Honor Societies

Gamma Theta Upsilon

Gamma Theta Upsilon (GTU) is the international honor society for students of Geography. GTU was founded in 1928 and became a national organization in 1931. Members of GTU have met academic requirements and share a background and interest in geography.

Professor Francis Koti is the MTSU advisor for Gamma Theta Upsilon. Each year, Professor Koti supervises the induction of qualified students into the honor society. Membership confers privileges to honorees, and an annual ceremony marks the occasion of the induction and celebrates the collective accomplishments of inductees.

Pi Sigma Alpha

Pi Sigma Alpha is the national political science honor society, and MTSU hosts a chapter of this prestigious organization. The Articles of Incorporation of Pi Sigma Alpha state as one of its purposes “to stimulate scholarship and intelligent interest in political science.” The society functions at the national level, sponsoring programs and events of value to the profession and teaching of political science, and at the chapter level. Each chapter is encouraged to provide a framework for enriching the exposure of its members and the wider university community to the study of government and issues of public concern. The goals of PSA are consistent with the aims of the Association of College Honor Societies as set out in the ACHS Booklet of Information. This material provides a good framework for understanding the meaning and value of a political science honor society and its place on an American campus, and makes worthwhile reading.

Professor Robb McDaniel is the MTSU advisor for Pi Sigma Alpha. Each year, Professor McDaniel supervises the induction of qualified students into the honor society. Membership confers privileges to honorees, and an annual banquet marks the occasion of the induction and celebrates the collective accomplishments of inductees.

Recent keynote speakers for the Pi Sigma Alpha induction ceremonies at MTSU include Dr. Lena Surzhko Harned, associate director of the Public Policy Fund at Penn State Behrend, who spoke about Russia’s war in Ukraine, and Dr. Naazneen Barma, director of the Scrivner Institute of Public Policy and associate professor in the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver, who addressed the problems and prospects of governance in Afghanistan.