As an outstanding student, you may be invited to join several honor societies.  If you are nominated for membership in Phi Beta Kappa, why should you join?   Here are some reasons:

Phi Beta Kappa …

• Is the oldest, best-known, and most prestigious of all undergraduate academic honor societies.
• Is known in this country and around the world as an exclusive mark of academic distinction.
• is an honor extended only to the best students.
• Is more selective than Latin Honors at graduation - at UCI no more than 5% of graduating seniors and 1% of juniors are elected to membership.
• Is widely recognized as a mark of academic excellence by graduate and professional schools and future employers.
• Adds your name to a very long and distinguished list of members, including 17 U.S. presidents and seven of the nine current Supreme Court Justices.
• Is the crowning jewel on your undergraduate resume.

You were nominated for membership by a committee of Phi Beta Kappa members drawn from the UCI faculty and administration.  They reviewed your academic records for excellence and breadth, and they determined that you met the requirements for membership.

Not every college or university even has a Phi Beta Kappa Chapter. There are only 276 Chapters, which comprise approximately 11% of all four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. Chapters are approved only after a committee of the national Phi Beta Kappa Society evaluates the school's curricula.  Without a Chapter, a school cannot nominate Phi Beta Kappa members.

Additional benefits of membership:

• Recognition at the annual Phi Beta Kappa Initiation Ceremony, the only campuswide event at UC Irvine that recognizes students receiving academic honors.
• Recognition in the Commencement Program.
• Lifetime membership in Phi Beta Kappa.
• Eligibility to wear the Phi Beta Kappa key, a highly recognized symbol of academic achievement.
• Eligibility to join Phi Beta Kappa alumni associations, such as the Southern California Alumni Association, which hold events for alums.
• Membership in the Phi Beta Kappa Chapter of any college or university Chapter if employed as a faculty member or staff.

Students who do not choose to join Phi Beta Kappa when they are nominated often regret it later on.  Every year we get calls from students months, even years, after they were selected, when they finally realize what an important distinction Phi Beta Kappa is.  Now is the time to join! 

Sources: Phi Beta Kappa Chapters at Colorado State University, the University of Wisconsin, and Binghamton University, State University of New York.