Open to both graduate and undergraduate students, Sigma Pi Sigma at UT requires for membership at least junior standing with an overall grade point average of 3.25 and a physics GPA of 3.5. Sigma Pi Sigma was founded as a local honor organization at Davidson College, North Carolina, on December 11, 1921. The local society was so successful that a movement for nationalization was started in 1925. By 1968 there were 170 chapters. On April 22, 1968, Sigma Pi Sigma joined with the American Institute of Physics (AIP) Student Sections to form the Society of Physics Students (SPS). It continues to operate as a fully recognized honor society within the SPS, a unique arrangement in student organizations.