Sigma Theta Tau

The Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International exists to improve the health of people by increasing the scientific base of nursing research. It is the second-largest nursing organization in the world with approximately 125,000 active members.

While often referred to by nurses as "Sigma Theta Tau" or even just "Sigma" the actual name is "The Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International".

Sigma Theta Tau is also a social sorority at Trinity University, founded in 1955.

History
The Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International was founded in 1922 at Indiana University. The founders chose the society’s name from the meaning of the Greek words Storge, Tharsos, and Time: “love,” “courage” and “honor.” The founders’ vision for the society helped bring recognition to nursing as a science. In 1936 it became the first organization in the United States to fund nursing research. Since then the Society has underwritten more than 250 small or "seed" grants, which often begin a whole body of research. These peer-reviewed grants are often the first recognition of potent concepts that eventually lead to major, wide-scale research projects and innovation in the nursing profession.

More than 360,000 nurse scholars have been inducted into Sigma Theta Tau. With 125,000 active members, it is the second largest nursing organization in the world. Members are active in more than 90 countries and territories, and the 431 chapters are located on 515 college and university campuses in the U.S. and countries including Australia, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Korea, Mexico, The Netherlands, Pakistan, South Africa, Swaziland, Taiwan and Tanzania.

Membership is by invitation to baccalaureate and graduate nursing students, who demonstrate excellence in scholarship, and to nurse leaders exhibiting exceptional achievements in nursing. Sixty-one percent of active members hold master’s and/or doctoral degrees. Forty-eight percent are clinicians, 21 percent are administrators or supervisors and 20 percent are educators or researchers.

Initiatives
Sigma Theta Tau was one of the first organizations to fund nursing research in the United States, awarding a $600 grant to Alice Crist Malone in 1936. With its chapters and grant partners (corporations, associations and foundations) the society contributes more than $650,000 annually to nursing research through grants, scholarships and monetary awards. More than 250 research-oriented educational programs are sponsored or co-sponsored annually by Sigma Theta Tau International in the U.S. and internationally.

The society’s publishing arm produces two scholarly journals and numerous other publications designed to fulfill the society’s mission of disseminating nursing knowledge:

Journal of Nursing Scholarship is the foremost, peer-reviewed scholarly journal in nursing with a global circulation of 125,000 published on behalf of the Society by Blackwell Publishing.

Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing TM is a quarterly, peer-reviewed journal that connects best evidence to best practice applications for clinical practice, nursing administration, nursing education and public health care policy. Published on behalf of the Society by Blackwell Publishing.