The National Chinese Honor Society

The National Chinese Honor Society (NCHS) was established in 1993 to recognize those accomplished high school students who study Chinese as a world language. The National Chinese Honor Society is a scholastic organization that promotes and recognizes students who demonstrate citizenship, leadership, and community service.
The purpose of the National Chinese Honor Society is to encourage its members to become life-long learners in order to gain a better understanding of Chinese language and culture, as well as to play an active role as a contributing global citizen in the twenty-first century.
For more information, please contact NCHS Committee at nchsclass@gmail.com

Membership Eligibility

The applicant must be a full time high school student (grades 9 – 12) who has studied Chinese for four semesters in high school with an average of B or higher. A qualified candidate is someone who is willing to work with the school chapter advisor, as well as with other students, to serve as a positive role model in the area of Chinese studies. For schools that have never inducted students into the honor society, the National Chinese Honor Society strongly recommends that the advisor should first seek school approval to initiate the establishment of a local school chapter of the Chinese Honor Society under the National Chinese Honor Society before the first group of inductees at the school are nominated. Future inductees from that school will only need to be identified by the school’s advisor based on the Student Application forms. The student president of the local school chapter of the Chinese Honor Society must be appointed by the sponsor based on his/her consistent and positive effort in learning the Chinese language.

The National Chinese Honor Society Chapter Chapter Advisor

The advisor is in charge of the induction. The initial request to establish a chapter must be made to NCHS by the advisor, who must be an active member of the Chinese Language Association of Secondary-Elementary Schools (CLASS) as well as teach at the same school where students are applying to become new inductees of the school chapter of the Chinese Honor Society. The advisor is also responsible for appointing the student president of their chapter based on his/her consistent and positive role in advocating the learning of Chinese language and culture.

Membership and Fees

Each inductee must pay $4.00 USD for the certificate before the induction.

As an option, each member may also order:

The NCHS pin ($5.00 USD for each pin)
The NCHS Graduation Cord ($24.00 USD now for each cord, due to the increased cost of supplies and postage)
( All shipping and handling fees are included in the prices listed above for orders within the U.S.; for international orders, please contact NCHS committee at nchsclass@gmail.com for the quote of international shipping cost.)

The Application Process

The National Chinese Honor Society recommends that the preparation for the induction should start at the end of the first semester or at the beginning of the second semester. The induction ceremony should be conducted during the second semester.
The advisor is in charge of collecting Student Application Forms for selection decisions, filling out the online Request Form to list those selected students as new members to be inducted(click the "Order NCHS Certificate & Other Items" Link on the left side of the page), and paying the fees via PayPal or sending a check to:

Ms. Ying Jin
c/o The National Chinese Honor Society
10100 Finch Ave.
Cupertino, CA 95014

(Payable to: Chinese Language Association of Secondary-Elementary Schools)

Please note the following:
* Please submit your NCHS order with full payments at least FOUR WEEKS in advance of your ceremony to ensure that your order arrives on time.
* Any returned check will result in a $20.00 charge for banking management and fee.

The Ceremony

The advisor will send an invitation letter to parents to invite them to the ceremony. The advisor/sponsor will announce the names of the inductees at an appropriate occasion. The announcement is followed by the oath taking ceremony. The advisor will start the ceremony with the candle lighting. The advisor will light up the mother candle, and then each inductee will light up his/her candle from the mother candle. The advisor or the president of the chapter will then lead the standardized oath:
我, name of the inductee, 很荣幸成为全美中文荣誉学会的会员。我愿意继续努力学习中文, 了解中国文化, 为世界的和平和繁荣而努力。

After the oath taking ceremony, each inductee will receive the membership certificate and/or other NCHS related materials. The inductee will sign his or her name in the National Chinese Honor Society chapter book for record keeping purpose. The advisor will keep the record.
(Revised by National Chinese Honor Society Committee)