Kappa Alpha Theta (ΚΑΘ), commonly referred to simply as Theta, is an international women’s fraternity founded on January 27, 1870, at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. It was the first Greek-letter fraternity established for women. The fraternity was founded by four female students, Bettie Locke Hamilton, Alice Allen Brant, Bettie Tipton Lindsey, and Hannah Fitch Shaw. The organization has 147 chapters at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. The organization was the first women's fraternity to establish a chapter in Canada. Theta's total living initiated membership, as of 2020, was more than 250,000. There are more than 200 alumnae chapters and circles worldwide.
California State University, Monterey Bay is a public university in Monterey County, California. Its main campus is located on the site of the former military base Fort Ord, straddling the cities of Seaside and Marina, about one mile inland from Monterey Bay along the Central Coast of California. CSUMB also has locations in the cities of Monterey and Salinas. Founded in 1994, CSUMB is part of the California State University system and is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission. The university is a Hispanic-serving institution.
Alpha Xi Delta is a women's fraternity founded on April 17, 1893 at Lombard College in Galesburg, Illinois, United States.
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. (ΔΣΘ) is a historically African American sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emphasis on programs that assist the African American community. Delta Sigma Theta was founded on January 13, 1913 by twenty-two women at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Membership is open to any woman who meets the requirements, regardless of religion, race, or nationality. Women may apply to join through undergraduate chapters at a college or university or through an alumnae chapter after earning a college degree.
Sigma Psi Zeta (ΣΨΖ) Sorority, Inc., also known as Sigmas or SYZ, is a progressive multicultural American sorority. It was founded on March 23, 1994, at the University at Albany and incorporated in New York on March 15, 1996. It is the third-largest Asian-interest sorority in the nation. It is a part of the National APIDA Panhellenic Association (NAPA).
While the traditional social fraternity is a well-established mainstay across the United States at institutions of higher learning, alternatives – in the form of social fraternities that require doctrinal and behavioral conformity to the Christian faith – developed in the early 20th century. They continue to grow in size and popularity.
Sigma Theta Psi (ΣΘΨ) is a multicultural, academic, and social sorority. The sorority was founded at San Jose State University (SJSU) in 1991. Sigma Theta Psi is known for their significant contribution to breast cancer awareness throughout sisters' local campuses and communities and even nationwide.
Lambda Theta Nu (ΛΘΝ) is a Latina-based Greek letter intercollegiate sorority founded in 1986 at California State University, Chico.
Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority, Incorporated (ΣΛΓ), also known as Gammas or SLG, is a national sorority. It was founded on April 9, 1990, at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa by five collegiate women who wanted an organization for Latina women. The sorority focuses on five principles: academics, community service, cultural awareness, social interaction, and morals and ethics.
Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority, Inc. (ΘΝΞ) is a historically multicultural sorority founded on April 11, 1997, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), by seven women who sought to bridge cultural gaps. Theta Nu Xi was incorporated on April 29, 1999.
While most of the traditional women's fraternities or sororities were founded decades before the start of the 20th century, the first ever specifically Christian-themed Greek Letter Organization formed was the Kappa Phi Club, founded in Kansas in 1916. Kappa Phi was a women's sisterhood that developed out of a bible study and remains one of the largest nationally present Christian women's collegiate clubs today. Later organizations added more defined social programming along with a Christian emphasis, bridging the gap between non-secular traditional sororities and church-sponsored bible study groups, campus ministries and sect-based clubs and study groups.
Sigma Lambda Upsilon (ΣΛΥ) or Señoritas Latinas Unidas Sorority, Inc. is a Latina-based sorority founded on December 1, 1987 at Binghamton University. The organization was created to promote academic achievement and serve the Latino community and the campuses that Sigma Lambda Upsilon serves. The sorority is now present in over 65 campuses. Though Latina-based, Sigma Lambda Upsilon Sorority, Inc. is a non-discriminatory organization. The sorority is a member of the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations (NALFO) and is its fourth oldest sororal member by founding date.
Gamma Rho Lambda (ΓΡΛ) is a social, college-based sorority for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, non-binary, and allied students. Gamma Rho Lambda has been referred to as the first national multicultural lesbian sorority; however they are inclusive of cisgender women, trans women, trans men, and gender variant people of all sexualities and racial identities. As of 2019, GRL consists of seventeen active chapters and three colonies across twelve states with an active membership of over 400, including alumni and collegians.
The term Triad is used to designate certain historic groupings of seminal college fraternities in North America.
Chi Iota Pi Sorority, Inc. (ΧΙΠ) is a multicultural non-profit collegiate sorority founded on November 23, 2004, by 8 women from the University of Maryland whose ethnicities included Caucasian, Latina, and South Asian. The sorority, although young in comparison to its other Greek counterparts, has expanded to several institutions and has reached a higher level of diversity through the addition of ethnic representation of African, African-American, East Asian, Caribbean, European, and Multiracial women. The organization focuses on empowering its sisters, campus communities, local communities, and larger communities through educational, advocacy, service, and social programming.
Theta Delta Sigma Society, Inc. (ΘΔΣ) is a national gender inclusive multicultural fraternal organization founded in 2001 at the University at Buffalo (SUNY). Theta Delta Sigma is a non-partisan and non-sectarian organization that has been "a partner in the values-based fraternal movement".
Alice Carlotta Jackson Stuart was an American educator, and the first African-American woman to apply for graduate school studies at the University of Virginia. She was denied on the basis of "good and sufficient reasons" and later went on to earn her Master of Arts at Columbia University in 1937.
Fraternities and sororities at the University of Virginia include the collegiate organizations on the grounds of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. First founded in the 1850s with the establishment of several fraternities, the system has since expanded to include sororities, professional organizations, service fraternities, honor fraternities, and cultural organizations. Fraternities and sororities have been significant to the history of the University of Virginia, including the founding of two national fraternities Kappa Sigma (ΚΣ) and Pi Kappa Alpha (ΠΚΑ).
Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at North American colleges and universities. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept graduate students as well. Individual fraternities and sororities vary in organization and purpose, but most share five common elements:
- Secrecy
- Single-sex membership
- Selection of new members on the basis of a two-part vetting and probationary process known as rushing and pledging
- Ownership and occupancy of a residential property where undergraduate members live
- A set of complex identification symbols that may include Greek letters, armorial achievements, ciphers, badges, grips, hand signs, passwords, flowers, and colors
