Professional fraternities and sororities

Professional fraternities, in the North American fraternity system, are organizations whose primary purpose is to promote the interests of a particular profession and whose membership is restricted to students in that particular field of professional education or study. This may be contrasted with service fraternities and sororities, whose primary purpose is community service, and social fraternities and sororities, whose primary purposes are generally aimed towards some other aspect, such as the development of character, friendship, leadership, or literary ability.

Professional fraternities are often confused with honor societies because of their focus on a specific discipline. Professional fraternities are actually significantly different from honor societies in that honor societies are associations designed to provide recognition of the past achievement of those who are invited to membership. Honor society membership, in most cases, requires no period of pledging, and new candidates may be immediately inducted into membership after meeting predetermined academic criteria and paying a one-time membership fee. Because of their purpose of recognition, most honor societies will have much higher academic achievement requirements for membership.

Professional fraternities, on the other hand, work to build brotherhood among members and cultivate the strengths of members in order to promote their profession and to provide assistance to one another in their mutual areas of professional study. Membership in a professional fraternity may be the result of a pledge process, much like a social fraternity, and members are expected to remain loyal and active in the organization for life. Within their professional field of study, their membership is exclusive; however, they may initiate members who belong to other types of fraternities.

History

The first professional fraternity was founded at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky in 1819: the Kappa Lambda Society of Aesculapius, established for the purpose of bringing together students of the medical profession. The fraternity lasted until about 1858.

Of the professional fraternities still in existence, the oldest is Phi Delta Phi founded at the University of Michigan in 1869; however, Phi Delta Phi changed its mission in 2012 to become an honor society for law school students.

Title IX applied to professional fraternities

Professional fraternities, in the United States fraternity system, are usually co-educational in accord with Federal Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (commonly referred to as "Title IX"). This federal law discourages discrimination on the basis of sex in any college or university receiving federal financial assistance. However, the membership practices of social fraternities and sororities are exempt from Title IX in section (A)(6)(a). The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) regulations adopted pursuant to Title IX also allow such an exception for "the membership practices of social fraternities and sororities." (34 C.F.R. Sec. 106.14(a)).

Prior to Title IX, many professional fraternities were all male and most professional sororities/women's fraternities were all female. Several of these professional fraternities and sororities even considered themselves both professional and social organizations because they often emphasized the social aspects of their activities. During the ensuing years since the enactment of Title IX, single-sex professional fraternities and sororities became coeducational to conform to Title IX. Several organizations simply opened their membership both men and women. For example, Phi Chi (medicine) opened membership to women in 1973; Phi Beta (music and speech) opened membership to men in 1976; and Delta Omicron (music) opened membership to men in 1979. A few single-sex groups merged with other organizations, such as Phi Delta Delta (law) in 1972.

Despite the fact that Title IX was enacted in 1972, there continues to be professional fraternities and sororities or their chapters that have not become coeducational and therefore, do not conform to Title IX. Generally, these groups still claim to be both professional and social organizations, for instance, Alpha Gamma Rho (men in agriculture), Alpha Omega Epsilon (women in engineering), and Sigma Phi Delta (men in engineering).

Several social fraternities and sororities have membership practices of selecting their members primarily from students enrolled in particular majors or areas of study, including Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Phi Sigma Rho, and Triangle. Nevertheless, these groups are social, rather than professional, organizations. Although they select members from students in a particular field of study, like a professional fraternity, they are single-sex social organizations because their purposes focus only on the social development of their members. Examples of groups that have been officially granted exemption from Title IX by the DOE to remain single-sex include Sigma Alpha Iota in 1981 and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia in 1983.

Umbrella organizations

Many professional fraternities, particularly those of the highest esteem and reputation, are members of the Professional Fraternity Association (PFA). This group resulted in 1978 from a merger of the Professional Interfraternity Conference (PIC) (for men's groups) and the Professional Panhellenic Association (PPA) (for women's groups). In 2013, faced with an increase in campus policies that require student organizations to take all students, the PFA adopted a resolution against All Comers policies.

