The Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS) is a voluntary membership organization composed of national collegiate and post-graduate honor societies. Founded in 1925, ACHS publishes standards for its member organizations and evaluates applicants based on those criteria. ACHS is a voluntary professional association and is not a governmental accrediting agency.
ACHS was established on December 30, 1925, by six organizations: Alpha Omega Alpha, the Order of the Coif, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Sigma Xi, and Tau Beta Pi. The association was created to develop shared standards and facilitate cooperation among affiliated honor societies.
Since its founding, additional societies have joined ACHS; as of 2026, the association had 68 active member organizations. Membership is voluntary, and not all honor societies are affiliated with ACHS.
The standards published by ACHS are referenced in guidance issued by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) concerning eligibility for certain federal employment classifications.
Several early member societies later withdrew from ACHS, including Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, Phi Kappa Phi, and Omicron Delta Kappa. These organizations are no longer affiliated with ACHS. The four societies subsequently established the Honor Society Caucus, a separate voluntary association that operates independently of ACHS.
As of 2026, 68 organizations are affiliated with the ACHS.
While ACHS continues to operate as a voluntary membership association of honor societies, some former members have resigned from ACHS membership to operate independently. Of these, several have emerged into successor groups that remain part of the ACHS or have gone dormant.
Four former member societies, including three founding members of ACHS, subsequently formed the Honor Society Caucus.