Pi Alpha Alpha is the national honor 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 Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration and the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) to honor those whose performance in public affairs has been distinguished. Indiana’s is a charter chapter of Pi Alpha Alpha. Membership in Pi Alpha Alpha is comparable 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.

O'Neill graduate students can qualify for membership by being in the top 20 percent of their M.P.A. or M.S.E.S. class, with a minimum overall grade point average of 3.5, a 3.7 in at least 50 percent of all required courses, and by having completed 50 percent of the required course work (i.e., 24 to 30 credit hours).

Any doctoral student who has successfully passed the qualifying examination is eligible. Alumni are eligible if they meet all the requirements of student membership but graduate before induction by the Indiana chapter.

Any full-time faculty member of a NASPAA-member institution that offers course work in a public affairs or administration degree program and at which a Pi Alpha Alpha chapter is located is eligible for membership. Honorary membership is available to any person who has achieved distinction in public administration and who has the qualities that Pi Alpha Alpha fosters.