Eligibility Requirements

Georgetown University Stipulations 

New members (known as members in course) shall be elected primarily on the basis of scholarly achievement, demonstrated commitment to the liberal arts, and good character. Juniors and seniors who are enrolled in Georgetown College, the Walsh School of Foreign Service, and the School of Nursing and Health Studies shall be eligible for consideration, if their undergraduate records fulfill the following minimum requirements:

a. The candidate shall have completed at least three full-time semesters in residence at Georgetown University and be registered for a fourth full-time semester;

b. For election as a junior, the candidate shall have completed at least 75 semester hours of regular college work with a minimum GPA of 3.9. The minimum GPA for election as a senior shall be 3.8. Grades earned in applied or pre-professional coursework shall not be counted in computing the quality point ratio for purposes of eligibility;

c. The candidate shall be majoring in a liberal arts discipline/program, which we take to include all major programs in Georgetown College and the School of Foreign Service as well as the Human Science and Global Health majors in the School of Nursing and Health Studies. Students pursuing the policy track within the Health Care Management and Policy major in NHS are also eligible, but their records will be given special scrutiny for demonstrated commitment to the liberal arts;

d. The candidate shall have both (1) completed at least one course in college-level mathematics, logic, or statistics, which, in keeping with the national stipulations, shall have introduced the student to mathematical ideas, abstract thinking, proofs, and the axiomatic method; and (2) demonstrated mastery of a foreign language through the intermediate level. Either requirement may be met by advanced credit (e.g., AP, A-Level) or proficiency exam. If the candidate is in the second semester of the junior year and taking math or language courses that would otherwise make him or her eligible for Phi Beta Kappa, the candidate will be considered for election in the senior year. If the candidate is in the second semester of the senior year and taking math or language courses that would otherwise make him or her eligible for Phi Beta Kappa, the candidate will be considered for election to Phi Beta Kappa in that semester.

e. In general, the top 2% of juniors and top 10% of seniors meeting all qualifications above will be invited to join in March, upon review of their transcripts to date. An additional review of seniors will take place after grades in their final semester have been posted, and at that point any senior whose GPA rises above that of the lowest GPA of a senior invited in March (i.e., above the previous mark for the top 10% of the senior class) will be invited to join. Note that the reverse does not hold: no invitations will be rescinded on the basis of a drop in GPA in the final semester alone.

f. No one will be elected to Phi Beta Kappa who is known to have significantly violated the canons of academic integrity or who has been found responsible, in civil or criminal court, or in an authorized due process of campus governance, for fraud, deceit, or the violation of the rights of others. If this conduct or academic integrity violation is so severe as to result in a transcript notation, the candidate will not be eligible for election to Phi Beta Kappa.

National Stipulations

Visit www.pbk.org for the national membership eligibility stipulations. Note that the Georgetown chapter stipulations are adapted from the national stipulations and designed to comply fully with them.