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Tau Beta Pi, the Engineering Honor Society
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Tau Beta Pi Membership

There is now only one "class" of members in Tau Beta Pi, the former classifications of Member with Distinction, Honorary Member, and Associate Member having been discontinued. Election to membership in the Association is accomplished only by vote of a collegiate chapter, and members' chapter designations are always those of the chapters which elected them. Members' class numerals are those of the years in which they received the engineering degrees on which their eligibility was based, although members with no engineering degree are designated by the year in which they were initiated. Candidates eligible for consideration for election to membership by a collegiate chapter fall into five general categories:

  • Undergraduate students.
  • Graduate students.
  • Alumni of the chapter's institution who were eligible as students.
  • Alumni of other institutions who were eligible as students.
  • Engineers of high attainment in the profession, regardless of college attended, scholastic record, or educational background.

Undergraduate Eligibility Requirements

Undergraduate students whose scholarship places them in the top eighth of their engineering class in their next-to-last year or in the top fifth of their engineering class in their last college year are eligible for membership consideration. These scholastically eligible students are further considered on the basis of personal integrity, breadth of interest both inside and outside engineering, adaptability, and unselfish activity.

Prior to the fall of 1941, Tau Beta Pi's scholastic requirements were that eligible candidates stand in the top eighth of the junior class, but in the top quarter of the senior class. The classes graduating in 1942 were thus the first to be considered under the higher requirements.

Some chapters set a scholastic-grade deadline below which candidates are not considered, such deadline being higher than that required as a minimum by the Constitution.

Elections and initiations are normally held twice a year, in the fall and winter or spring terms of the chapter's institution.

Student electees who are financially unable to meet the initiation-fee obligation may make delayed payment arrangements with their chapters, may borrow from the Association's loan fund, or may accept election but postpone initiation for up to five years.

Until 1969 membership in Tau Beta Pi was limited to men, although qualified women were offered an award called the Women's Badge. From its authorization in 1936 until its elimination by the admission of women to membership, 619 Women's Badges were awarded by 98 chapters. Those women have now been offered membership by their chapters.

Graduate Eligibility Requirements

Engineering graduate students whose scholarship places them in the top fifth of their graduate class or whose high-quality work is attested to by a faculty member may be elected to membership.

Engineering alumni of a chapter's institution or of another recognized institution whose scholastic record placed them in the top fifth of their class may be elected to membership. Such candidates are usually recommended to the chapter by a member who knows them.

In all cases the requisite scholastic attainment makes candidates eligible for membership consideration. They are further considered on the basis of the Association's exemplary character requirement.

Eminent Engineer Eligibility Requirements

Persons who have achieved eminence in engineering may be elected to membership without regard to collegiate records. If they graduated from a recognized engineering college, they must have been engaged in engineering for at least 10 years; if not, they must have practiced engineering for at least 15 years. Such candidates are usually recommended by members who know them. The required degree of eminent achievement is left to the chapters' discretion; and candidates are further considered on the basis of exemplary character.

Membership Data

Tau Beta Pi membership catalogs were published in 1898, 1911, 1916, 1926, 1932, and 1939. The 1946 Convention authorized discontinuance of publication of them because of the excessive cost in future years and limited use to which they would probably be put. In their place the Secretary stands ready to furnish membership information for authorized use. A file of members arranged chronologically by chapters is kept and is made up of the original catalog cards of all initiates. Electronic data processing is used for the storage and retrieval of membership data.

Table of Members Initiated (through 05/2022)
Note: Of the total number initiated, approximately 72,753 are deceased.

