Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society

Graydon A. "Jack" Tunstall Jr.

Founded at the University of Arkansas on 17 March 1921, Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society, Inc. (PAT) is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies. In its eighty-year history, the honor society has expanded to include 820 chapters at accredited four-year, degree-granting colleges and universities in all fifty states. Students who have completed the required number of credits and have maintained high standards of scholarship are eligible to join. Membership in PAT is not limited to history majors. With national headquarters at the University of South Florida, PAT currently has more than 262,600 members residing all over the globe. Members include students, scholars and teachers, as well as individuals engaged in a wide variety of occupations. Phi Alpha Theta offers its members the opportunity to participate in the society by subscribing to its publications--the quarterly journal, The Historian, and The News Letter. In addition, the honor society recently launched its own website.

Phi Alpha Theta's scholarly journal, The Historian, is widely circulated to libraries and institutions worldwide. The journal, with editorial offices at the University of South Florida under the direction of Kathleen Paul, accepts scholarly articles in all fields of history. The Historian also contains reviews of important newly-released books. The News Letter, published three times a year, highlights activities of the society, chapter news, and regional meetings. Phi Alpha Theta encourages all of its chapters to contribute and subscribe to this publication.

As its mission statement affirms, Phi Alpha Theta is a professional society devoted to promoting "the study of history through the encouragement of research, good teaching, publication and the exchange of learning and ideas among historians. We seek to bring students, teachers and writers of history together for intellectual and social exchanges, which promote and assist historical research and publication by our members in a variety of ways." In keeping with this mission, PAT holds a Biennial Convention--most recently convened in December 2001 in San Antonio, Texas--where students and scholars presented papers, toured local historical sites, and attended social events. PAT also organizes some forty regional meetings, hosted by various chapters throughout the United States. In addition, the organization fosters close ties to other historical associations, including the Organization of American Historians, the Southern Historical Association, the American Historical Association, Western History Association, The Historical Society, the Southwest Social Science Association, and the Western Front Association. Phi Alpha Theta panels at many of these meetings provide students and faculty with a forum to present their research and scholarship.

Phi Alpha Theta also offers an extensive program of prizes, scholarships, and grants. Undergraduate and graduate students compete for a variety of paper prizes with cash awards. The six annual paper prize awards are reviewed by the editor of The Historian and may be published if judged to be of requisite quality. The society offers additional prizes in cooperation with Westerners International, the World History Association, and the Western Front Association. Furthermore, each year PAT awards five scholarships to student members entering graduate school and grants four awards to student members completing their doctoral work. Student history journals produced by individual PAT chapters are eligible for five Gerald D. Nash History Journal Prizes. In addition, PAT holds an annual competition for the best chapter awards in which chapters are judged on their scrapbook compilations of the past year's activities. Faculty advisors may apply for the faculty advisor research grant awarded each year to assist in research, writing, or travel. To encourage publication in history, PAT offers books and manuscript awards. For students, Phi Alpha Theta has established internships at the editorial offices of The Historian, the Pacific Historical Review, Ohio Wesleyan University and the Montana Historical Society.

On a local level, many Phi Alpha Theta chapters promote the study of history by sponsoring speakers, panel discussions, film nights, debates, and seminars frequently in cooperation with local and area historical societies or other honor societies on campus. Many chapters also sponsor field trips to local historical sites of interest, publish student history journals, and host regional meetings. Other chapter activities include the induction of new members, fundraising and membership recruitment, charitable activities, and informal social gatherings.

Initiation into Phi Alpha Theta confers lifetime membership on the individual with payment of one-time dues. New members automatically receive a one-year's subscription to The Historian. Subsequently, members are encouraged to continue to support the society by subscribing to The Historian and/or The News Letter or making a donation to our scholarships and awards program.

Jack Tunstall Jr. is the executive director of Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society, Inc.