Students standing at award ceremony

Alpha Epsilon Lambda Honor Society (AEL)

The Graduate School at Montclair State University is host to the Alpha Kappa Chapter of Alpha Epsilon Lambda Honor Society for Graduate and Professional School Students. Alpha Epsilon Lambda (AEL) was founded in 1990 by former officers of the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students, specifically to honor academic excellence and leadership. The mission of AEL is to:

  • Confer distinction for high achievement.
  • Promote leadership development.
  • Promote scholarship and encourage intellectual development.
  • Enrich the intellectual environment of graduate education institutions.
  • Encourage high standards of ethical behavior.

Qualifications for membership are:

  • Academic achievement in the top 20th percentile of the member’s college or school in which their degree program resides.
  • Successful completion of 18 graduate credits and active matriculation in a degree program.
  • Demonstration of leadership through involvement in on-campus or off-campus activities while a graduate student.

Please note that membership is highly competitive. For the most recently inducted members, the average cumulative GPA was 3.947 (calculated using only 500-level courses and above).

Students are invited to membership into AEL by The Graduate School. Invitations are e-mailed to students who meet the basic requirements for membership. Invitation to join is not a guarantee of membership. Students must complete an application and submit all required materials by the determined deadline. Invitation to membership occurs twice a year with a formal induction ceremony sponsored in the spring semester. Each initiate will receive lifetime membership into AEL and the insignia of AEL: A label pin, honor cord, and certificate.


Induction Ceremony

Our Induction Ceremony has not been scheduled at this time. We will notify newly admitted members when the details have been arranged.


For more information, please e-mail: ael@montclair.edu

Other national honor societies at Montclair State University