Alpha Phi Sigma

Alpha Phi Sigma is the national criminal justice honor society at SPEA Indianapolis. The society recognizes scholastic excellence of students in the field of criminal justice. It was founded in 1942 and was admitted to the Association of College Honor Societies in 1980. To be eligible, undergraduate students must have earned an overall grade point average of at least 3.20 for at least 40 credit hours of course work, and must include at least four criminal justice courses with a minimum 3.20 grade point average. For additional information, students should contact their criminal justice faculty advisor.

Pi Alpha Alpha at SPEA Bloomington

Pi Alpha Alpha is the national honorary society for schools of public affairs and administration. The society acknowledges outstanding scholarship and contributions to these fields. It was founded in 1972 by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) to honor those whose performance in public affairs has been distinguished. The Indiana chapter of Pi Alpha Alpha is a charter chapter. Membership in Pi Alpha Alpha may be compared to membership in Phi Beta Kappa for liberal arts graduates. A person evaluating credentials in the various fields of public service should recognize the professional quality such a membership represents.

Undergraduate students are eligible for Pi Alpha Alpha membership when they are in the top 10 percent of their graduating class with a minimum grade point average of 3.50 in at least 15 credit hours of SPEA courses, when they are in the last semester of the junior year or in the senior year, and when they have earned a grade point average of at least 3.00 in all course work.

Alumni are eligible for membership if they meet all the requirements of student membership, even if they graduated before induction by the Indiana chapter.

Honorary membership is available to any person who has achieved distinction in public administration and who has the distinguished qualities that Pi Alpha Alpha fosters.

Pi Alpha Alpha at SPEA Indianapolis

Pi Alpha Alpha is the national honorary society for schools of public affairs and administration. The society acknowledges outstanding scholarship and contributions to these fields. It was founded in 1972 by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) to honor those whose performance in public affairs has been distinguished. The IUPUI chapter of Pi Alpha Alpha is a newly formed chapter. Membership in Pi Alpha Alpha may be compared to membership in Phi Beta Kappa for liberal arts graduates. A person evaluating credentials in the various fields of public service should recognize the professional quality such a membership represents.

Undergraduate students are eligible for Pi Alpha Alpha membership when they are in the top 10 percent of their graduating class with a minimum grade point average of 3.50 in at least 15 credit hours of SPEA courses, when they are in the last semester of the junior year or in the senior year, and when they have earned a grade point average of at least 3.00 in all course work.

Graduate Students may be inducted from among the master’s degree students provided they have maintained a GPA of at least 3.7 and have completed at least fifty percent (50%) of the required course work (a minimum of 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours).

Alumni are eligible for membership if they meet all the requirements of student membership, even if they graduated before induction by the Indiana chapter.

Honorary membership is available to any person who has achieved distinction in public administration and who has the distinguished qualities that Pi Alpha Alpha fosters.

SPEA Indianapolis Honors Program

The SPEA Honors Program offers select students across all SPEA majors an opportunity to enrool in a challenging academic program that will enhance learning opportunities. Benefits include:

• Increased opportunities to interact with faculty members.
• Greater depth of learning in your major through additional challenges.
• Enhanced relationships with other motivated, high-achieving students.
• Enriched classroom discussions.
• Access to the IUPUI Honors College facility such as dedicated study space, computer lab, group-work rooms, interaction with other honors students, and access to the honors college advisors.
• Opportunity to pursue the Honors Minor in Leadership .

Admission Requirements

1. Be admitted to SPEA.
2. Have 12 IUPUI GPA hours completed with at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA.
3. Complete SPEA Honors Program application.

Program Requirements

To successfully complete the SPEA Honors Program, a student must:

• Maintain a cumulative and term GPA or 3.3 or above.
• Maintain a 3.3 or above in honors courses.
• Complete 24 total honors credit hours (15 hours of required SPEA honors courses plus 9 hours of honors electives).

Probation

Any student who fails to maintain the GPA requirements will be put on probation status for one semester, will be required to meet with the SPEA Honors Advisor to discuss his or her standing in the program and must complete an Honors Probation Contract. If the student is unable to meet the GPA requirements in subsequent terms, he or she may be dismissed from the SPEA Honors program

Honors Courses

1. Complete 15 hours of SPEA Major courses for Honors credit.
2. We recommend working with the SPEA Honors Advisor to plan these courses. Taking courses from full-time SPEA faculty will be preferred for Honors credit SPEA courses.
3. SPEA classes being taken for Honors credit will include additional requirements beyond those in the regular course offering. Examples of additional requirements include (applicable paperwork must be submitted and approved prior to the experience in order to receive Honors credit):

• A major paper not required in the regular course
• Additional readings not required in the regular course
• Additional or different questions on exams; these questions may cover additional material or require mastery of material beyond the level required in the regular course
• Other additional assignments not required in the regular course
• Adding an Honors component to study abroad, service learning, senior capstone, or internship experiences
• Students in the SPEA Honors Program will be required to meet with faculty outside of regular class meetings. Such interaction could take different forms and can be arranged for individual students or groups of students. Options include in-person meetings, online interaction, telephone conference calls, etc. We would recommend at least six hours of interaction per semester (that would be half an hour per week or one hour every other week for 12 of the 15 weeks of a semester).
• To complete the program, we recommend completing 1 Honors course per semester.
• Complete 9 hours of Honors elective courses.
• A student must meet with the SPEA Honors Advisor each term to complete the contract required to enroll in an honors course. Students then will submit the contract to the Honors College no later than the third week of classes, though we recommend submitting paperwork prior to the start of the semester.