Join Arch Society!

Members of the 28th Class of Arch Society in front of the Arch.

Are you ready to join Arch Society?

Welcome to Arch Society's official recruitment page! We are so excited that you are interested in joining Arch Society. Each year we induct a whole new class of students and we would love for you to be apart of this amazing experience! Below we have more details about the organization, ways you can learn more, and information about our selection process. Please explore this page and if you have any questions about joining Arch Society, please contact our Vice Chair of Committees (archsocvcc@uga.edu). 

What is Arch Society?

Arch Society is a unique student organization for students in their third year or higher. Arch Society provides service to the University of Georgia as official hosts and goodwill ambassadors.

As the official hosts and goodwill ambassadors, we seek to live out our mission, to serve the University of Georgia by sharing Arch Love, by giving tours to campus visitors and new UGA community members and assisting at university events like Commencement. In all of our interactions, we share our own individual and diverse experiences of UGA, highlighting the amazing opportunities here and demonstrating the value and promise of higher education. By telling our stories, we share our passion for UGA, making our love visible through service. 

Additionally, Arch Society is a meaningful leadership experience. We attract leaders from across campus which gives members the experience of being "leaders among leaders." We receive hands-on advising from the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, helping us to further develop as leaders and integrate our leadership experiences from across campus. Arch Society is such an impactful experience, we are established as an Experiential Learning (EL) opportunity.

And, beyond our foundations in service and leadership, we are one big family! While members come from many different UGA experiences before joining, every class of Arch Society describes the strong bonds of friendship and connection they forge with other Arch Society members through training and service. We call this Arch Love and aim to share this at every opportunity. Arch Society becomes a huge support system over the course of the year, with mentorship from returning members and alumni. And our internal committees help bring members together through social gatherings, major celebrations, and shared community service and philanthropy events aimed at a common cause.

While we've done our best to describe 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? Maybe 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? 

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.

Recruitment & Membership Timeline

Arch Society begins our formal recruitment efforts in November each year and interviews interested students to join the organization at the beginning of the spring semester. We invite selected students to join Arch Society with a formal letter in 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 is currently closed. We will reopen recruitment in November 2021.

Learn More About Arch Society

• Social Media — Please 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 opportunity to learn more about Arch Society directly from current members. See the list below to attend an upcoming event.
  • Upcoming Events:
    • We have concluded all information sessions for the current recruitment season. Please check back in November 2021. In the meantime, if you have questions about joining Arch Society, please email archsocvcc@uga.edu!
    • Stay tuned for future recruitment events!
  • Recruitment PowerPoint: Link Here
• Contact Us — Don't hesitate to reach out to us if you have questions about joining Arch Society! Please email our Vice Chair of Committees (archsocvcc@uga.edu). They are happy to tell you more about serving with Arch Society!

Selection Process

So you have learned more about Arch Society and decided we are the experience for you, what's next? Please see the outline below for the steps to becoming a member of Arch Society and note that bold items are required to join Arch Society.

• Recruitment — Selection for Arch Society starts with recruitment events. We recommend (but do not require) 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 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). 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) or have received approval for exceptions from Arch Society advisors.
  • 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 in late January. (For January 2021, this will happen online due to COVID-19.) 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 (unless there is a serious time conflict approved by advisors).
• 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 1-3 other candidates. Outgoing members of Arch Society and Arch Society alumni will interview prospective members.
• Round 2 Interviews — The top sixty 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.

Full details of the selection process are listed in the Arch Society Constitution and Bylaws, available here and on the Involvement Network platform.

Arch Society 2021 Selection Information (Process Has Concluded, New Dates Available Nov 2021)

• Application Information:
  • Link: https://bit.ly/3jXCYqB
  • Opens: Wed, Nov 11th 2020
  • Closes: Mon, Jan 18th 2021 (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day)
• Mandatory Candidate Session:
  • Date: Thu, Jan 21st 2021
  • Time: 6:30 PM or 7:15 PM
  • Location: University Chapel*
  • Session Signup Link: Coming Soon
• Round 1 Interviews: 
  • Date: Sun, Jan 24th 2021
  • 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: Zoom (link on signup form)
• Round 2 Interviews:
  • Dates: Tue, Feb 2nd 2021 and Wed, Feb 3rd 2021
  • Invited candidates will receive a link to sign up for an individual interview
  • Time Range: Timeslots starting at 1:00 PM and extending until 5:00 PM
  • Location: Coming Soon (In-person)*
• Decisions:
  • Date: Fri, Feb 5th 2021
  • 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 by 12:00 PM on Mon, Feb 8th.
• Training:
  • All accepted candidates must attend training meetings.
  • First Meeting: Thu, Feb 11th
  • Time: 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM
  • Location: Coming Soon (Most sessions on Zoom, a few in-person)*

*We are making adjustments to our traditional selection process in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our first goal is to maintain everyone's safety and protect their health. We will follow all UGA, state, and other relevant COVID-19 protocols. If you are uncomfortable meeting in person as part of the selection process, please email the Arch Society advisors as soon as possible (archsociety@uga.edu).