About 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.

What PAT Does
On campus, PAT members support Visiting scholar lectures, lecture series, graduate school sessions, alumni/career panels, and faculty-hosted movie nights.

JMU students regularly present research papers from their JMU history courses and compete for prizes at the annual Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference and the Biennial National Conference. At the 2012 Conference in Orlando, JMU presenters made an interesting new acquaintance.

PAT also sponsors and organizes the fall History Department Picnic as a meet-and-greet session between students and history faculty.

Phi Alpha Theta concludes the Spring Semester with a ceremony welcoming new members, sending off seniors, and honoring student achievements.

Undergraduate Membership
Regular chapter and national Membership requires at least 12 hrs in History, a grade point average of 3.1 or higher in History, and 3.0 or higher overall GPA.

Application Form

Becoming a Member in Good Standing in JMU's Tau Pi Chapter requires participating in 3 events per semester (Chapter Bylaws).

Taking advantage of these opportunities has signaled dedication to both the study of history and the Society. Tau Pi chapter recognizes these members by providing Members in Good Standing with the red Phi Alpha Theta sash for graduation.

Graduate Student Membership  

Graduate Student Membership requires

• Transferring an undergraduate membership or
• Completing a minimum of 12 semester hours towards the Master's Degree with a GPA of better than 3.5 and completing approximately 30% of residence requirements for the Master's in History.  

Application Form

Scholarships
The national chapter of Phi Alpha Theta offers a number of scholarships and paper competitions with cash prizes.  For more details, consult the national chapter webpage here (www.phialphatheta.org)

For more information, please feel free to contact: