PHI BETA KAPPA, the oldest honor
society in the United States, takes its name from the first letters of its
motto, Philosophia biou kubernetes ("Philosophy is the guide of
life"). The society was founded in 1776 by undergraduates of the College
of William and Mary. The emblem of the society is a gold key bearing the Greek
letters phi beta kappa.
xxxxPhi Beta Kappa maintains a chapter at San
Francisco State University. Known as Omicron of California, the chapter selects
students in their senior year for membership. Requirements for membership are
established by the Phi Beta Kappa Society in Washington, D.C. and by the campus
chapter. The minimum qualifications for membership are shown below. If you
think you meet the qualifications, please contact one of the current
PBK Officers for possible nomination for
membership in the society. In addition to liberal arts students, please note
that students in professional majors with at least 90 units in liberal arts
courses are also eligible for Phi Beta Kappa.
- A student must have completed at least 100 semester units
towards graduation.
- At least 45 of those 100 semester units must have been
earned at San Francisco State University.
- A student's grade point average must place him/her among
the top students in the graduating class. For the past several years, most
initiates have earned a grade point average above 3.7. Courses taken on a
credit/no credit basis will not be counted, nor will courses with incompletes
not yet cleared.
- A student must be majoring in one of the liberal subjects.
That means the major normally would be in some subject taught in the College of
Behavioral and Social Sciences, or the College of Ethnic Studies, or the
College of Humanities, or the College of Science and Engineering.
- A student must have earned at least 90 semester units of
credit in liberal subjects as listed above.
- Applied, professional, or vocational courses cannot be
considered as qualifying for Phi Beta Kappa membership. Work in such courses as
business, and practical experience in the creative arts, education,
engineering, and journalism are normally considered "professional."
- The program must include a broad spectrum of studies in the
sciences, the humanities, and the behavioral and social sciences. Evaluators
are looking for some indication of depth as well as breadth and will,
consequently, expect to find that a student has taken some courses beyond a
mere introduction to a given subject.
- A student must have completed at least three units of
mathematics beyond pre-calculus. A partial list of mathematics courses includes
MATH 110, Mathematics for Business Analysis; MATH 124, Elementary Statistics;
MATH 220, Calculus and Analytic Geometry I; MATH 223, Calculus and Analytic
Geometry IV; BA 110, Mathematical Analysis for Business; CSC 330, Discrete
Mathematical Structures; PHIL 205, Formal Logic I; PSY 371, Introductory
Statistics; ECON 310, Mathematics for Economists; ECON 311, Statistical Method
and Interpretation; or any course for which these are prerequisite. Remedial
courses and mathematics courses for elementary and secondary teachers will not
be counted.
- A student must have studied a foreign language and be able
to demonstrate an ability to read and write in that language. Evaluators will
look for evidence that a student has progressed at least through three
semesters of a foreign language or equivalent at the college level. Some
students may have entered San Francisco State University with six units of
Advanced Placement credit in a language and could, therefore, go directly into
a third semester language course. Students who can demonstrate that their
native language was not English may count English competence as fulfilling the
foreign language requirement.
The selection process starts at the beginning of the fall
semester of each year. Transcripts are reviewed and a final vote on all
candidates is made by the entire Chapter no later than spring. Once this vote
is taken, it is impossible to elect any more new members until the following
spring. New members who accept the invitation to membership are initiated at a
formal ceremony. Persons graduated at the end of fall semester may be
considered for election during the spring semester immediately following
graduation. Persons graduated earlier than one semester preceding the spring
election process will generally not be considered for membership. |
Spring 2011 Initiation
Information on the spring initiation ceremony and banquet will be posted here when it becomes available. |