Student Organizations

Phi Alpha Theta

Phi Alpha Theta (ΦΑΘ) is an American honor society for undergraduate students, graduate students, and professors of history. The society has over 400,000 members, with some 9,000 new members joining each year through 970 chapters nationwide.

The Vanderbilt University chapter of Phi Alpha Theta is student-run, with a faculty adviser. The Department of History invites qualifiers to apply for lifetime membership twice during the academic year. The qualifications for membership are set by the national office and are as follows:

“Undergraduate students must complete a minimum of 12 semester hours (4 courses) in History, achieve a minimum GPA of 3.1 in history and a GPA of 3.0 or better overall. A maximum of 3 credit hours of online, transfer, or AP credits may be applied to the membership eligibility requirement.  Membership is not limited to history majors. A chapter advisor may also require that the student be ranked in the top 35% of their class. The chapter advisor has the discretion of making eligibility requirements for his/her chapter more (but not less) stringent than the national requirement.”

The Vanderbilt University history department has a requirement that a student’s overall GPA must be 3.5 or better. There is a one-time initiation fee of $50.00 per student that is collected during the two qualifying events. With the guidance of the faculty adviser, the President of the VU chapter arranges for events throughout the year. Members are also encouraged to apply to the scholarships and conferences sponsored by the national office. See the Phi Theta Alpha website for a detailed listing of prizes and awards.

Vanderbilt Historical Review

The Vanderbilt Historical Review is a journal of history that combines undergraduate historical research in an annual issue. The publication seeks to show the importance of studying the past. Topics may cover a wide range of disciplines, including economic, political, social, or cultural history.

The Review accepts submissions once a year from undergraduate students for consideration in the publication. Please see these guidelines and submission instructions.

If you are interested in helping to publish the Review, please contact vanderbilt.historicalreview@gmail.com.

The Vanderbilt Historical Review released its first issue in Spring 2016. Read more about the inaugural issue.