Alpha Phi Sigma Board Rating, Reviews and Requirements. Is it worth it?
REQUIREMENTS
There are several requirements for becoming a member of Alpha Phi Sigma. For undergraduate students, at least 4 criminal justice courses must be completed. Both an overall GPA of 3.2 on a 4.0 scale in all completed criminal justice courses as well as a cumulative GPA of 3.2 on a 4.0 scale for all completed university courses are required. An eligible undergraduate student must also be within the top 35% of his/her class and must be a declared criminal justice major or minor. Graduate students must have a 3.4 GPA in overall classes and criminal justice classes and must also have taken at least four criminal justice courses.
SUMMARY
Alpha Phi Sigma recognizes academic excellence of Undergraduate and Graduate students of Criminal Justice, as well as Juris Doctorate students. The goals of Alpha Phi Sigma are to honor and promote academic excellence, community service, educational leadership, and unity. Alpha Phi Sigma is the only Criminal Justice Honor Society, is a certified member of the Association of College Honor Societies and affiliated with the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.
HISTORY
In September, 1941, Dr. Vivian Anderson Leonard was asked by the president of Washington State University if he would accept the directorship of a Police Science Academic Program at Washington State. Dr. Leonard accepted the offer and became responsible for developing a four year curriculum which would lead to a Bachelor's Degree in Police Administration. Upon his arrival at Washington State, Dr. Leonard began to realize how important it was that a Police Science Honorary be established. The purpose of this honorary would be to promote excellence in scholarship and performance. In January, 1942, Dr. Leonard met with seventeen Police Science majors at Washington state and Alpha Phi Sigma was established.
Glenn Hill was elected as the first president and appointed a committee to draft the first Constitution and By-laws. During its initial years Alpha Phi Sigma experienced only limited growth, but on March 24, 1976 in Dallas, Texas, the Executive Board of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences voted unanimously to designate Alpha Phi Sigma as the National Criminal Justice Honor Society. At this time, Alpha Phi Sigma had only fourteen chapters; however, since then, Alpha Phi Sigma has continued to grow and prosper at a very rapid rate and there are now over three hundred and sixty Chapters.
BENEFITS
- National recognition in criminal justice
- Annual Conference
- Various Scholarships at the Undergraduate and Graduate levels based on Academic Excellence
- Awards based on Leadership
- Service
- Unity
OUR REVIEW
Observation #1: While this seems like a society aimed for the betterment of students within the Criminal Justice realm, other than events and service-related tasks, their website does not list many of the benefits members receive.
Observation #2: This seems like the perfect type of honor society for niche recognition. While larger societies are more well known, they also offer less of a chance for others to make a name for themselves in their profession, as opposed to a society like Alpha Phi Sigma.
Observation #3: This is a relatively new honor society compared to many others, having started from the ground up only 45 years ago. They’ve managed to grow an impressive amount of chapters since the society’s inception.
