Sigma Delta Pi, Lambda Xi

Sociedad Nacional Honoraria Hispánica. Member of the Association of College Honor Societies.

History

The society was established on November 14, 1919, at the University of California in Berkeley by a junior undergraduate student named Ruth Helen Barnes who invited six other students of Spanish to start what would eventually become the largest collegiate foreign language honor society in the U.S.: Sigma Delta Pi, the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society/La Sociedad Nacional Honoraria Hispánica. After the initial meeting and less than six months later on May 1, 1920, the Society’s first formal induction ceremony took place. Today, November is celebrated annually as National Charter Month, and May 1 is commemorated as “Día de Sigma Delta Pi”/Sigma Delta Pi Day.

Sigma Delta Pi’s insignia is the royal seal of Fernando and Isabel, representing Castille, León and Aragón; its colors are red and gold, its flower the red carnation, and its motto the Greek phrase “Spanías Didagéi Proágomen” meaning “Let’s go forth/continue forth under the teaching/guidance of the Spanish language.”

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Mission

To honor those who attain excellence in the study of the Spanish language and in the study of the literature and culture of the Spanish-speaking peoples.
To honor those who have made the Hispanic contributions to modern culture better known in the English-speaking world.
To encourage college and university students to acquire a greater interest in and a deeper understanding of Hispanic culture.
To foster friendly relations and mutual respect between the nations of Hispanic speech and those of English speech.
To serve its membership in ways which will contribute to the attainment of the goals and ideals of the society.

Membership Requirements

Completed at least three years of college-level Spanish or the equivalent (�Ա��Ƶ’s six credit hours).
Taken at least one 300 level Hispanic Literature course.
A minimum grade point average of 3.0 on a scale of 4.0 in all college-level Spanish courses.
A minimum grade point average of 3.2 on a scale of 4.0 in all other coursework.

Sigma Delta Pi does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, age, or disability.

Membership Benefits

Association with the only honor society devoted exclusively to students of Spanish in four-year colleges and universities, the largest foreign-language honor society in existence (over 180,000 members) and one of the elite as attested by its membership in the Association of College Honor Societies, the nation’s only certifying agency for college and university honor societies.
Exclusive access to Sigma Delta Pi’s undergraduate study abroad awards for study in Spanish-speaking countries.
Certificate of Academic Excellence; Honor Stoles and Cords
Distinctive student honors such as the Gabriela Mistral Award, available to one outstanding member per chapter annually; the Mario Vargas Llosa Award, a joint Sigma Delta Pi-AATSP recognition granted yearly to one outstanding, undergraduate student major or minor of Spanish; and the Ana María Matute Award, a joint Sigma Delta Pi-Asociación Internacional de Hispanistas recognition.
National and local leadership opportunities through appointment to the national Board of Student Advisers, election to chapter offices, and the direction of chapter projects.
Opportunities to participate and/or present in Sigma Delta Pi’s annual sessions, held in conjunction with the AATSP and the Kentucky Foreign Language Conference, and the triennial convention, held during the meeting of the AATSP.

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