Start a Chapter

Undergraduate student requirements for membership:

• must be a current associate's or baccalaureate candidate at the institution at which they will be inducted;

• who has completed at least two full-time undergraduate terms of study (as defined by the home institution), at least one of which must have been at the institution at which they will be inducted (for transfer students);

• who has completed at least 30 credit hours towards the degree

• who has an overall undergraduate GPA of at least 3.2 (out of 4.0) in all coursework; and

• who comes from a family where neither parent nor any legal guardians earned a bachelor’s degree (or an associate's degree, for students at a community college chapter).

Graduate student requirements for membership:

• must be a current graduate degree candidate at the institution at which they will be inducted;

• who has completed at least 9 credit hours of graduate terms of study towards the degree, all at the institution at which they will be inducted;

• who has an overall graduate GPA of at least 3.5 (out of 4.0) in all graduate-level coursework; and

• who comes from a family where neither parent nor any legal guardians earned a bachelor’s degree.

Faculty/staff requirements for membership:

• must have earned at least Bachelor’s Degree (Note: There is no GPA requirement for membership.)

• Neither parents (nor legal guardians) completed a bachelor’s degree prior to the faculty/staff completing one (if they completed a bachelor’s degree subsequent to yours, that does not matter for this purpose)

• The candidate for membership must be serving in higher education

• Agrees to serve as a mentor, if requested, for a first-generation student at their institution of employment.

Alumni/honorary requirements for membership:

• Must have earned at least a Bachelor’s Degree (honorary inductees may be graduates of any accredited institution)

• For alumni, neither parents (nor legal guardians) completed a bachelor’s degree prior to the faculty/staff completing one (if they completed a bachelor’s degree subsequent to yours, that does not matter for this purpose)

• For honorary members, ideally, they were first-generation students, but they may be strong advocates and supporters of first-generation initiatives on your campus, despite not being first-gen themselves.

• The candidate for membership must be connected to the institution where he/she will be inducted, as a member of the board, a parent/sibling, a volunteer, donor, a speaker, etc. in a way that provides visible support to the students of the institution

• Can be shown as a role model for the kinds of success that first-generation students can achieve

• Agrees to serve as a mentor, if requested, for a first-generation student at their institution of employment

Questions on the application or criteria for membership should be referred to:

Carol Traupman-Carr, Ph.D

National Chair

Alpha Alpha Alpha Honor Society

1200 Main Street

Bethlehem PA 18018

traupman-carrc@moravian.edu or

info@1stgenhonors.org

610-861-1348

Checks or money orders shall be made out to:

Alpha Alpha Alpha

1200 Main Street

Bethlehem PA 18018

Note that we are housed on the campus of Moravian University and do our banking through Moravian. Moravian University may appear on invoices, credit card, or ACH statements.