ARCH SOCIETY RECRUITMENT
READY TO JOIN?
Welcome to the Arch Society’s official recruitment page! We are so excited that you are interested in joining the Arch Society. Below we have more details about the organization, ways you can learn more, and information about our selection process. Please explore this page and reach out if you have any questions.
What is Arch Society
The Arch Society is a unique student organization for students in their third year or higher. The Arch Society provides service to the University of Georgia as official hosts and goodwill ambassadors.
As the official goodwill ambassadors, we serve the University of Georgia and embody our values of humble service, accountability, and Arch Love. We provide tours for campus visitors and the UGA and assist at university events like Commencement. In our interactions, we share our own experiences at UGA, highlighting the amazing opportunities and demonstrating the value and promise of higher education. By telling our stories, we share our passion for UGA through service.
Additionally, the Arch Society is a powerful leadership experience. We bring together leaders from across campus, giving members the chance to grow as “leaders among leaders.” Through hands-on advising from the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, we develop and integrate our leadership experiences from across campus. Because of its impact, Arch Society is recognized as an official Experiential Learning (EL) opportunity.
Beyond our foundations in service and leadership, we’re one big family! While members come from different UGA experiences, every class of Arch Society finds a strong sense of friendship and connection through our training and service. This is something we call “Arch Love” that we aim to share at every opportunity. The Arch Society serves as a huge support system for each other, with mentorship from returning members and alumni. We also have internal committees that help bring us together with social gatherings, major celebrations, and shared community service and philanthropy events aimed at a common cause.
While we’ve done our best to describe the Arch Society here, we recommend reaching out to us so we can better convey the whole experience of Arch!
WHY JOIN ARCH SOCIETY
Are you looking for to give back to UGA? Searching for a new way to serve? Or hoping to grow beyond your current leadership experiences? Or even looking for a new group to connect to?
The Arch Society provides for all of these needs as we exercise our mission, to serve the University of Georgia by sharing Arch Love, and serve as the official hosts and goodwill ambassadors. Members from every class have described how impactful this experience has been, transforming them and elevating their time at UGA.
Learn More about Arch Society
Ready to learn more about Arch Society?
- Social Media — Follow us on Instagram (@ugaarchsociety) and Facebook (@UGAArchSociety) to see current Arch Society experiences and learn about life in the blazer!
- Recruitment Events — Recruitment events are a great way to learn about the Arch Society directly from current members. There are currently no recruitment events; please check back for more updates.
- Specific Questions — Feel free to email our advisors and members at archsociety@uga.edu
Recruitment & Membership Timeline
Arch Society begins our formal recruitment efforts in January each year and interviews interested students to join the organization at the beginning of the spring semester. We invite selected students to join the Arch Society with a formal letter in late January/early February and induct our new members in April after several weeks of training. New Arch Society members begin serving the university at the end of the spring semester and serve until the next class is inducted in the following April.
Recruitment
Selection for the Arch Society starts with recruitment events. We highly recommend that every prospective member attend an information session to learn more about the organization. Please see the “Learn More About Arch Society” section above to see a list of upcoming recruitment events.
Application
- Having learned about the Arch Society and wanting to join, please complete our application. The link to our application can be found below (when applications are open) with the full schedule for the current selection process. In the application, we will ask for more information about you and have you share more about your interest by completing three long-form questions (no more than 400 words). If you would like to work on preparing your answers before applications open, the questions will be as follows:
- Mr. Tom Cochran, founder of the Arch Society, reminds Arch Society members that no person is too important to serve humbly. If selected for membership, how would you apply these words?
- Why are you interested in being a member of the Arch Society and what motivates you to serve the University of Georgia?
- If selected for membership in the Arch Society, what unique qualities, perspectives, and abilities will you add to its membership and purpose?
We will also confirm that you are eligible to join Arch Society:
- You are available for all mandatory Arch Society dates (full list of dates included in application).
- You have spent at least one full year at UGA as a student. We believe Arch Society members need to know the campus they will be representing, so we ask newer members of the UGA community (ex. transfer students, new undergraduate students, new graduate students) to log a full year at UGA.
