Tri-Alpha Honor Society

• Membership is for life.
• A certificate and pin signifying membership.
• An outward recognition of personal accomplishment and an incentive for continued high scholarship.
• The opportunity to meet other first-generation scholars from all academic disciplines at MSU, and to join them in promoting academic excellence and creating a supportive environment for first-generation college students.
• Identifies you to employers, professionals, and graduate schools as a person of superior academic ability and commitment.
• Ability to mentor younger first-generation students.
• Ability to receive mentoring from more senior first-generation students, as well as faculty, staff, and alumni who were first-generation students.
• Local chapter leadership opportunities.

• The student has earned at least 30 credits towards an associate’s degree or baccalaureate degree (including part-time students).
• The undergraduate student has achieved an overall undergraduate GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale.
• Neither of the student’s parents, step-parents or legal guardians completed a bachelor’s degree.
• Graduate students (full-time and part-time) who are first-generation students can be admitted if they have completed the equivalent of at least one semester (9 or more graduate credits) and have a GPA in their graduate program of at least 3.5.

• To qualify, they must have met the definition of a first-generation student listed above at the time they completed their bachelor’s degree. Faculty and staff must be willing to serve as mentors for first-generation students.

• To qualify, alumni must have been first-generation students (using the definition above) when they completed their bachelor’s degree. They must remain connected in some way to the institution which is inducting them— a member of the board or alumni association; the sibling of a current student; a volunteer; a donor; etc. They must have established themselves in their post-college lives in a manner that can be held up to first-generation students as something to aspire to and must be willing to mentor first-generation students, if asked.

Applications are now open! 

• Application Deadline: February 25, 2024
• Applications will be reviewed and an email will be sent out to the applicant with further details.
• For Undergraduate and Graduate Students, verification of your GPA and credit hours earned will be reviewed on NEST by the Co-Advisors.
• Ready to apply? Here is the Tri-Alpha Application form.

• Applicants will receive an email of acceptance after the application review process. 
• A link will be provided for payment of induction dues:
  • $15 Induction Fee for Undergraduate and Graduate Students.
  • $25 Induction Fee for Faculty, Staff, and Alumni.
  • Graduation Cords are available for an additional $15 charge.
• Induction Ceremony will be held March 2024 (Date TBA) 
  • All inductees will receive a certificate of initiation and a Tri-Alpha pin.
  • Inductees are able to bring as many guests as they’d like.