First of all, you should note that the VAST MAJORITY of Oklahoma Triangles never wanted to join a fraternity. We consider ourselves ‘engineers who founded a fraternity’, not ‘a frat full of engineers’.
Fraternity membership, unlike club membership, is a lifelong decision, and one that can pay dividends for life. But, joining a fraternity is a serious decision, and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly since one typically can only join one Greek organization in their lifetime.
In order to be eligible for membership, you must be at a minimum:
- A male student who is enrolled full time into the University of Oklahoma
- That’s twelve credit for under grads, six for grad students
- Must have a 2.5 cumulative GPA
- For freshmen or transfer students who have no University GPA established, their high school GPA is used for this requirement.
- Be declared as an approved major. Details can be found here.
- Approved majors include any College of Engineering or College of Architecture program
- All the traditional ‘hard sciences’ (physics, chemistry, biology) qualify
- For ‘softer sciences’ (e.g., psychology), many of them qualify for membership under the Bachelors of Science pathway. The ‘general rule of thumb’ historically is that if you need Calculus III, it counts.
- And no… “political science” doesn’t count as a science.
- Triangle DOES NOT EVER recommend changing your major in order to join Triangle!
- Not already be an initiated member of a “major Greek fraternity”
- We do not allow for dual-membership in other IFC based fraternities
- Dual membership in Honor societies is just fine, and we welcome those who have membership in these organizations!
- Other ‘non-greek fraternal orders’ are fine as well (Knights of Columbus, Masons, Elks, etc)
- Be recommended for membership by a current member
That being said, the preferred qualities we look for in a member is more than these simple base requirements. Ideally, we’re looking for men who:
- Are engaged (or want to get engaged with) professional groups within their chosen field (e.g., IEEE, ACM, ASME, AIA, etc)
- Are active participants at campus events (Big Event, Howdy Week, various athletics, scholastic team, debate club, etc)
- Are academically successful (3.0+ GPA)
- Have the ability to articulate what goals they want out of fraternity membership, and be willing to grow their own skills, assumptions, knowledge, and abilities in order to achieve said goals.
It is worth calling out that there are some things we don’t care about. For instance:
- Your race
- Triangle has brothers of all races and backgrounds nationally, and bigotry isn’t tolerated.
- Your income level
- Triangle is one of the most affordable fraternities at the University of Oklahoma, and we never were ‘a rich man’s club’.
- That being said, dues are set by the membership, and we take financial responsibilities seriously.
- Year of study
- While we have had brothers initiate their senior year, and we prefer to have initiates who are newer in their college journey, there is no requirement to join as a freshman (and there never was!)
What Does the Pledge / New Member Semester Entail?
Pledging the fraternity is approximately a one semester process which, above all, is focused on ensuring a good culture fit. It takes years to craft a quality engineer, and the new member education (‘pledge-ucation’) program is designed to help familiarize yourself with Triangle, its members, and what living life as an engineer is like by exposing you to successful people in your chosen field.
- You will get exposed to project management and leadership concepts as you work with people of all ages and backgrounds to accomplish and realize a shared dream. You, and the other members of your class will occasionally work on projects together, which can be both rewarding and fun.
- Exchange ideas with other more experienced STEM students and graduates who will challenge you to perform at your best both in and out of the classroom.
- You will learn the history of the fraternity itself and its evolution from a small standalone chapter at University of Illinois to what it is today. You’ll also learn the history of our host university, and a little about the other organizations found on campus within our orbit.
- You’ll learn a lot of things common across all Greek organizations (the Greek alphabet, Robert’s Rules of Order, Risk Management, etc)
- You will learn and live by the Triangle Code of Ethics, and values contained therein.
- You can expect to take an active part in event planning, by serving as crew at various philanthropy, social, ceremonial, and recruitment events.
These are all topics which the fraternity takes seriously, and we advise “budgeting” this social workload as though it were the equivalent of a “3 credit hour academic workload”. In other words, if you are over-stressed from your current studies/extra-curricular activities/jobs, we suggest put off membership in Triangle if it would cause you to fail out of the University.
I got my undergrad/transferred from another University with a Triangle Chapter in which I am a member. Can I join Oklahoma Triangle?
Welcome, Brother! Triangle membership is nationwide, so if you initiated at another chapter and are interested in getting involved with us at the local level, use the Contact Us form to get in touch!
Is There A Live In Requirement to Join?
Oklahoma Triangle doesn’t currently operate a chapter home. While we do own property, it is currently leased out to other Greek organizations on a long term lease. As such, members initiated for the next several years do not have to live in chapter provided housing as a condition of their membership.
It’s the opinion of the Oklahoma Alumni that the value of a chapter house is measured in the enduring friendships in which it forms, and those that live in chapter housing benefit greatly by doing so.
What is the Ritual?
“Pledgeship” ends when you initiate, which is done as the final part of Ritual (which is our closed, secret initiation ceremony).
What Next?
Use the Contact Us form, and let’s meet up!