Potential New Members
Welcome from the Greeks!
The entire Greek system and community welcome you to the College of Charleston!
The College was founded in 1770 and has offered undergraduates a unique academic environment for well over 200 years. For 120 of those years, the men and women of our fraternities and sororities have helped to shape this institution. Throughout your years at the College of Charleston, you will be exposed to all that the College and the City of Charleston have to offer. The Office of Greek Life plays a vital role in the college experience for many of our campus leaders, scholars and student-athletes. Greek letter organizations at the College offer undergraduate members a variety of academic and extracurricular activities. With 25 active Greek organizations on campus, there is a fraternity or sorority for every student.
By joining a fraternity or sorority you will:
- Ensure your academic success by utilizing your chapter’s academic programs and by competing for Greek scholarships.
- Become a leader by serving in one of over 200 leadership positions in the Office of Greek Life alone
- Create lifelong relationships.
- Give back to your community through service.
Councils and Organizations
The Greek Community at the College of Charleston includes 26 organizations that are each governed by one of the three student-run councils.
Inter-fraternity Council (IFC)
The IFC is responsible for the coordination of recruitment, judiciary policy and procedure, inter-fraternity relations and maintaining and improving fraternity relations with other Greek councils, the College community and the community at large. The IFC at the College of Charleston consits of student representatives from 10 nationally recognized fraternities. Visit the Fraternity Recruitment Page to learn more about each fraternity and how to join.
Panhellenic Council
The Panhellenic Council is the governing council of the National Panhellenic Conference sororities at the College of Charleston. As a member of the National Panhellenic Conference, our council is part of a nationwide network of women's fraternities and sororities across over 620 college and university campuses in the U.S. and Canada.
The Panhellenic Council provides a forum for sororities to work together. Through programs and services, the Panhellenic Council supports its member sororities by promoting values, education, leadership, friendships, cooperation and citizenship.
The Panhellenic Council at the College of Charleston consists of representatives from 9 nationally recognized sororities, please visit the Sorority Recruitment page to learn more about each of our organizations and how to sign-up for recruitment.
National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC)
The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) is the governing body for the historically African-American fraternities and sororities at College of Charleston.
The College of Charleston's National Pan-Hellenic Council is designed to promote student success in social and academic endeavors. Each member organization monitors its students to foster academic excellence and to stimulate community involvement. As members of NPHC organizations, students pursue lofty aspirations and ideals that will promotoe leadership skills essential for lifelong achievement.
The NPHC is also designed promote well-being between each particular organization. This group was formed in order to establish diplomacy, respect and cooperation among all organizations involved. Each year, the NPHC strives to become a unified and strengthened family.
The NPHC at the College of Charleston includes representatives from 2 nationally recognized fraternities and 4 nationally recognized sororities, please visit the NPHC Intake page for more information about the organizations and where to learn more.
How do I join?
The process for joining a Greek organization is called "recruitment" or "intake," but often times you will hear your friends and parents refer to it as "rush." Participation in recruitment is non-binding and is a memorable experience for all undergraduates.
The recruitment/intake process varies from campus to campus. Women interested in joining a National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) sorority will participate in formal recruitment at the beginning of the semester.
Inter-fraternity chapters will be participating in a structured recruitment. The IFC and individual chapters will host events throughout the first two weeks of the fall semester, culminating with bid day. However, fraternities may continue to give out bids throughout the semester.
Joining a fraternity or sorority requires making an educated decision about joining an organization that offers lifetime membership. As you begin your research about Greek membership, you should familiarize yourself with the Greek glossary. We also encourage you to utilize the national website as an additional resource for researching membership within our Greek community.
Things to ask during recruitment
You will want to take time to learn about and reflect on these questions when considering joining a Greek organization:
- How will membership in this organization benefit me? Academically? Personally? And what leadership opportunities are available for me in this organization?
- Does this organization perform meaningful community service?
- Will I be asked to perform individual community service hours each semester?
- What were the organization's greatest accomplishments of the past year?
- How long is the organization's new member/pre-initiation period?
- Where does the chapter leadership see the chapter in the next five years?
- What types of learning and leadership training will take place during this time?
- What are the financial obligations of membership?
Need More Information?
We look forward to meeting you at orientation, during move in, and throughout your first days on campus. We hope that this site answers many of the questions that you may have concerning the opportunities that are made available through the Office of Greek Life. If you have unanswered questions or simply want to talk with someone personally, please contact the Office of Greek Life at 843.953.6320.
