Tau Beta Pi: One of ASU’s engineering honor societies, preparing students for the workforce

At Arizona State University, the opportunity to excel in engineering extends beyond the classroom. 

Minju Yoo, the president of Tau Beta Pi, a student organization in the School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, says the organization focuses on creating networking opportunities for its members. “As college students, it can be difficult to meet industry professionals and alumni,” she says, “but being a member of Tau Beta Pi gives us a way to connect with them.” 

According to Yoo, joining the club as an official member is competitive. 

The selective path to membership

Although Tau Beta Pi hosts events open to all ASU students, official membership requires prospective members to first be invited to apply.

“Official membership is eligibility-based,” Yoo says. “Students in the top 1/8 of their junior classes or 1/5 of their senior classes receive an invitation from our faculty advisor.” 

After being invited, prospective members must submit an application and, if accepted, attend a formal initiation ceremony. 

Once inducted, students receive a lifetime membership to Tau Beta Pi. 

“The application process is worth it if you get invited,” Yoo says. “It connects you with opportunities outside of the classroom. Not to mention it’s a great resume booster.” 

Despite being represented by Greek letters, Tau Beta Pi is not a fraternity. According to Yoo, “Many people decide not to apply because they don’t want to leave their current fraternity or sorority. However, Tau Beta Pi is an engineering honors society, so they don’t have to.”

Unlike fraternities and sororities, the primary goal of an engineering honors society, such as Tau Beta Pi, is to bring together students that portray academic excellence. 

Giving back to the community

The ASU chapter hosts frequent events for its members, ranging from social gatherings to outreach programs.

“We want our members to have exemplary character in addition to good scholarship,” Yoo says. “So we try to host one community service or outreach event per month.” 

Most recently, Tau Beta Pi partnered with a local organization, Feed My Starving Children, to make food packages for families in need. Previously, Tau Beta Pi worked with Keep Tempe Beautiful to help clean Tempe Town Lake. 

Professional development

Along with community service, Tau Beta Pi hosts events dedicated to professional student development.

“We host resume reviews each semester, where we invite ASU alumni or our industry advisor to give feedback to our members,” Yoo says. “It’s been really beneficial to our members.”

Tau Beta Pi also connects with other student organizations at ASU.

“We are currently working with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers to set up a social gathering for mechanical engineering graduate students,” Yoo adds. “We want to connect our members with other students who are facing similar challenges.”

Beyond networking with alumni, members of Tau Beta Pi also get the opportunity to attend specialized conferences across the country. These events are designed to bring together different chapters of the honors society. 

The conferences take place biannually, starting with a national conference in the fall semester, followed by a district conference in the spring. 

According to Yoo, “It’s nice to connect with chapters of Tau Beta Pi from other colleges. Not only do we make friends, but we also get ideas about how to improve our chapter. It’s a really good opportunity to learn how to communicate well with diverse groups of people, including industry professionals and researchers.”