Spanish Honor Society

History and Description 

Sigma Delta Pi, the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society (La Sociedad Nacional Honoraria Hispánica), was established on November 14, 1919, at the University of California in Berkeley. The Rho Theta Chapter was founded in 1987 at Loyola University Maryland by Dr. Diane Chaffee-Sorace, Professor of Spanish. The Society's insignia is the royal seal of Fernando and Isabel, representing Castille, León, and Aragón. Sigma Delta Pi's colors are red and gold and its flower is the red carnation.  

As stated in its National By-Laws, the purposes of the Society are:

1. To honor those who attain excellence in the study of the Spanish language and in the study of the literature and culture of the Spanish-speaking peoples;
2. To honor those who have made the Hispanic contributions to modern culture better known in the English-speaking world;
3. To encourage college and university students to acquire a greater interest in and a deeper understanding of Hispanic culture;
4. To foster friendly relations and mutual respect between the nations of Hispanic speech and those of English speech;
5. To serve its membership in ways which will contribute to the attainment of the goals and ideals of the society. (See the National Website.)

Membership in Sigma Delta Pi is a high honor which recognizes excellence in the study of the Spanish language, Hispanic literature, and Hispanic culture. Membership includes recognition at Loyola University’s graduation (your name on the commencement program as a member of Sigma Delta Pi in your graduation year), Sigma Delta Pi noted on your official Loyola University transcript, a gold-plated insignia pin, a certificate of membership in Sigma Delta Pi, lifetime membership in the Society, and other benefits as noted on the National Website

The Rho Theta Chapter of Sigma Delta Pi sponsors and partakes in events in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at Loyola University, especially the annual Fall Poetry Contest.

National Website

Entry Requirements

Membership in Rho Theta is open to majors and minors in Spanish. In order to be considered for membership, an undergraduate student must:

• be a senior with a minimum of three years of college-level Spanish (18 credits),
• have taken at least one course in Hispanic literature and one course on culture and civilization at the 300-level at Loyola,
• have an A- or better in all Spanish courses, and
• have an overall GPA of 3.5 or higher.

For more information, contact:
Prof. Yolopattli Hernández-Torres, yihernandez@loyola.edu
Prof. Sarah Tyler, sgtyler@loyola.edu