[1] It honors engineering students in American universities who have shown a history of academic achievement as well as a commitment to personal and professional integrity.

[2][3][4] When academic honor society Phi Beta Kappa sought to restrict its membership to students of the liberal arts in the late 19th century, Edward H. Williams Jr., a member of Phi Beta Kappa and head of the mining department at Lehigh University, formulated the idea of an honor society for those studying technical subjects.

Irving Andrew Heikes, the valedictorian of his class at Lehigh, was initiated as the first student member of Tau Beta Pi on June 15, 1885.

Female engineering students were scholastically eligible for Tau Beta Pi as early as 1902; however, those women were not granted membership.

The trestle is the load-bearing part of the bridge, representing Tau Beta Pi's principle of Integrity and Excellence In Engineering.

The new logo features the Bent inside a circle, with the words "Tau Beta Pi / The Engineering Honor Society" either to the right or underneath the symbol and is available in either blue or seal brown on a white background.

The old logo, which featured a tilted 3D Bent and the words "Tau Beta Pi / The Engineering Honor Society" in a lighter blue color was discontinued in October 2019.

Candidates eligible for consideration for election to membership by a collegiate chapter fall into five general categories: Undergraduate students whose scholarship places them in the top eighth of their engineering class in their next-to-last year or in the top fifth of their engineering class in their last college year are eligible for membership consideration.

These scholastically eligible students are further considered on the basis of personal integrity, breadth of interest both inside and outside engineering, adaptability, and unselfish activity.

Student electees who are financially unable to meet the initiation-fee obligation may make delayed payment arrangements with their chapters, may borrow from the association's loan fund, or may accept election but postpone initiation for up to five years.

[10] Tau Beta Pi members gain access to a variety of benefits for life after initiation, including access to applying for $2000 scholarships for rising seniors (about 50% acceptance rate) and $10,000 fellowships for graduate students (about 10% acceptance rate), a private LinkedIn group of alumni, the opportunity to attend the annual national convention (with sponsored travel for voting delegates) and participate in a Tau Beta Pi-only recruiting fair, and graduation stoles and cords for members in good standing during their graduation.

Members also receive automatic entry-level advancement of US Gov applicants to GS-7* 4 and member-only lifetime discounts from companies like Geico, Dell, SIRVA Home, PPI for FE/EIT and PE exams, and hotels around the world.

This program is designed to foster interest in engineering among elementary, middle, and high school students with classroom and hands-on activities.