List of professional fraternities

Art

* – Kappa Pi – art; co-ed international fraternity

Agriculture

* – Alpha Gamma Rho – agriculture; men's fraternity, not co-ed
* – Alpha Gamma Sigma – agriculture; men's fraternity, not co-ed
* – Alpha Tau Alpha – agriculture and extension education
* – Alpha Zeta – agriculture; originally a men's fraternity, co-ed since 1972
* – Delta Theta Sigma – agriculture; co-ed
* – Sigma Alpha – agriculture; women's sorority, not co-ed by chapter

Business

* – Alpha Kappa Psi – business; originally a men's fraternity, co-ed since 1976
* – Alpha Iota - business; women's sorority with only one collegiate chapter at Tiffin University
* – Delta Sigma Pi – business; originally a men's fraternity, co-ed since 1975
* – Epsilon Nu Tau – entrepreneurship; co-ed
* – Eta Phi Beta – business; African-American women's sorority
* – Gamma Iota Sigma – insurance, risk management, actuarial sciences; co-ed
* ΙΦΛ - Iota Phi Lambda - business and professional; African-American women's sorority
* – Phi Chi Theta – business; originally a women's sorority, co-ed since 1976
* – Phi Gamma Nu – business; originally a women's sorority, co-ed since 1974
* – Pi Sigma Epsilon – marketing, sales; originally a men's fraternity, co-ed since 1974
* – Sigma Iota Epsilon - management; originally a recognition society, now an honorary and professional society. Co-ed since 1927

Chiropractic

* – Alpha Delta Upsilon – chiropractic; women's sorority
* – Chi Rho Sigma – chiropractic; co-ed
* – Delta Sigma Chi – chiropractic; men's fraternity
* – Pi Kappa Chi – chiropractic; men's fraternity
* – Sigma Phi Chi – chiropractic women's sorority

Engineering, architecture, and science

* – Alpha Chi Sigma – chemistry; co-ed
* – Alpha Omega Epsilon – engineering; women's sorority; not co-ed
* – Alpha Rho Chi – architecture; co-ed
* – Alpha Sigma Kappa – architecture, engineering, mathematics, and sciences; women's social sorority
* – Kappa Eta Kappa – electrical and computer engineering; co-ed
* – Kappa Theta Pi – information technology; co-ed
* – Phi Sigma Rho – science, technology, engineering, mathematics; social sorority for women and non-binary persons
* – Pi Delta Nu – chemistry; women's sorority
* – Sigma Phi Delta – engineering; men's fraternity; not co-ed
* – Theta Tau – engineering; nationally co-ed since 1977, but not co-ed by chapter
* Triangle – Triangle Fraternity – engineering, architecture, and sciences; men's social fraternity
* – Zeta Rho – engineering; computer science; co-ed

Environment and Sustainability

* – Epsilon Eta – environmental; co-ed
* – Theta Psi – sustainability; co-ed

Law

* – Delta Theta Phi – law; originally a men's fraternity, co-ed since 1971
* – Gamma Eta Gamma – law; co-ed
* – Kappa Alpha Pi – law; co-ed
* – Kappa Beta Pi – law; women's sorority
* – Phi Alpha Delta – law; co-ed
* – Phi Delta Delta – law; co-ed, technically a legal society, but undergraduate halls are considered professional fraternities at most schools
* – Sigma Alpha Nu – law; co-ed

Medicine

* – Alfa Kappa Pi – medicine; Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico
* – Alpha Gamma Kappa – podiatry; co-ed
* – Alpha Delta Theta – medical technology; women's sorority
* – Alpha Epsilon Iota – medical sorority
* – Alpha Kappa Kappa – medicine
* – Alpha Omega – dentistry; co-ed
* – Alpha Psi – veterinary medicine
* – Alpha Tau Delta – nursing; co-ed
* – Alpha Tau Sigma – medical
* – Beta Sigma Kappa – optometry
* – Chi Eta Phi – nursing; primarily an African American women's sorority
* – Delta Epsilon Mu – health
* – Delta Sigma Delta – dentistry
* – Epsilon Psi Epsilon – optometry; now-local fraternity at Ohio State University
* – Kappa Gamma Delta – all-female pre-medical
* – Kappa Tau Epsilon – podiatry
* – Mu Epsilon Delta – health
* – Nu Sigma Nu – medicine
* – Hygeia Medical Sorority – medicine – Universidad Mayor de San Simón
* – Omega Delta – optometry; formed 1919 at Southern Cal College of Optometry
* – Omega Tau Sigma – veterinary medicine
* – Omega Upsilon Phi – medicine; defunct after Phi Beta Pi 1934 merger; ''Alpha chapter'' joined Phi Chi
* – Phi Alpha Gamma – osteopathic medicine; merged with Phi Chi in 1948
* – Phi Alpha Sigma – medicine
* – Phi Beta Pi – medicine
* – Phi Chi – medicine
* – Phi Delta Epsilon – medicine
* – Phi Kappa Mu – University of the Philippines College of Medicine
* – Phi Lambda Kappa – medicine
* – Phi Sigma Gamma – men's osteopathic fraternity
* – Phi Rho Sigma – medicine
* – Pi Mu Honor Society – medicine; merged with Phi Chi in 1922
* – Psi Omega – dentistry
* – Rho Psi Eta - all-female, pre-health careers; founded at UCSB in 2007.
* – Sigma Mu Delta – all-male pre-medical
* – Theta Kappa Psi – medicine
* – Xi Psi Phi – dentistry

