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Membership Eligibility

As Sigma Iota Rho is an honors society, interested students must meet various requirements in order to be officially accepted as a member. These are as follows:

  • Be of junior or senior standing;
  • Have declared a major in the IAS department;
  • Have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher in all courses, and 3.6 or higher in IAS major courses, in accordance with the IAS Department Honors requirements;
  • Be a full-time student with at least 13 units.

Some exceptions are made, so if you are close to meeting these requirements (for example, planning to declare in the upcoming semester, or having sophomore standing) or can show that you will meet them in the future, we encourage you to apply. Though we use the IAS Department Honors Program GPA requirements, writing an honors thesis is not required for membership.

Apply

To apply for membership in Sigma Iota Rho for Fall 2017, please fill out this form. Additionally, please email a copy of your unofficial transcript with all relevant coursework highlighted (all courses that apply towards major GPA, including languages and prerequisites) to sigmaiotarho.berkeley@gmail.com with the Subject line “Fall 2017 Application – Transcript”. We are accepting applications on a rolling basis, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

Requirements of Membership

Once accepted as a member of Sigma Iota Rho, members are expected to maintain their GPA at or above the level of eligibility for membership. Members are also expected to attend all general meetings (no more than two unexcused absences per semester) and encouraged to attend all events. Further, members are expected to contribute towards the growth of the organization by taking a role on a Committee and helping to plan events for their fellow members.

Sigma Iota Rho charges a one time national dues fee of $45, used to provide each member with a Certificate, Honors Cord, Pin, and copy of the Journal of International Relations, provided by the national organization upon induction into the group. We also charge semesterly local dues of $30 to fund the various events and programs that we put organize for our members. Some need-based financial aid is available to cover both national and local dues on a case by case basis.