College of Arts and Sciences

In This Section

There shall be three classes of membership: active, alumnus, and honorary.

Active Membership

Active membership shall be limited to college students who have demonstrated high scholarship in general and excellence in the academic study of Spanish. Specifically, they must meet the following requirements:

  1. Each must have completed three years of study of college-level Spanish (eighteen semester credit hours) or the equivalent thereof, including at least three semester hours of a course in Hispanic literature or Hispanic culture and civilization at the junior (third-year) level. A student may be admitted to active membership while still enrolled in the second junior-level course if all other requirements have been met and if the instructor of the course certifies that the student's work is of "B" or "A" quality.
  2. The candidate for active membership must have a minimal grade point average of 3.2 on a 4.0 point scale in all Spanish courses taken.
  3. Graduate students who have been unconditionally admitted to a degree-granting program may be elected to membership upon completion of two graduate courses in Spanish with an average which, if continued, will make them eligible for a graduate degree.
  4. Sigma Delta Pi does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, age, or disability.

Alumnus Membership

This category shall be composed solely of active members who have been graduated or for other reasons have left college. If alumnus members re-enroll either as undergraduate or as graduate students they shall revert to active membership. Alumnus members are welcome at all chapter meetings, but they shall not have the right to vote on matters brought before the chapter nor can they hold office in the chapter.

Honorary Membership

Persons who are obviously interested in, and supportive of, things Hispanic may be elected to this category of membership. Members of the college Spanish teaching staff and other faculty members or college administrative officials notably devoted to the goals and ideals of Sigma Delta Pi and who have supported the work of the chapter are generally initiated as honorary members. Outstanding high-school or community-college teachers of Spanish may be granted honorary membership. This class is not open to students, graduate or undergraduate. For honorary and all other types of members, the national initiation fee must be paid and the membership certificate and insignia presented during the initiation ceremony.