​​Order of the Sword & Shield
The Academic and Professional Honor Society
for all Homeland Security Disciplines

Ex Scientia Pax - "Out of Knowledge comes Peace"

1.  Completion of ONE HALF (1/2) of the total number of credits required for your overall program, including completion of ONE HALF (1/2) of all credits in the Homeland Security, Intelligence, Emergency Management, or Protective Studies A.S., B.S., Minor, Masters, Doctoral, or Certificate program; and 


2.  Have achieved an overall 3.25 (undergraduate) or a 3.50 (graduate) cumulative GPA or higher (on a scale of 4.0) for ALL CREDITS, including transfer credits, or be in the top 20% of your class standing; and 


3.  Submit all required information, supporting documents with references, and appropriate fees.


Please note that your school does not need to be a charter member for you to be granted membership in the Society. If your school is not a charter member, however, you will not be allowed to participate in any officially sanctioned induction ceremony. Your name will be included in a National Ceremony and your certificate package will be mailed to you.

Student Eligibility and Application for Induction

Joining the Order of the Sword & Shield 

​​​​​Student membership in the Order of the Sword and Shield National Honor Society is open to any undergraduate or graduate student who is enrolled in a Homeland Security, Intelligence, Emergency Management, Cyber or Information Security, or Protective Security Studies Program. Some programs in the Protective Security field include the following (this is not a complete listing):


  • Computer Systems Security
  • Criminal Justice
  • Criminology
  • Critical Infrastructure Protection
  • Fire Science and EMS Studies
  • Information Assurance
  • Information Security
  • Loss Prevention
  • National Defense
  • Organizational Continuity
  • Organizational Security
  • Peace and World Security
  • Personal Protection
  • Police Administration
  • Protection Management
  • ​Public Administration
  • Risk Management
  • Safety
  • Security Administration
  • Security Management
  • Security Systems
  • Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism

To qualify, each of the following criteria MUST be satisfied at the time of induction:  Please note that some schools have different criteria.  If this is the case, your school will have a dedicated electronic application form below.  If your school does not have its own application form, you are to use the general student application form and all of the below criteria will apply.















Once qualified, we invite you to apply for student induction.


          There are 2 ways to submit your application for student induction: (please note that we no longer accept mailed submissions)











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Electronic Student Induction Application Forms.  Please use the proper electronic application form.


   General Student Induction Application:   (for all schools not listed below)


   ​American Military/Public University Student Induction Application:  (for AMU or APU students ONLY)


   University of Phoenix Student Induction Application:  (for UOP students ONLY)


   Western Governors University Student Induction Application​:  (for WGU students ONLY)


Please note that there is a onetime application fee payment of $75 (good for lifetime membership). Once we receive your completed application package and payment, we will begin the application review process which may take several weeks, especially during our busy induction periods. We will notify you upon initial receipt of your application and payment. We cannot provide status updates due to the sheer volume of applications received.  We will contact you during the application review if your application is incomplete or ineligible.  Should your application be rejected for any reason, you will receive a full refund of the application fee.  If you are applying independent of a school chapter (this means your school does not have an official chapter with our Society - contact us if you would like to start one, you will be inducted into our National Chapter. If your school does have an official chapter with our Society, you will be inducted into your school chapter (check with your Chapter Coordinator to see if your school will hold an Induction Ceremony).   


Due to heavy application volume, we cannot provide application updates.  Your order confirmation serves as notification that your file has been received.  If there are any missing items, we will contact you.


For additional information or questions, please email us at jgrossmann@ossnhs.com.


No applicant shall be denied membership because of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, national origin, race, religion, or sexual orientation.

1Submit your electronic online application below.  This method is fast, easy, and confidential.  We accept electronic online applications on a continuous rolling basis all year long.  Your school does not need to have an official chapter to use this method.  


2.  Submit your application to your school's Chapter Advisor during an official membership drive.  Please note that your school must have an official chapter to use this method.  Your Chapter Advisor will invite you to apply.  If your Chapter requires a paper application, please use this Application Form.

Member Log In

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