# Cultural interest fraternities and sororities

Cultural interest fraternities and sororities, in the North American student fraternity and sorority system, refer to general, social organizations oriented to students having a special interest in a culture or cultural identity.
Although racial and religious restrictions have long since been abolished in all North American Interfraternity Conference and National Panhellenic Conference organizations, their memberships nationally remain predominantly Caucasian, and National Pan-Hellenic Council memberships largely African American. The new generation of cultural interest organizations has arisen to serve the interests of communities whose numbers in the traditional Greek system are historically small and dispersed.
Following is a list of national cultural interest fraternities and sororities.

## African American

African-American fraternities and sororities are social organizations that predominantly recruit Black college students and provide a network that includes both undergraduate and alumni members. These organizations were typically founded by Black American undergraduate students, faculty, and leaders at various institutions in the United States.

## Armenian

| Organization | Symbols | Chartered | Founding location | Type | Affiliation | Active chapters | Status | Reference |
| Alpha Epsilon Omega | ΑΕΩ | December 20, 2000 | California State University, Northridge | Fraternity | | 9 | Active | |
| Alpha Gamma Alpha | ΑΓΑ | October 25, 2002 | University of California, Los Angeles | Sorority | | 1 | Active | |

## Asian American

There are over sixty Asian American interest Greek-lettered organizations, many of which are overseen by the National APIDA Panhellenic Association.

## Buddhist

| Organization | Symbols | Chartered | Founding location | Type | Affiliation | Active chapters | Status | Reference |
| Delta Beta Tau | ΔΒΤ | September 9, 2015 | San Diego State University (SDSU) | Co-ed Fraternity | Independent | 1 | Active | |

## Christian

While most of the traditional women's fraternities or sororities were founded decades before the start of the 20th century, the first ever specifically Christian-themed Greek letter organization formed was the Kappa Phi Club, founded in Kansas in 1916. The three largest Christian fraternities established in the early part of the 20th century are Beta Sigma Psi, Alpha Gamma Omega, and Sigma Theta Epsilon; all are still active.

## Italian-American

| Organization | Symbols | Chartered | Founding location | Type | Affiliation | Active chapters | Status | Reference |
| Alpha Phi Delta $^*$ | ΑΦΔ | November 5, 1914 | Syracuse University | Fraternity | NIC | 48 | Active | |

## Feminism

| Organization | Symbols | Chartered | Founding location | Type | Affiliation | Active chapters | Status | Reference |
| Zeta Omega Eta | ΖΩΗ | 2003 | Trinity College | Sorority, coed | Independent | 2 | Active | |

## Latino

Latino Greek-letter organizations, in the North American student fraternity and sorority system, refer to general or social organizations oriented to students having a special interest in Latino culture and identity. The first known Latino fraternal organization was Alpha Zeta fraternity, established in 1889 at Cornell University.

## LGBTQ

LGBTQ fraternities and sororities have existed since the 1980s, with Delta Phi Upsilon being established in 1985 and Delta Lambda Phi in 1986. These groups are intended to provide members with access to Greek life without fear of homophobic reprisal or behavior by fellow members, resulting from a history of homophobia within longer-established organizations.

