During these years when you have relatively little work experience to list on your resume, academic honors and achievements can go a long way toward filling up the blank space!  They are also very reassuring to parents who may be helping to finance your university education. You may not feel that you “need” external validation of your accomplishment, but you can benefit from participation in honor societies that are active in supporting the campus and the community.

Student Recognition Week in May is a time when many UMBC colleges and academic departments hold student recognition ceremonies as part of their end-of the-academic-year events. Each May UMBC publishes "UMBC Celebrates Student Honors and Awards," with paper copies distributed on campus. (Look for the boxes in major campus buildings.)

The academic honor available to the largest number of UMBC students is completely automatic. Full-time students who achieve certain semester grade point averages receive a notation on their permanent UMBC transcripts as follows:

Semester Academic Honors = 3.50 and up

Dean’s List Honors = 3.75 and up

President’s List Honors = 4.00

Honor societies may be identified by Greek letters, but they are not fraternities or sororities in the usual sense. Based on your academic performance at UMBC, you may be invited to join one or more of these “honoraries.” Membership recognizes your achievement, and provides service, leadership, and scholarship opportunities. 

Honor societies active on the UMBC campus include:

Phi Beta Kappa:  PBK was founded at the College of William and Mary in 1776 (a big year for the American colonies!). To win a Phi Beta Kappa key, a student has to achieve very high grades in a course of study across the liberal arts. This is one invitation you will definitely want to accept if offered. 

Phi Kappa Phi:  Founded in 1897, Phi Kappa Phi honors high-achieving students in all disciplines. The UMB-UMBC chapter was installed at UMBC in 2010. Phi Kappa Phi’s motto is “Let the love of learning rule humanity.” The Phi Kappa Phi initiation is pictured with this article.

Golden Key International Honor Society: Golden Key membership is extended to high-achieving students in all disciplines. The national and international organizations offer a large program of scholarships and awards as well as conferences. UMBC’s award-winning chapter of Golden Key is known for its extensive community service. 

National Society of Collegiate Scholars:  The NSCS invites high-achieving freshmen and sophomores to become members.  Through service projects such as participation in Relay for Life and March to College Day, NSCS makes a difference on and off campus. 

Tau Sigma Honor Society recognizes talented transfer students at four-year universities. 

Academic departments sponsor honor societies for top students in their majors. These organizations not only recognize academic performance, but also give students a chance to “give back” to their departments and fellow students. Some societies provide volunteer tutoring. Students who meet the criteria may have to apply for membership in the disciplinary honor societies. Contact your department for details. 

Disciplinary honor societies at UMBC include:

Gamma Theta Upsilon  (Geography and Environmental Systems)

Omicron Delta Epsilon (Economics, Financial Economics)

Phi Alpha  (Social Work)

Pi Mu Epsilon (Math and Statistics)

Pi Sigma Alpha (Political Science)

Psi Chi  (Psychology)

Sigma Pi Sigma (Physics)

Sigma Tau Delta (English)

Tau Beta Pi(Engineering), famous for the "Pi Day" festivities in March!

Students who have achieved specified cumulative grade point averages are honored at the undergraduate commencement ceremony, in the program booklet, and receive honors notations on their official transcripts and diplomas once final grades have been posted. The three levels of graduation honors are:

Cum laude or with honors:  3.50

Magna cum laude or with high honors:  3.75

Summa cum laude or with highest honors:  3.95

In addition, one of UMBC’s very top graduating seniors each May is named Valedictorian by a faculty committee and makes a valedictory address at Commencement. Read about UMBC's 2014 Valedictorian, Travis Bell, here. 

Some departments honor their top graduates with departmental honors. Sometimes a senior thesis or capstone project is required to qualify for departmental honors. Departments give academic achievement and leadership awards for their majors, some of which are keyed to graduation and others of which are open to all majors.

Honors College students receive the Honors College Certificate at the time of graduation from UMBC if they have met all requirements and standards. They also receive a medallion that is worn at commencement. In addition, the Honors College presents awards to the very top students for academic achievement and service to the Honors College.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and other external organizations sponsor a variety of awards recognizing the academic achievements of varsity athletes.  UMBC athletes and whole teams regularly receive recognition for maintaining high academic standards despite demanding athletic schedules. In addition, UMBC sponsors a chapter of the National College Athlete Honor Society, Chi Alpha Sigma.

There are opportunities for students enrolled at UMBC to compete for scholarships based primarily on academic achievement, sometimes in combination with service and need. An extensive listing of such scholarships is available here.

For some very top students, external awards and scholarships based mainly on academic excellence are a realistic possibility. For example, UMBC students have had success with the Goldwater Scholarship, which supports undergraduate students in the sciences who aspire to research careers. A number of scholarships sponsored by the U.S. government provide funding for undergraduate students to study abroad, including the Boren and Gilman Scholarships. UMBC provides support to students applying for these awards.

A.  Some less noble organizations merely want your money to print your name in a big book for which they will charge you. If you have doubt about an organization, find out whether it has a chapter at UMBC. If you receive an invitation “out of the blue” that does not seem connected to anyone at UMBC, then show the invitation to your academic advisor or a faculty member to get another opinion.

YES, if you can afford it.  If you have been invited to join one of the highly respected societies described in this article, it would make sense to join it. This is especially true if you can envision yourself actually participating in the local chapter’s activities, becoming an officer, or applying for any of the scholarships offered (such as study abroad awards). 

To see an electronic copy of the Student Honors and Awards booklet 2015, click on the "Visit Website" button just below!