Military, government, and foreign service

* – Psi Delta Tau Military fraternity, Inc.. Founded in 2017
* – Alpha Gamma Xi Military Association, Inc.
* – Delta Phi Epsilon – Foreign Service
* – Kappa Epsilon Psi Military Sorority Inc.
* – Kappa Lambda Chi Military Fraternity Inc.
* - Omega Kappa Lambda Military Fraternity Inc.
* – Lambda Beta Alpha military sorority
* – Mu Beta Phi military fraternity
* – Psi Rho Phi military fraternity
* – Zeta Sigma Psi military sorority
* – Psi Delta Chi military Sorority, Inc.
* Pershing Angels – military drill sorority
* Pershing Rifles – military drill fraternity
* Scabbard and Blade – military

Music

* – Kappa Kappa Psi – band; originally a men's fraternity, co-ed since 1977
* – Mu Beta Psi – music; originally a men's fraternity, co-ed since 1961
* – Mu Phi Epsilon – music; originally a women's sorority, co-ed since 1977
* – Phi Mu Alpha – music; originally a men's music social fraternity since 1898, was temporarily co-ed from 1976 to 1983, but has been all-male ever since; reverted to a social fraternity in 1985 to align with its original founding
* ΦBr – Phi Boota roota – percussion; co-ed founded in 1976
* – Pi Nu Epsilon – music; co-ed music fraternity founded 1927
* – Sigma Alpha Iota – music; women's music fraternity since 1903, accepts honorary male members
* – Tau Beta Sigma – band; originally a women's sorority, co-ed since 1977

Performing arts

* – Gamma Xi Phi – literature, visual, and performing arts
* – Delta Chi Xi – dance; co-ed fraternity
* – Phi Beta – creative and performing arts

Pharmaceutical and pharmacological

* – Alpha Zeta Omega – pharmacy; originally a men's fraternity, co-ed since the early 1970s
* – Beta Phi Sigma – pharmacy; dissolved in 1973
* – Delta Sigma Theta - Pharmacy, Medical and Dentistry
* – Kappa Epsilon – pharmacy; originally a women's fraternity, now co-ed
* – Kappa Psi – pharmacy; originally a men's fraternity, co-ed since 1977
* – Lambda Kappa Sigma – pharmacy; originally a women's fraternity, co-ed since 1988
* – Phi Delta Chi – pharmacy; originally a men's fraternity, co-ed since 1976
* – Rho Pi Phi – pharmacy; originally a men's fraternity, co-ed since the mid-1970s

Other

* – Alpha Eta Rho – aviation
* – Beta Psi Omega – biology
* – Delta Kappa Alpha – cinema
* – Delta Kappa Gamma – women educators
* – Delta Kappa Phi – textiles
* – Gamma Epsilon Tau – printing and digital media
* – Kappa Delta Pi – education
* – Kappa Pi – international honorary art fraternity
* – Lambda Alpha Epsilon - Criminal Justice
* – Omicron Delta Epsilon – economics
* – Phi Alpha Tau – communicative arts
* – Phi Delta Kappa – education sorority
* – Phi Epsilon Kappa – physical ed, performance, sports mgmt
* – Phi Sigma Pi – was educational-focused professional, now national honor fraternity
* - Phi Psi - textile arts and manufacturing engineering
* – Pi Mu Epsilon – mathematics
* – Pi Sigma Eta- funeral service national morticians fraternity
* – Zeta Phi Eta – communication arts and sciences
* – Zeta Theta Omega – zoology

External links

Professional Fraternity Association webpage

{{Fraternities and Sororities , collapsed

References

Fraternities, Professional