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How to Join

Find Your Home Sweet Home On Rocky Top!

Welcome to the University of Tennessee! We are excited you are interested in joining the Sorority & Fraternity Life Community. The first step to joining an organization is determining which of our four councils is right for you. Once you are ready to pursue membership, we encourage you to use the steps outlined below to approach the council or organization of your choice.

Still unsure which council is right for you or how to navigate the joining process? Contact the Fraternity and Sorority Life Staff for additional assistance.

Those seeking membership must be a full time, fully enrolled student. Provisionally admitted students and students participating in the Road to Rocky Top Programs are not eligible for membership in any fraternity or sorority. 

Interfraternity Council

There are several opportunities for men to join the Interfraternity Council’s 19 organizations. There are two main ways to join a chapter: the formal week-long recruitment process at the beginning of each semester that requires registration. These events, dates, and registration information is released and planned by the IFC and can be found on social media, website, and other communications. Additionally, IFC encourages all chapters to recruit year-round, but will have their own limitations and policies surrounding these practices. For more information on this “365 recruitment” you can reach out to IFC or individual chapter recruitment chairmen.

For questions about recruitment, please contact the IFC Recruitment Team.

Check out IFC’s Recruitment Information

2022 Important Dates:

  • May 1, 2022 – Registration for fall recruitment opens
  • August 21, 2022 – Registration closes
  • August 22 – 29, 2022 – Formal Fall Recruitment
  • August 30, 2022 – Bid Day (Noon to 5:00 PM)
  • August 30, 2022 – Start of 365 Recruitment (5:00 PM)
  • December 1, 2022 – Registration for spring recruitment opens

Multicultural Greek Council


Each MGC organization accepts potential new members through a new member education process. Most MGC organizations start off with a series of events known as Recruitment. Recruitment is an informal week of educational, social, and service-related activities to get to know members and learn more about the organization. At the end of an organization’s recruitment week, they extend opportunities to selected individuals who meet the requirements of MGC and its national organization.

Intake is ONLY conducted during the beginning of the fall and spring term. Interested individuals would have the opportunity to attend an informational meeting-informal event to learn more about the organization or an interesting meeting-formal event to pursue membership.

Learn more about joining opportunities in our MGC community.

MGC Membership Requirements

  • Transfer and upper-class students must have completed 12 credit hours at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
  • Transfer and upper-class students must have at least a 2.5 GPA.
  • Be in good conduct and academic standing with the University

2022 Important Dates

  • August 24, 2022 – Meet the Greeks
  • August 26, 2022 – MGC Fest

National Pan-Hellenic Council

NPHC sororities and fraternities initiate potential new members through a formal Membership Intake process (MIP) also known as “Intake.” Intake is ONLY conducted during the beginning of the fall and spring term. Interested individuals would have the opportunity to attend an informational meeting-informal event to learn more about the organization or an interesting meeting-formal event to pursue membership.

Learn more about joining opportunities in our NPHC community.

Intake Eligibility Requirements 

  • Have completed at least 12 credit hours at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville
  • Have at least a 2.5 cumulative GPA
  • Be in good conduct and academic standing with the University

2022 Important Dates

  • August 24, 2022 – Meet the Greeks
  • August 31, 2022 – Misconceptions & Stereotypes

Note: Each affiliate organization may have additional or higher membership requirements that are set by their inter/national organizations. All membership processes are overseen by one or more local appointed graduate chapter advisors. For more specific details, please contact the local chapter.

Panhellenic Council


Panhellenic sororities offer many opportunities for membership throughout the year. The most opportunities for membership happen during Primary Recruitment, which typically occurs the week prior to the first day of classes in the fall academic semester. Students not interested or unable to participate in Primary Recruitment may also have opportunities throughout the fall and spring semesters to join a Panhellenic organization through the Continuous Open Bidding (COB) process. It is important to note that not all Panhellenic chapters will participate in COB.

Learn more about joining opportunities in our Panhellenic Community.

2022 Important Dates

  • May 1, 2022 – Registration for fall recruitment opens
  • June 30, 2022 – Priority registration closes
  • July 31, 2022 – Final registration deadline
  • August 14-15, 2022 – Early move-in days
  • August 15, 2022 – Convocation
  • August 16-22, 2022 – Fall recruitment
  • August 23, 2022 – Bid Day

Financial Information

Joining a sorority or fraternity comes with a financial responsibility called “dues”. These cover things such as inter/national dues, insurance, membership fees, events, apparel, and so much more. Most organizations will have new member dues and active member dues, and some will have alumni dues, rent, or meal plans. Each chapter can handle their finances differently, so the best practice is to ask for financial transparency when you have a question! The document below provides an overview for each chapter’s dues structure, rent and meal plan rates, as well as good questions to ask when looking at chapters!

View the Community Financial Breakdown