University of Pennsylvania senior societies

Bell Senior Society The Bell Senior Society was founded in 2014. This organization brings together students who plan on pursuing careers in the film and entertainment industry. It is a chapter of a national organization that recognizes leaders of fraternities and sororities. Osiris Senior Society Osiris was founded in 2013 to bring together senior leaders and outstanding members of the performing arts community. ==Identity-based==

Carriage Senior Society The Carriage Senior Society, founded in the spring of 2013, is a senior honor society of leaders from around campus who are members of the LGBTQ+ community. It is named for the home of the university's LGBT Center, Carriage House. The three pillars of Cipactli are Leadership, Academic Achievement, and Community Service. Onyx does not recruit its members through tapping; instead, any Black student on campus can apply for membership. As a self-perpetuating senior society, juniors have the opportunity to apply for the society in the spring, and seniors have the opportunity to apply in the fall. Potential members, all of whom have served the university in some leadership capacity, learn more about the society and meet the current members at an informal smoker. Each prospective member must then submit a written application detailing their qualifications. The current senior class selects the new class of Oracle members, representative of the diverse student population, by selecting from the applicant pool based on their fit to Oracle's purpose of demonstrating passion, leadership, commitment, and achievement. Shamash Senior Society Shamash Senior Society was founded in April 2018 to honor Penn's Jewish students. The name of the society comes from the Hebrew word for "servant" or "attendant". ==School-based==

Hexagon Founded in 1910, Hexagon is the oldest school-based senior honor society at the University of Pennsylvania. Lantern Society The Lantern Society was formed in 1993 for students at the Wharton School. Nightingales The Nightingales is a Penn senior society that was founded in 2011. It recognizes seniors at the School of Nursing. ==Traditional societies==

These were the first senior societies to be created at the University of Pennsylvania. The three traditional societies are Friars, Sphinx, and Mortarboard. Friars and Sphinx explicitly seek campus leaders, while Mortarboard seeks to recognize "achievements in scholarship, leadership, and service." Friars and Sphinx are exclusive to the University of Pennsylvania, whereas Mortarboard is a national honor society. Friars Senior Society Founded in 1899, Friars Senior Society is one of the oldest undergraduate senior honor societies at the University of Pennsylvania. Sphinx Senior Society The Sphinx Senior Society, founded in 1900 is the less exclusive of the two oldest senior societies (with the other being Friars Senior Society) at the University of Pennsylvania. In February 1971, it was the first senior society at Penn to become co-ed. Zelosophic Society The Zelosophic Society was founded in 1829 as an alternative to its rival literary society, Philomathean Society (which was established in 1813). “Zelosophic” is translated roughly as “endowed with a zeal for learning or wisdom” and its members were commonly called “Zelos”. The society's purpose was to discuss literature and, like the Philomathean, to conduct debates. The Zelosophic Society's first two iterations lasted from 1829 to 1864 and again from 1892 to 1941. ==See also==