- As an undergraduate student, you are at least a current second-year or third-year student (by years at UGA, not credit hours) so you will be at third-year or fourth-year during the following year and the majority of your Arch Society Service. As a graduate student, there is no class year requirement, however, you must have a year of experience at UGA.
- You have at least one full year left before graduation from UGA.
- You are a full-time student (defined as: a. Undergraduate: 12 or more credit hours per semester b. Graduate: 9 or more credit hours per semester) or an on-campus part-time student at the Athens campus with approval from the Arch Society Executive Board and Advisors.
- You are in good academic and disciplinary standing with your school or college, your program of study, and the University of Georgia.
Mandatory Candidate Session
After submitting your application, you will attend our Mandatory Candidate Session at the University Chapel on January 15, 2025. At this event, you will hear from Arch Society leadership and current members about the commitment and opportunities of Arch Society and our chief value, humble service. Attendance is required to move forward with the selection process.
Round 1 Interviews
Pending a successful application review, you will be invited to the first round of interviews. You will select an interview time and join us for a group interview with 1-5 other candidates. Outgoing members of the Arch Society and Arch Society alumni will interview prospective members.
Round 2 Interviews
The top candidates will move on to the second round of interviews. Candidates will interview individually with the Arch Society Selection Committee, a group of campus administrators and outgoing Arch Society members who select the incoming class of members.
Decision Acceptance
The Arch Society Selection Committee will select a new class of members from the top candidates and eligible returning candidates. Candidates will be informed of the committee’s decisions following the end of the second round of interviews via a formal letter. Candidates invited to join Arch Society must reply to the committee’s invitation by the specified deadline with an acceptance letter to the Vice President for Student Affairs.
Training
Candidates who have accepted their invitation will attend training meetings throughout the spring semester (February through April) each Thursday night from 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM. Training meetings are required. If you foresee a conflict due to class or some other circumstance, please discuss this with the advisors.
Uniform
Selected candidates will work with the advisors to acquire the necessary pieces of the Arch Society uniform. The uniform is required and typically members pay about $100 toward the total cost of their uniform. However, finances are not to be a barrier to membership. Students who have concerns about this cost should reach out to advisors as they can recommend resources to help pay for the uniform.
Induction
After completing training, the new class will be inducted at the end of April as official Arch Society Members.
arch society 2026-2027 selection information
The selection information for the 2026-2027 academic year will be announced soon. Check back soon for updates.
The selection information for the 2026-2027 academic year is available now.
Application Information
Opens: January 3, 2025
- Closes: January 10, 2025 at 11:59 PM
- Please note: ALL application components (application, signed mandatory date sheet, and round 1 interview sign-up) must be submitted by January 10, 2025, at 11:59 PM for consideration.
Mandatory Candidate Session
Date: Wednesday, Jan 15, 2025
- Time: 6:30 PM Sharp
- Location: University Chapel
- Please note: applicants who do not attend the Mandatory Candidate Session OR who arrive after 6:30 PM will be ineligible to continue in the process.
Round 1 Interviews
Date: Wednesday, January 22, 2025
- Candidates will sign up for one 30-min group timeslot during the application process
- Time Range: Timeslots starting at 10:00 AM and extending until 5:00 PM (last timeslot will begin at 4:30 PM)
- Location: Tate Student Center, more information will be sent following sign-ups
Round 2 Interviews
Dates: TBA
- Invited candidates will receive a link to sign up for an individual interview
- Time and Location: TBD
Decisions
Date: January 31, 2025
- All decision letters will be available in the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs suite (306 Memorial Hall, 101 Sanford Drive).
- Letters will be available from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Candidates must pick up their letters during this time unless they have made alternate arrangements with advisors.
- Letters cannot be opened in the office suite and should be opened outside of Memorial Hall. We understand this can be an exciting time and we want to be respectful of our office neighbors. All candidates responding to an invitation to membership must submit a letter to the Vice President for Student Affairs.
Training
- All accepted candidates must attend training meetings on Thursday nights February through April.
- First Meeting: February 6, 2025
- Time: 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM