Honors Society

Membership in AKD is determined by a student’s within-major grade point average, overall grade point average, status as a major in sociology, class standing at Valparaiso University, and the number of courses completed within the major.

To be eligible, students must:

• Be a junior or senior in good standing
• Be a major in sociology
• Have completed a minimum of four regular sociology courses at Valpo
• Possess at least a 3.3 overall GPA, and
• Possess at least a 3.5 GPA in sociology and criminology courses taken at Valpo.

Once students join the organization, they remain lifetime members. There are no annual dues, only the one-time payment. Members also receive:

• A certificate of membership and a membership card
• A free one-year subscription to Sociological Inquiry, the official journal of AKD
• Access to the AKD Newsletter, election materials, and other services
• Access to undergraduate and graduate student paper competitions, including the potential to become a published scholar in Sociological Inquiry 
• The opportunity to win cash awards and travel money to participate in the American Sociological Association (ASA) annual meeting and other regional meetings
• Automatic fulfillment of one of the criteria that Civil Service employees must meet for entrance at the GS-7 level (an increase in pay grade) if AKD membership is listed on their application (provided they enter at the GS-5 level)
• Access to a mentoring program that pairs students with faculty and other professionals in fields related to the discipline