## Multicultural

These organizations do not identify with a specific cultural identity. Some may fall under associations that cater to specific cultural backgrounds, however, the organization itself refers to itself as Multicultural.
| Organization | Symbols | Chartered | Founding location | Type | Affiliation | Active chapters | Status |
| Beta Xi Chi | ΒΞΧ | November 11, 1998 | Texas A&M University | Fraternity | Independent | 0 | Inactive |
| Chi Sigma Upsilon | ΧΣΕ | November 1, 1993 | Rutgers University | Sorority | NMGC (former) | | Active |
| Chi Sigma Xi | ΧΣΞ | April 1, 2010 | University of Toronto Scarborough | Sorority | Independent | 1 | Active |
| Delphic Fraternity | ΓΣΤ | October 13, 1871 | State University of New York at Geneseo | Fraternity | NMGC (former) | 4 | Active |
| Delta Alpha Omega | ΔΑΩ | August 22, 2001 | University of Texas at Arlington | Fraternity | Independent | 1 | Active |
| Delta Alpha Sigma | ΔΑΣ | March 10, 2004 | University of Texas at Arlington | Sorority | Independent | 5 | Active |
| Delta Psi Alpha | ΔΨΑ | November 24, 1998 | Northern Illinois University | Coed Fraternity | Independent | 2 | Active |
| Delta Psi Sigma | ΔΨΣ | January 14, 2001 | New York City, New York | Sorority | Independent | 5 | Active |
| Delta Sigma Chi | ΔΣΧ | November 27, 1996 | New York City College of Technology | Sorority | NMGC (former) | 11 | Active |
| Delta Xi Nu | ΔΞΝ | October 7, 1997 | Texas A&M University | Sorority | NMGC | 20 | Active |
| Delta Xi Phi | ΔΞΦ | April 20, 1994 | University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | Sorority | NMGC | 23 | Active |
| Epsilon Sigma Rho | ΕΣΡ | March 2, 1986 | California State University, Sacramento | Fraternity | Independent | 9 | Active |
| Gamma Eta | ΓΗ | October 18, 1995 | University of Florida | Sorority | NMGC | 8 | Active |
| Iota Nu Kappa | ΙΝΚ | September 13, 2010 | University of Maine | Fraternity | Independent | 1 | Active |
| Kappa Lambda Xi | ΚΛΞ | October 7, 2003 | University of Maryland, College Park and Long Island University | Sorority | Independent | 1 | Active |
| Lambda Phi Xi | ΛΦΞ | January 27, 2004 | Michigan State University & Purdue University Calumet | Sorority | Independent | 1 | Active |
| Lambda Psi Delta | ΛΨΔ | March 9, 1997 | Yale University | Sorority | NMGC (former) | 0 | Inactive |
| Lambda Sigma Gamma | ΛΣΓ | October 24, 1986 | Sacramento State University | Sorority | NMGC | 26 | Active |
| Lambda Tau Omega | ΛΤΩ | October 9, 1988 | Montclair State College | Sorority | NMGC | 12 | Active |
| MALIK | | May 13, 1977 | Long Island University | Fraternity | Independent | | Active |
| Mu Sigma Upsilon | ΜΣΥ | November 21, 1981 | Rutgers University | Sorority | NMGC | 66 | Active |
| Omega Delta | ΩΔ | January 19, 1997 | University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | Fraternity | Independent | 8 | Active |
| Omega Delta Phi | ΩΔΦ | November 25, 1987 | Texas Tech University | Fraternity | NIC, NALFO (former) | 70 | Active |
| Omega Phi Chi | ΩΦΧ | November 9, 1988 | Rutgers University | Sorority | NMGC | 26 | Active |
| Phi Sigma Chi | ΨΣΧ | November 16, 1996 | New York City College of Technology | Fraternity | NMGC | 13 | Active |
| Psi Sigma Phi | ΨΣΦ | December 12, 1990 | Montclair State University and New Jersey City University | Fraternity | NMGC | 17 | Active |
| Sigma Alpha Zeta | ΣΑΖ | October 17, 1992 | California State University, Fresno | Sorority | Independent | 8 | Active |
| Sigma Beta Rho | ΣΒΡ | August 16, 1996 | University of Pennsylvania | Fraternity | NIC, NMGC (former) | 23 | Active |
| Sigma Omega Phi | ΣΩΦ | April 26, 1990 | California State University, Chico | Sorority | Independent | 5 | Active |
| Sigma Theta Psi | ΣΘΨ | November 13, 1991 | San Jose State University | Sorority | Independent | 8 | Active |
| Tau Phi Sigma | ΤΦΣ | November 11, 1992 | University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | Fraternity | NIC (former) | 6 | Active |
| Theta Delta Sigma | ΘΔΣ | April 15, 2001 | University at Buffalo, The State University of New York | Gender Inclusive | Independent | 9 | Active |
| Theta Nu Kappa | ΘΝΚ | November 20, 2007 | University of California, Santa Barbara | Fraternity | Independent | 1 | Active |
| Theta Nu Xi | ΘΝΞ | April 11, 1997 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Sorority | NMGC | 64 | Active |
| Tau Theta Pi | ΤΘΠ | November 24, 1998 | University of Southern California | Sorority | Independent | 4 | Active |
| Upsilon Kappa Delta | ΥΚΔ | December 10, 1993 | California State University, Chico | Sorority | Independent | 6 | Active |
| Xi Alpha Pi | ΞΑΠ | 2008 | University of Toronto | Fraternity | Independent | 2 | Active |
| Zeta Chi Phi | ΖΧΦ | January 30, 2003 | University of Texas at San Antonio | Sorority | Independent | 1 | Active |
| Zeta Sigma Chi | ΖΣΧ | March 3, 1991 | Northern Illinois University | Sorority | Independent | 22 | Active |

## Muslim

| Organization name | Symbols | Chartered | Founding location | Type | Affiliation | Active chapters | Status |
| Gamma Gamma Chi | ΓΓΧ | April 3, 2005 | Greensboro, North Carolina | Sorority | Independent | 3 | Active |
| Alpha Lambda Mu | ΑΛΜ | February 12, 2013 | University of Texas at Dallas | Fraternity | Independent | 6 | Active |
| Mu Delta Alpha | ΜΔΑ | February 17, 2014 | University of Texas at Dallas | Sorority | Independent | 5 | Active |
| Xi Delta Pi | ΞΔΠ | 2009 | George Washington University | Sorority | Independent | 0 | Inactive |

## Native American

| Organization | Symbols | Chartered | Founding location | Type | Affiliation | Active chapters | Status |
| Alpha Pi Omega | ΑΠΩ | September 1, 1994 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Sorority | Independent | 20 | Active |
| Beta Sigma Epsilon | ΒΣΕ | January 1, 2000 | University of Arizona | Fraternity | Independent | 4 | Active |
| Epsilon Chi Nu | ΕΧΝ | January 1, 1996 | East Carolina University | Fraternity | Independent | 2 | Active |
| Gamma Beta Lambda | ΓΒΛ | October 2, 1963 | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | Fraternity, non-collegiate | Independent | 1 | Active |
| Gamma Delta Pi | ΓΔΠ | August 27, 2000 | University of Oklahoma | Sorority | Independent | 1 | Active |
| Iota Gamma | ΙΓ | October 22, 2004 | University of Oklahoma | Fraternity | Independent | 4 | Active |
| Phi Sigma Nu | ΦΣΝ | February 13, 1996 | University of North Carolina at Pembroke | Fraternity | Independent | 5 | Active |
| Sigma Omicron Epsilon | ΣΟΕ | March 30, 1997 | East Carolina University | Sorority | Independent | 3 | Active |

## Persian

| Organization | Symbols | Chartered | Founding location | Type | Affiliation | Active chapters | Status | Reference |
| Sigma Pi Sigma Psi | ΣΠΣ | May 18, 2009 | University of California, Los Angeles | Sorority | Independent | 1 | Active | |