FAQs

Rush is a 1-2 week period of events set up for our brothers to meet prospective members. Typically, it consists of a couple information sessions, multiple open events, an invite-only professional interview, and an invite-only dinner. It is generally held within the first few weeks of each semester. You can find the schedule of events for this semester’s rush here. To be considered for a bid, prospective members are required to attend at least two of our four open rush events. We strongly encourage prospective members to also attend one of our information sessions at the beginning of each semester.

Any graduate or undergraduate student in the School of Engineering and Applied Science who meet the following criteria:

• • • Prospective members must be eligible to join according to the university's rules.

    • Prospective members must be enrolled in an engineering related curriculum .

    • Prospective members must possess the qualities of brotherhood and demonstrate a professional attitude.

    • Prospective members must have an overall grade point average good enough to graduate and must not be within six months of graduation.

    • Prospective members must not be a member of a competing professional fraternity

Theta Tau is a great way to get involved on campus and meet fellow engineers who you will likely be taking classes with. Whether you’re a Freshman or a Junior, Theta Tau offers many benefits socially, professionally, and academically. We are a close-knit group of students and many of our members say they have met many of their closest friends through membership of Theta Tau. Along with this, Theta Tau opens the door to a network of thousands of engineers across the country, including many in the D.C. area (there are chapters at Johns Hopkins, University of Maryland College Park, and George Mason University). Finally, we have a lot of fun with everything we do.

Although we only give out bids once a semester, we are interested in meeting potential members throughout the year! We hold many events during the semester open to all SEAS students. We invite you to come meet us at any of these events, and then come out during our Rush events the following semester.

The best thing you can do during the rush process is to come to as many events as you can, meet as many of our brothers as you can, and be yourself! We are looking for members who are excited to join our fraternity and who we believe can help us become better as an organization.

Yes! It is common that not everyone receives a bid the first time they rush. We highly encourage those who do not receive bids to come back and rush again the following semester.

If you receive a bid to join our fraternity, you will then be involved in New Member Education process in which you learn about our fraternity and participate in a variety of professional, service, and brotherhood events. The NME process lasts one semester during which you will attend weekly meetings and study hours as well as gain knowledge about the our chapter's history. As a brother, you are expected to regularly attend chapter and actively participate in fraternity events. 

As all of us are engineers, we understand how rigorous engineering can be. If you are concerned about the time commitment, please talk to one of our brothers or email rush@thetataugw.org for a better idea of the time we have put into the fraternity during our own NME processes and as a brother.

No, although we hold a variety of social and brotherhood events. A social fraternity is a member of the Interfraternity Council at the George Washington University. This is what most people think of when they hear the word “fraternity” or “sorority”. We are a professional fraternity, which means that we have a focus on the academic and professional aspects of the undergraduate college career. We still have fun, although we have different priorities than a traditional social fraternity or sorority.

Yes! In fact, we encourage our members to be as active on campus as possible. Most of our members are part of professional societies for their major or various honor societies on campus. It is even possible to be a member of a social fraternity as well as an academic/professional fraternity, so long as they are not competing engineering fraternities. 

No. In accordance with University Regulations, we have a strict no-hazing policy. We believe that pledging a fraternity should be fun, and we will never ask anything of you that you don’t feel comfortable with. If at any point during the pledging process or your membership you do not feel comfortable participating in any activities we may hold, you can choose to not participate. 

Theta Tau Professional Engineering Fraternity does not restrict membership or discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, personal appearance, age, national origin, political affiliation, physical or mental disability, or on the basis of rights secured by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

For specific questions about rush, you can send an email to rush@thetataugw.org or contact@thetataugw.org for general questions. You can also email our regent (president) at regent@thetataugw.org, and all of our brothers are always eager to answer any questions you may have!