In addition to adding Greek letters and Latin designations to their resumes, students participate in honors activities at Luther College for a variety of reasons and in many ways.

Departmental honor societies offer opportunities for students to actively participate in their chosen field of study. There are thirteen departmental honor societies at Luther, each with different requirements for membership.

“I thought it would be a good addition to my resume, but also because I wanted to be a part of the honor society and help represent the biology department,” Mary Whipple (‘09), current president of the biology honor society Beta Beta Beta, said. “I saw being inducted into Beta Beta Beta as an honor, and was excited about the opportunity.”

Honor societies also offer a chance for students to network with other students in their fields, both at Luther and in the larger academic community.

“What it turns out to be is a networking possibility,” Associate Professor of Mathematics and advisor to the mathematics honor society Pi Mu Epsilon, Eric Westlund, said. “Later on, it gives them another place to publish a paper or present at a conference.”

Such conferences allow students to network on a larger scale as well.

“It’s an opportunity to make connections with different chapters of the organization at different universities,” Joy Waughtal (‘09), current president of the history department’s Phi Alpha Theta, said.

Some societies also prioritize service.

“One requirement of membership to Beta Beta Beta is service, so in order to remain members in good standing, students must demonstrate a commitment to community service and research in biology,” Whipple said.

Such service could include traditional service projects, tutoring, being involved in the research process or presenting research at conferences.

Most honor societies have a publication to which members are encouraged to submit work, as well as regional and national conferences.

Linnea Graffunder (‘10), the newly-elected president of Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor society, joined in order to participate in a conference.

“I joined Sigma Tau Delta because I wanted to submit my creative non-fiction to the national convention in order to get some critical feedback on my writing,” Graffunder said. “Also, I had heard that the conventions were really fun to attend.”

In addition to the departmental societies, Luther also has a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, a prestigious national honor society with chapters at only ten percent of higher learning institutions in the country.

According to Assistant Professor of Physics Todd Pedlar, president of the Eta Chapter of Iowa for Phi Beta Kappa, membership is decided based on an evaluation of Phi Beta Kappa coursework. This generally does not include work such as most internships or practicum classes. Grade point averages are compiled at the end of each January for these courses, and students must have at least 94 credits in the eligible courses and 64 of those credits taken at Luther.

There is no fixed GPA requirement for Phi Beta Kappa.

“It is fairly safe to assume, though, all things considered, that election to Phi Beta Kappa includes nearly all students in the top eight to 12 percent, depending upon the year,” Pedlar said.

Membership in Phi Beta Kappa is prestigious.

“It is an internationally-recognized standard of excellence,” Pedlar said. “It is the oldest and most well known of any undergraduate honor society and is recognized across all disciplines as a mark of academic excellence.”

Besides the honor societies, there are also many opportunities for students to participate in the honors program at Luther. According to Terry Sparkes, associate dean and director of college honors, this includes a first-year course for Regent’s scholars, an honors core program open to application for students with a 3.0 GPA and a faculty reference, and a senior symposium. The honors program also has honors funding for worthy student projects.

Participating in honors activities, whether in a society, in coursework or in a designation, is accessible to the majority of students.

“At some point in their academic career, every student could have the possibility for honors participation,” Sparkes said.