the intellectual life of what was then a young university. Students elected to the Society must not only fit stringent GPA requirements, but they also must demonstrate an impressive and challenging course of study, with a majority of hours completed in the liberal arts. The motto of Phi Beta Kappa, “Philosophia Biou Kubernetes” means “the love of wisdom is the guide of life.” Students elected to Phi Beta Kappa embody this motto.
Pi Kappa Lambda
Pi Kappa Lambda was established in 1915 to honor distinguished students for both academic and musical accomplishment.
Pi Lambda Theta
In spring 2008, SMU’s Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education, department of Teaching and Learning, joined the Direct Honors program of Pi Lambda Theta (PLT). Founded in 1910, Pi Lambda Theta (PLT) is the most selective national honor society of educators. Pi Lambda Theta extends membership to students and professionals who satisfy academic eligibility requirements. Selection for Pi Lambda Theta for SMU undergraduate students is more rigorous than the national standard. Undergraduates must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.75 and have 18 hours of education courses completed and be voted into membership by the faculty of the department.
Pi Tau Sigma
Pi Tau Sigma recognizes Mechanical Engineering students who possess sound engineering ability, scholarship and personality – all important for success in the field of Mechanical Engineering. Membership is offered to top junior and senior students.
Tau Beta Pi
The Tau Beta Pi Association was founded in 1885 to recognize those who have conferred honor upon their Alma Mater by distinguished scholarship and exemplary character as students in engineering, or by their attainments as alumni in the field of engineering.
Tau Sigma
Tau Sigma is an academic honor society designed specifically to recognize and promote the academic excellence and involvement of transfer students. Tau Sigma recognizes the academic achievement of the most outstanding transfers nationwide and, in the process, helps universities better serve their transfer population.
Upsilon Pi EpsilonUpsilon Pi Epsilon is the first and only, existing international honor society in the Computing and Information disciplines.The mission of Upsilon Pi Epsilon is to recognize academic excellence at both the undergraduate and graduate levels in the Computing and Information Disciplines. This honor society is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS). The Kappa chapter at SMU recognizes excellence in scholarship in programs administered by the Department of Computer Science and Engineering
University Honors Program
Students who complete the "Honors in the Liberal Arts" in their degree come from all majors and schools across campus. They take a total of 7 Honors seminars in partial completion of their General Education requirement. These seminars—two First Year Honors Rhetoric, three Honors Perspectives, and two Honors Cultural Formations—are rigorous and challenging classes designed for those students who want to obtain the richest possible intellectual experience from college. All Honors courses are writing intensive. Upon graduation, they must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.3 in all classes—including the Honors classes, where grading is not weighted.
In addition, students participate in an intellectual community outside classes—informal discussions, seminars, lectures, field trips, and other experiences. Many also have received Richter Research Fellowships and have done honors or distinction in their individual majors.
Please direct all questions regarding Honors Day to ceremonies@smu.edu or (214) 768-2037.
