About Us

What is Phi Beta Kappa?

A new PBK inductee holds his certificate

Phi Beta Kappa celebrates and advocates excellence in the liberal arts and sciences. It is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honors society. Only universities with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter are eligible to be part of the prestigious Association of American Universities, and Phi Beta Kappa is the only honors society recognized in this way. Only the most outstanding undergraduates at America’s leading colleges and universities who meet the society’s rigorous standards are elected to membership each year. It is arguably the highest academic honor that undergraduates can achieve.

Phi Beta Kappa members have demonstrated intellectual integrity as well as a commitment to the liberal arts and sciences, freedom of inquiry and expression, and the love of knowledge for its own sake. For that reason, membership provides a competitive edge in the marketplace and access to elite networking and mentoring opportunities. Joining Phi Beta Kappa adds your name to a stellar list of notable members.

Why Join?

A newly inducted PBK member receives their certificate

It is an honor extended to only the best students and means that you have access to experiences and networks that open doors to lifelong opportunities, including a competitive edge in the marketplace.

You were chosen for this recognition by a committee of Phi Beta Kappa members drawn from the UMD faculty and administration because your academic excellence and integrity demonstrate breadth and depth in the arts and sciences, as well as a desire to experience the world from multiple viewpoints. Only 10% of all four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. have earned the right to house a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa and less than 10% of students at those institutions—more like 2% at UMD—are selected for membership to Phi Beta Kappa. It is an honor extended to only the best students and means that you have access to experiences and networks that open doors to lifelong opportunities, including a competitive edge in the marketplace. Accepting this honor places you alongside notable members, past and present, like physician and virologist Jonas Salk, author and humorist Mark Twain, mathematician and computer scientist Grace Hopper, U.S Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize Winner Rita Dove, Nobel Laureate and chemist Roger Tsien, historian John Hope Franklin, environmentalist Rachel Carson, and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

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