The SPS has seven unique roles within the physics community:

1. Encouraging undergraduate research experience as a teaching tool.
2. Promoting science literacy and appreciation through physics outreach programs to grades K-12 and the general public.
3. Through SPS alumni and the members of Sigma Pi Sigma, the Society maintains the only institutionalized structure the physics community has for communicating with the "friends of physics" that exist throughout all walks of life in society.
4. The SPS provides an effective signpost for educating the student on the many career options, in addition to traditional physics, that come with a degree in physics.
5. The active SPS chapter is an especially effective student recruitment and retention tool for the physics department.
6. The SPS is a gateway society to the other professional societies in physics.
7. The SPS provides training for leadership. Through SPS activities, students' professional development, communication skills, leadership qualities, and professional networking is enhanced in ways that cannot be realized in course work alone.

The SPS and Sigma Pi Sigma are sponsored by the American Institute of Physics (AIP). The AIP is a "society of societies," with ten Member Societies, besides the SPS and Sigma Pi Sigma.