Chapter School Name Members Chapter School Name Members
AL A Auburn 6,744 MO E SLU 270
AL B Alabama 3,833 MT A Montana State 2,808
AL G UAB 1,310 MT B Montana Tech 1,117
AL D Alabama Huntsville 1,834 NE A Nebraska 2,370
AL E South Alabama 1,208 NV A Reno 1,275
AK A UAF 639 NV B UNLV 954
AZ A Arizona 3,842 NH A UNH 2,062
AZ B Arizona State 3,290 NH B Dartmouth 466
AZ G NAU 754 NJ A Stevens 3,453
AZ D Embry-Riddle, Prescott 253 NJ B Rutgers 4,553
AR A Arkansas 3,245 NJ G NJIT 4,648
AR B Arkansas Little Rock 18 NJ D Princeton 2,197
CA A Berkeley 8,379 NJ E Rowan 537
CA B Caltech 2,572 NJ Z TCNJ 259
CA G Stanford 4,505 NM A New Mexico State 1,832
CA D USC 3,563 NM B UNM 1,760
CA E UCLA 4,246 NM G Tech 880
CA Z Santa Clara 1,625 NY A Columbia 4,254
CA H San Jose State 2,723 NY B Syracuse 3,002
CA Q Cal State Long Beach 2,774 NY G RPI 7,688
CA I Cal State LA 1,875 NY D Cornell 6,896
CA K CSUN 1,453 NY E NYU 1,851
CA L UC Davis 3,359 NY Z Brooklyn Poly 1,579
CA M Cal Poly 2,621 NY H CCNY 3,776
CA N Cal Poly Pomona 3,527 NY Q Clarkson 3,776
CA X San Diego State 2,194 NY I Cooper Union 1,930
CA O Loyola Marymount 782 NY K Rochester 1,772
CA P Northrop 285 NY L Pratt 1,161
CA R Fresno State 1,431 NY M Union 1,097
CA S UC Santa Barbara 1,574 NY N University at Buffalo 3,713
CA T UC Irvine 1,728 NY X Manhattan 2,531
CA U Sac State 2,786 NY O Stony Brook 1,588
CA F UOP 582 NY P RIT 1,638
CA C Cal State Fullerton 565 NY R NYU Poly 1,699
CA Y UCSD 1,854 NY S Alfred 564
CA W Harvey Mudd 402 NY T Binghamton 1,124
CA AA Chico State 836 NY U West Point 450
CA AB UC Riverside 478 NC A NC State 6,342
CA AG San Francisco State 434 NC B UNC-Chapel Hill 110
CA AD UC Santa Cruz 312 NC G Duke 2,616
CA AE USD 220 NC D UNC Charlotte 1,397
CO A Mines 4,373 NC E NCA&T 978
CO B CU-Boulder 5,091 NC Z ECU 175
CO G DU 373 ND A North Dakota State 2,615
CO D Colorado State 1,804 ND B UND 1,235
CO E CU-Denver 840 OH A Case 4,215
CO Z USAFA 1,357 OH B Cincinnati 4,003
CT A Yale 2,151 OH G Ohio State 6,832
CT B UConn 2,795 OH D Ohio 2,041
CT G Hartford 450 OH E Cleveland State 2,062
DE A UD 2,691 OH Z Toledo 2,196
DC A Howard 1,524 OH H AFIT 2,460
DC B CUA 1,154 OH Q Dayton 1,857
DC G GW 1,238 OH I Ohio Northern 968
FL A Florida 5,688 OH K Akron 1,919
FL B Miami 2,152 OH L Youngstown State 1,242
FL G USF 2,881 OH M Wright State 1,159
FL D UCF 2,274 OH N Cedarville 322
FL E FAU 1,387 OH X Miami 372
FL Z Florida Tech 1,211 OK A OU 4,451
FL H FAMU-FSU 1,155 OK B Tulsa 1,396
FL Q FIU 1,463 OK G Oklahoma State 2,347
FL I Embry-Riddle 332 OR A Oregon Sate 3,322
GA A Georgia Tech 8,946 OR B Portland State 498
GA B Mercer 473 OR G UP 430
GA G GSU 25 OR D OIT 139
ID A U of I 1,432 PA A Lehigh 5,362
ID B Idaho State 187 PA B Penn State 8,685
ID G Boise State 308 PA G Carnegie Mellon 3,487
ID D BYU-Idaho 224 PA D Penn 2,903
IL A Illinois 10,538 PA E Lafayette 2,118
IL B IIT 4,217 PA Z Drexel 3,669
IL G Northwestern 3,419 PA H Bucknell 1,807
IL D Bradley 1,346 PA Q Villanova 2,368
IL E SIU 1,310 PA I Widener 808
IL Z UIC 1,974 PA K Swarthmore 330
IN A Purdue 12,275 PA L Pitt 2,273
IN B Rose-Hulman 2,315 PA M Penn State Behrend 200
IN G Notre Dame 3,039 PR A UPRM 3,928
IN D Valparaiso 1,100 RI A Brown 1,358
IN E Trine 993 RI B URI 2,414
IN Z IUPUI 175 SC A Clemson 4,679
IA A Iowa State 8,545 SC B South Carolina 2,328
IA B Iowa 2,481 SC G The Citadel 1,250
KS A KU 4,398 SD A Mines 2,385
KS B Wichita State 1,327 SD B SDSU 1,234
KS G K-State 2,985 TN A UT 5,633
KY A Kentucky 4,124 TN B Vanderbilt 2,922
KY B Louisville 1,869 TN G Tennessee Tech 2,604
KY G Western Kentucky 205 TN D Christian Brothers 688
LA A LSU 3,934 TN E U of M 1,114
LA B Tulane 1,750 TN Z UTC 763
LA G LA Tech 2,380 TX A UT 8,580
LA D ULL 1,528 TX B Texas Tech 4,404
LA E UNO 573 TX G Rice 2,047
ME A U Maine 2,987 TX D Texas A&M 8,710
MD A Johns Hopkins 2,975 TX E Houston 2,837
MD B Maryland 4,422 TX Z Lamar 1,404
MD G Naval Academy 1,953 TX H UT Arlington 3,352
MD D UMBC 760 TX Q UTEP 1,667
MD E Morgan State 464 TX I SMU 987
MA A WPI 5,330 TX K Prairie View 1,167
MA B MIT 8,367 TX L Texas A&M-Kingsville 1,226
MA G Harvard 151 TX M UTSA 469
MA D Tufts 2,953 TX N UTPA 247
MA E Northeastern 4,782 TX X UT Dallas 116
MA Z UMass 2,946 UT A U of U 3,003
MA H BU 1,971 UT B BYU 2,897
MA Q UMass Lowell 1,614 UT G USU 1,314
MA I WNE 555 VT A UVM 1,609
MI A Michigan State 4,837 VT B Norwich 615
MI B Michigan Tech 4,596 VA A UVA 3,699
MI G Michigan 10,782 VA B Virginia Tech 5,706
MI D UDM 1,867 VA G ODU 1,173
MI E Wayne State 2,423 VA D VMI 772
MI Z Kettering 3,482 VA E VCU 488
MI H Lawrence Tech 1,881 WA A UW 5,426
MI Q Oakland 1,138 WA B WSU 3,670
MI I Michigan 939 WA Be WSU Everett 3,670
MI K Western Michigan 1,255 WA G Seattle U 811
MI L GVSU 266 WA D Gonzaga 583
MN A U of M 5,766 WV A WVU 3,695
MN B UMD 707 WV B WVU Tech 1,146
MS A Mississippi State 4,218 WI A Wisconsin 6,075
MS B Ole Miss 1,324 WI B Marquette 3,209
MO A Mizzou 4,635 WI G UW-Milwaukee 1,373
MO B Missouri S&T 7,604 WI D MSOE 930
MO G Wash U 3,023 WI E UW-Platteville 908
MO D UMKC 308 WY A Wyoming 2,648

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