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The Phi Chi Theta alumni network at SMU
A professional fraternity is worth roughly what its alumni are willing to do for its members. This is where Alpha Gamma brothers have gone and how the network actually gets used.
Phi Chi Theta is a national professional business fraternity founded in 1924, with chapters across the country. The Alpha Gamma Chapter at SMU has brothers who have gone on to Morgan Stanley, JLL, Visa, Texas Capital Bank, Hilltop Securities, Lockton, USGA, the U.S. Department of Energy, Jackson Walker, Douglas Elliman, Northmarq, D CEO, Brasfield & Gorrie, CyrusOne, Origin Bank and Billabong. Introductions happen through chapter meetings, upperclassmen and the contact page.
Two networks, not one
Members get a national network and a local one. The national fraternity has existed since 1924 and has alumni in most industries and cities. The local network is the Alpha Gamma Chapter at SMU: the brothers a year or two ahead of you and the graduates who are now a few years into Dallas careers. In practice the local network does most of the work, because those are the people who remember your name.
Where Alpha Gamma brothers have gone
The chapter publishes its placement list, and it is worth reading by industry. Investment banking and capital markets: Morgan Stanley, Hilltop Securities. Commercial real estate: JLL, Northmarq, Douglas Elliman. Payments and banking: Visa, Texas Capital Bank, Origin Bank. Insurance: Lockton. Law: Jackson Walker. Government and nonprofit: the U.S. Department of Energy, USGA. Media, construction and consumer: D CEO, Brasfield & Gorrie, CyrusOne, Billabong. The internships page keeps the current version.
Two honest notes. Those placements belong to the individuals who earned them. And a list of past outcomes describes the network's reach, not a guarantee for any future member.
How an introduction actually happens
Rarely through a directory. Usually it goes like this. A firm sends someone to speak at a chapter meeting at Cox. A member asks a good question and follows up by email the same week. Or a sophomore mentions at a social that they want commercial real estate, and a senior who interned at JLL says, write to this person and use my name. Or an alumnus emails the chapter through the contact page because their team is hiring a summer analyst and they would rather hire from home.
Every one of those paths depends on showing up. The network is only visible to people in the room.
Why we think this network is the strongest for SMU students
This is our opinion and we label it as one. Because the chapter is open to all majors, the alumni list spans more industries than a finance only group would produce. Because the chapter is small, alumni remember the members who came after them. And because the chapter has kept recruiting and placing members for years, the list keeps growing in both directions. The full argument is on the why Phi Chi Theta page.
For alumni
If you are an Alpha Gamma graduate, the chapter wants to hear from you. Use the contact form and choose the alumni option. Speaking at a chapter meeting, posting a role, sponsoring Pie Chi Theta or simply taking a coffee with a junior are all welcome. Firms that want to recruit through the chapter can use the sponsorship option on the same form.
Alumni moving back to Dallas or students moving off campus can use PonyUp Properties, a free housing service near SMU.
Get in the room.
Apply during recruitment and the network starts at your first chapter meeting.