Academics > Majors and Areas of Study > English > Sigma Tau Delta

The Thiel College English department has an active chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honor society. The local chapter is known as Alpha Iota Kappa.

The Thiel College English department is proud of its students who are active members of the English international honorary society. Each spring, approximately twelve students are inducted and participate in such activities as publication of the creative literary journal The Phoenix, peer tutoring, attending and delivering papers at annual English Majors conferences, submitting poems, papers and articles for publication, initiating an English Club, and engaging in a poetry reading and Book Club.

Membership requirements are the standards for the international honorary society. Students must have completed three semesters of college course work, a minimum of two college courses in English language or literature beyond Oral and Written Expression. Students must have obtained a ranking in the highest 35 percent of the class in general scholarship. They must have a B or equivalent average in English courses and have a major, minor or equivalent in the discipline of English.

"These students demonstrate leadership in the classroom, promote mastery of oral and written expression, encourage worthwhile reading, and foster a spirit of fellowship among students of the English language and literature, all qualities stated in the Sigma Tau Delta Charter and deemed important by the founders of the Society," said Dr. Mary Theresa Hall, Professor of English and adviser for the honorary society. "Our students are highly motivated and certainly deserve this distinction."

A member of the Association of College Honor Societies, Sigma Tau Delta is composed of over 560 chapters located throughout the United States, Europe, Canada, and the Caribbean. Its central purpose is to confer distinction upon outstanding students of the English language and literature in undergraduate, graduate, and professional studies.

The Princeton Review recently ranked the top ten majors at colleges and universities.  English ranked number two (behind psychology).  The editors write that "Because English programs focus on the liberal arts, in addition to literature, language, and writing, they produce well-rounded, well-read individuals who study life in words across the globe."  English majors become authors, reporters, journalists, editors, radio broadcasters, advertisers, and public relations executives as well as teachers, lawyers, film directors, politicians, actors. Versatility marks the English majors and enables them to assume responsible and dependable roles in both their personal and professional lives.