What Are Honor Societies? Requirements, Benefits and More

Toni Valdez '26, MS in Cybersecurity

If you're serious about your academics, becoming a member of an honor society could help you showcase your achievements and find opportunities to keep on growing.

"Simply put, an honor society is an organization that recognizes students who have demonstrated strong academic achievement in a particular field or across their studies," said Dr. Josh Garrin, an associate dean of psychology at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) with over a decade of experience as a psychologist and educator.

If you take advantage of the benefits offered, Garrin said an honor society membership might serve as a bridge between academic success and future opportunities.

How Do Honor Societies Work?

There are honor societies for eligible high school students — like the National Honor Society (NHS) — as well as those for eligible college students.

Rather than requiring you to apply for membership, it's typical for honor societies to invite students to join based on their academic performance. That's how honor societies work at SNHU, for example, according to Stacey Bissonnette, an assistant director of student involvement focused on online honor societies.

"Students should know that our honor society membership process runs on an invitation-only cycle," Bissonnette said. "This means there is no application or submission process — if you meet the requirements for any one of our online societies, an invitation would be sent to your SNHU email address."

Being invited is an achievement worth celebrating in itself. But joining can offer additional benefits, too, according to Bissonnette.

What Are the Requirements to Join an Honor Society?

The eligibility criteria vary for each honor society, according to Bissonnette. However, common factors include:

• Academic standing: Many honor societies require you to meet a minimum academic standard pertaining to your GPA and other factors to be eligible for membership.
• Applicability: Your eligibility may depend on your status as a current student and whether your school is affiliated with the honor society. And while some honor societies are more broadly applicable, others may be specific to your program of study.
• Membership fees: Honor societies may require membership fees to join.

Be sure to research specific requirements for any honor societies that you're interested in so you can work toward eligibility.

What Are the Benefits of Honor Society Membership?

Beyond something to feel proud of, joining an honor society can present a number of advantages. But according to Bissonnette, the benefits will vary depending on the honor society that you join.

Here are a few common membership perks: 

Development Opportunities

"Honor societies can help students get more out of their college experience by connecting them with opportunities that extend beyond the classroom," said Garrin.

The more involved you are, he said, the more you’ll get from your membership. "The biggest mistake students make is joining and then never taking advantage of the opportunities available to them," Garrin said.

For instance, he said you might discover exclusive opportunities for grants.

Bissonnette noted that you might find opportunities to apply for awards, scholarship opportunities or leadership roles through honor society membership, too. "Participating in research, conferences and service projects can also help you build skills," she said.

Learn more: What is Experiential Learning?

Networking and Connections

Joining an honor society can also help you make valuable professional connections through networking opportunities. This could include collaborating on projects or even simply attending an event. You never know what an initial meeting might spark.

"Fun fact: Although I’m a bit of an introvert, choosing to introduce myself at professional conferences has resulted in some valuable, career-long connections," Garrin said.

Some schools may offer online communities allowing virtual connection with other members, too, allowing you to network from anywhere.

"SNHU specifically also has the benefit of SNHUconnect, which provides students an opportunity to connect with peers based on the society(s) they are interested/members of," Bissonnette said.

Read more: How an Online Learning Community Can Transform Your Education

A Boost to Your Resume

There's also the benefit of listing an honor society membership on your resume and your LinkedIn profile to showcase your academic achievements. If you're thinking about applying to college or graduate school in the future, this may be especially beneficial, according to Garrin.

"Beyond that, being part of an honor society also says something about your dedication and achievement in your field of study," Garrin said.

Honor Societies for College Students

Take a look at the honor societies that are partnered with your school. Here are a few honor societies that eligible students at SNHU can join.

National Society of Leadership and Success

While many honor societies are for students studying a specific subject, there are also more general honor societies and leadership societies, like the National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS) — also called Sigma Alpha Pi.

"The National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS) is the nation’s largest accredited leadership honor society and serves as a platform for students to further develop their leadership capacity, connect with a broader community of peers and professionals and engage in meaningful personal and professional growth," said Fatimah Gilani, a coordinator of student involvement at SNHU whose work focuses on leadership societies like the NSLS.

She noted that for many students, membership is an accomplishment in its own right as well as a commitment to continued growth.

Like many honor societies, Gilani said NSLS membership is invitation-only.

"Students who meet the established eligibility requirements such as qualifying GPA, enrollment in an online degree program and completion of the required number of academic credits receive an invitation to their SNHU email address during an open invitation cycle," she said.

Read more: Online Honor Society Offers More than Academic Recognition

More College Honor Societies

There are also other focused honor societies, including for:

• Business Students: Delta Mu Delta, International Honor Society in Business
• English Students: Sigma Tau Delta, International English Honor Society
• Adult Learners: Alpha Sigma Lambda, National Honor Society for Adult Learners

Each has different membership requirements, so you'll need to research to see how close you are to meeting them.

It's also important to note that certain honor societies may be more reputable than others. Confirming an affiliation with your college or university is one of the best ways to determine if an honor society invitation is legitimate, according to the NSLS. All of the above honor societies and leadership societies are affiliated with SNHU, for example.

Is Joining an Honor Society Worth It?

Like many experiences in both college and in life, you may need to put in some effort to get the most of your honor society membership. "I always tell students that they are only going to get as much out of the honor society as they put in," Bissonnette said.

For instance, access to conferences will only benefit you if you actually take the initiative to attend them. The same goes for other development opportunities. With that in mind, consider what you hope to get out of your membership from the start.

"Some students join an online honor society because they purely want to the recognition, some join to obtain the honor cords to walk at commencement and some join to partake in scholarships, events and webinars," Bissonnette said of the students she works with. "Similar to the motivations that drove them to start their education at SNHU, it’s a personal choice that may not be the same for any two students."

Mars Girolimon '21 '23G is a staff writer at Southern New Hampshire University where they earned their bachelor’s and master’s, both in English and creative writing. In addition to their work in higher education, Girolimon’s short fiction is published in the North American Review, So It Goes by The Kurt Vonnegut Museum & Library, X-R-A-Y and more. Connect with them on LinkedIn.