Eligibility Criteria

phi beta kapp keyJuniors and seniors who are candidates for a degree in the School of Arts and Sciences; whose academic achievements reflect the goals of Phi Beta Kappa; and who meet the following specific criteria shall be eligible for election to Phi Beta Kappa:

  1. Senior candidates must have completed three semesters of work in the School of Arts and Sciences and be fully registered for a fourth. Junior candidates must have completed five semesters of work in the School of Arts and Sciences and be fully registered for a sixth.
  2. Senior candidates must have an overall GPA that places them within the top 15 percent of the graduating class.  Junior candidates must have an overall GPA that places them within the top 3 percent of their class.
  3. At least three-fourths of a candidate's academic work must have been taken in the liberal arts and sciences.
  4. In choosing candidates for election, the chapter seeks evidence of academic achievement that is of exceptional distinction and gives weight to the breadth of courses across the four divisions of the college of arts and sciences taken by each candidate, and not solely GPA.
  5. Candidates shall have demonstrated, by completion of the World Cultures and Languages component of the Brandeis Core Requirements, a knowledge of a second or non-native language at least minimally appropriate for a liberal education.  
  6. The candidate will have demonstrated by completion of the Quantitative Reasoning component of the Brandeis Core Requirements awareness of mathematical ideas, abstract thinking, proofs and the axiomatic method.
  7. Election to membership in Phi Beta Kappa is wholly within the discretion of the members of the chapter, subject only to the limitations imposed by its constitution and bylaws.
  8. Fulfillment of the minimum qualifications does not assure election to the membership.
All students are considered for PBK each spring based on GPA. There is no application process. To maximize their chances of admission, students should do as well as possible in their classes.