Eligibility Requirements
Undergrads
To be eligible to join Tau Beta Pi as an undergraduate, you must be in the top 1/8 of the engineering junior class or the top 1/5 of the senior class, by credit standing.
Grad Students
As a grad student, you must have completed half of your program requirements and be in the top 1/5 of engineering grad students.
All eligible electees will be mailed an invitation to join the organization early in the semester, along with an email invitation from the current vice presidents. This invitation is mailed to the address that you have on file with the University.
Why Join TBP
New Initiate Competition
Each semester, teams of electees (people in the process of joining) participate in a semester-long competition. The victors get to hold on to the trophy among other prizes.
The College of Engineering has a lot of opportunities for students: professional societies, design teams, research, etc. So from all of those opportunities, why choose to join TBP? There are a lot of things that TBP is and does, and thus different people will have different reasons for joining. Here are some of them:
- Networking and Diversity: TBP is the only academic honor society that spans the various engineering majors. You'll have the opportunity to interact with undergrads and grads, and even some alumni.
"TBP gave me the opportunity to meet and work with wonderful, driven, smart people from many different engineering disciplines–people that I wouldn't have otherwise met at all."
–Mike Hand, Electrical Engineer, Former Advisor
- Community: TBP has a lot of great people and a lot of great activities. From Whirlyball to game nights, Arb clean-up to Career Fair, there is a lot to be a part of in TBP, and a lot of great people to be a part of it with.
- Leadership: With 17 officer positions, multiple committees, project leaders, and more, TBP has a lot of ways to help hone your skills as a leader and give back to the campus.
- Distinctions and Scholarships: As an honor society, there's obviously the nice point to include on your résumé, but TBP also has a number of scholarships available to members, both locally and from the national organization. The national organization awards $2,000 scholarships for undergraduate students and $10,000 fellowships for graduate students each year. The Michigan Gamma chapter has had 9 scholarship winners and 3 fellowship winners in the last 4 years.
- Professional Development: TBP members have access to a number of different professional development opportunities. Over the last few years there have been meeting speakers who have addressed topics like "Using code to make your life simpler", game theory and its applications, the future of energy, engineering in a global context, and many more. There are also special workshops called Engineering Futures that are hosted periodically. Additionally, we make a résumé book available to companies to help members get internships and jobs. There are also additional benefits available from the national organization.
Requirements to Join
The process to joining is called "electing" and requires completing service hours and social activities. On paper it looks like a lot, but it shakes out to around 2 or 3 hours a week (less for grads), is pretty flexible, and is a lot of fun. It consists of:
Undergrad Requirements
- Attending the semester's meetings
- Completing 16 total service hours (including tutoring, MindSET, and Career Fair (if in the Fall Semester) )
- Attending 2 socials
- Attending 2 professional development events
- Attending 3 electee team activities
- Completing electee forms and (low-pressure) interviews
- Participating in the mentorship program
- Paying a one-time initiation fee of $100. There are no continuing dues. Once you're a member, you're always a member.
Please contact the President, VP, or Treasurer if the initiation fee is a concern for you - no one should ever be prevented from joining TBP because of financial hardship.
Grad Requirements
- Attending the semester's meetings
- Completing 10 total service hours
- Attending 3 socials (one being a Grad Social)
- Attending 2 grad electee team activities
- Completing one (low-pressure) interview
- Participating in the mentorship program
- Paying a one-time initiation fee of $100. There are no continuing dues. Once you're a member, you're always a member.
Please contact the President, VP, or Treasurer if the initiation fee is a concern for you - no one should ever be prevented from joining TBP because of financial hardship.