About Membership

• Candidates for undergraduate membership must have completed a minimum of two college courses in English language or literature beyond the usual requirements in freshman English. The candidate must have a minimum of a B or equivalent average in English and in general scholarship, must rank at least in the highest thirty-five percent of their class, and must have completed at least three semesters or five quarters of college course work. (Local chapters may raise, but not lower, these criteria.) Candidates for undergraduate membership need not be majoring or minoring in the discipline of English. Where class rank is unavailable, the candidate shall have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.3 on a 4.0 scale.
• Candidates for graduate membership who did not hold undergraduate membership must be enrolled in a graduate program in English or one of its specializations, have completed six semester hours of graduate work or the equivalent, and have a minimum grade point average of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale.
• Read prerequisites and rights of student membership. 

Faculty Membership

Faculty membership is available to faculty members and administrators at a college or university with a Sigma Tau Delta chapter, who have a degree in English. Induction fees for faculty members who serve as Chapter Advisors are waived. Read prerequisites and rights of faculty membership.

Alumni Membership

Sigma Tau Delta members are members for life, becoming alumni when they cease current enrollment as student or faculty members at a college or university with an active chapter. Read prerequisites and rights of alumni membership.

Honorary Membership

• Local honorary members may be initiated by any chapter upon the recommendation of the Chapter Advisor, the Chapter President, and by a three-fourths majority vote of those attending the meeting at which such recommendation is made.
• Honorary membership should be reserved for special circumstances, such as to honor a non-member (e.g., a faculty member, an administrator at the college/university, an invited speaker) who has made a significant contribution to the chapter, or to honor a student who has made contributions to the local chapter but who is unable to fulfill membership requirements due to special circumstances. Honorary members are ineligible to apply for scholarships or awards, or to submit for journal publication or the annual convention.
• Organization-level honorary members may be designated as such by a majority vote of the Sigma Tau Delta Board of Directors in recognition for outstanding achievement.

If your school does not grant baccalaureate or higher degrees, check to see if it has a Sigma Kappa Delta chapter, the English honor society for students in two-year colleges. For further information, contact:

Matthew Hlinak
Executive Director
Sigma Kappa Delta
Department of English
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, IL 60115
skd@niu.edu

National English Honor Society (NEHS) was founded in 2005 to create transformative opportunities for high school student development through recognition of academic excellence, opportunities to demonstrate continued literary creativity and skill, and meaningful community service. Serving 85,000 dedicated students across the nation and in 36 countries, NEHS demonstrates remarkable success in fostering student growth—with 98.82% of graduating members pursuing further education. Our diverse community includes 47.6% minority students and 32.4% economically disadvantaged students, reflecting our commitment to providing opportunities across all backgrounds. NEHS empowers students by offering a range of literary programming, internships, opportunities to attend (and present at) academic conventions and by providing awards, grants, and scholarships that open pathways to higher education. Our comprehensive approach, combining recognition, service, and financial support, allows NEHS to cultivate confident communicators and engaged citizens who understand the power of language to create positive change.

Founded in 2024, the English Language Arts Honor Society (ELA) is our newest program and empowers middle school students during a critical stage of their development by nurturing their emerging talents in reading, writing, speaking, and critical thinking. This program recognizes that early adolescence represents a pivotal moment for building confidence and academic identity, and provides young scholars with meaningful opportunities to apply their English language skills in real-world contexts that matter to them and their communities. Through age-appropriate service projects and literary skill-building activities, ELA students develop both academic competence and social responsibility. The program’s emphasis on skills application ensures that students see the immediate relevance and impact of their abilities.