Students with good scholastic records may be eligible for Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest and most prestigious college honors society (founded in 1776, the parent in fact of all Greek-letter societies, both honorary and social). A chapter of Phi Beta Kappa was chartered at UVM in 1848, and we take special pride in having been the very first chapter to admit women (in 1875) and the first to elect an African American (in 1877).

Membership in Phi Beta Kappa is by invitation only (there is no application process). Invited to membership are women and men whose superlative scholastic accomplishments reveal breadth of exploration and depth of achievement in a broad range of the liberal arts. Undergraduates from any program or department in the University are eligible for consideration, and the chapter's membership committee systematically examines all undergraduate records--not just those for students in the College of Arts and Sciences. Election to the chapter cannot take place before a student has completed the first semester of the junior year (75 credit hours).

Minimum requirements for consideration are:
o high scholastic standing reckoned both by cumulative GPA and by grades in liberal arts courses
o graded course work adequate to fulfill the requirements in all seven distribution areas defined by the Faculty of Arts & Sciences (Foreign Language, Mathematics, Fine Arts, Literature, Humanities, Social Sciences and Natural Sciences). With the exception of the foreign language and literature requirements, all the other requirements are met or partially met by CALS distribution requirements.
o at least 50% of course work counted for graduation completed (and with a grade) at UVM
o 75% of course work in liberal arts - usually, although not always necessarily, within the College of Arts & Sciences.

Although the honor bestowed by membership in the Society recognizes academic achievement, qualifications for election to Phi Beta Kappa are entirely independent of any other institutional regulations. It should especially not be assumed that the graduation requirements for Arts & Sciences are sufficient for election to Phi Beta Kappa. The conditions listed above are a minimum, which may enable students with fine academic records to avoid accidentally disqualifying themselves by lack of information. The minimum qualifications set forth here do not constitute eligibility or entitlement to election into Phi Beta Kappa. The membership committee examines the academic record of each individual meeting these minimum standards, and seeks to ensure that there is sufficient breath and depth in liberal studies to justify an invitation.

Undergraduate students should discuss these criteria with their academic advisors in planning course schedules for the remainder of their undergraduate program. Academic advisors are encouraged to bring these criteria to the attention of their students. Officers of the chapter will be glad to provide additional advice when needed. For further information on the web: http://www.uvm.edu/~phibeta/welcome.html.