About Us

The Phi Sigma Iota National Honor Society was established in 1922 at Allegheny College in Meadville, PA. It was founded by Dr. Henry W. Church, members of his department of languages, and advanced students who were meeting to discuss linguistic and literary matters.  

The Phi Sigma Iota National Honor Society became a national society when the Beta Chapter was established at the Pennsylvania State University in April 1925. Less than a year later, the Gamma Chapter at the College of Wooster followed them. With these three chapters as the nucleus of the national organization, the first convention was held in May 1926 at Allegheny College.

At a national convention held at Bloomington, IL, in November 1935, the Phi Sigma Iota National Honor Society merged with Alpha Zeta Pi, a similar society west of the Mississippi. Alpha Zeta Pi was organized by Dr. Etienne Renaud and his associates in the Department of Languages at the University of Denver in 1917.

In 1949, the Phi Sigma Iota National Honor Society was voted membership into the Association of College Honor Societies and became the first language society to receive that honor.

In 1978, under the Presidency of Dr. Santiago Vilas, the Phi Sigma Iota National Honor Society expanded into the National Foreign Language Honor Society Phi Sigma Iota to honor outstanding achievements in any foreign language, including:  Classics 

• Philology
• Applied Linguistics 
• Comparative Literature 
• Bilingual Education 

In 1982, the society became the International Foreign Language Honor Society by installing its first chapter in a foreign country at Universidad Regiomontana in Monterrey, Mexico. 

Today, the society maintains approximately 180 local chapters in the US and at the American University of Paris.