Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society

The Mission of Phi Alpha Theta

"Phi Alpha Theta is a professional society whose mission is to promote 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."

General Information

The Western Michigan University chapter, Alpha Beta Delta, has inducted over 750 members since 1984.

Phi Alpha Theta encourages student participation in all of its functions, and supports scholarly activity at all levels, from undergraduate to post-doctoral. All members of the Society are eligible to submit papers for publication in the Society’s quarterly journal, The Historian. All new members receive a one-year subscription to The Historian.

Phi Alpha Theta awards six annual cash Paper Prize Awards to graduate and undergraduate students and a $500 prize to the member submitting the best doctoral dissertation. Scholarships ranging from $750 to $1250 are also available to Phi Alpha Theta members.

The Society sponsors biennial conferences, which include papers by members, talks by prominent historians, and visits to historical sites. The Society provides a stipend to help support one delegate from each chapter to attend the conference. The News Letter publicizes Phi Alpha Theta activities and awards. In addition the Society hosts special programs at annual meetings of major national historical associations.

Membership Requirements

Undergraduate Students:

Undergraduate students must complete at least 12 hours in History with an average grade above 3.1 and an overall average of 3.0.

Graduate Students:

Graduate students should have completed at least one third of residency requirement with an overall average of 3.75.

Faculty Members:

Faculty members above the rank of Instructor who teach History qualify automatically, pay the same fees, and receive the same privileges as student members.

Faculty Advisor Contact Person

Dr. Edwin Martini

Office: 4344 Friedmann Hall
E-mail: edwin.martini@wmich.edu
Phone: (269) 387-4487

http://www.phialphatheta.org/

Publications

The Society publishes The Historian, a distinguished quarterly with articles written by members with interests in all fields of History. It also contains numerous reviews of scholarly books and other items of interest. The Historian is one of the most widely circulated scholarly Historical journals published in the United States.

Fall 2009 Activities

Officer Contact Information