Invitations to membership in the national Phi Beta Kappa Society are issued by the local chapter. The UM committee closely examines each and every transcript looking for signs of intellectual engagement and breadth and depth of program. Over and above the requirements discussed below, we conduct a holistic review that takes the entire record into account. A very high GPA alone is not a guarantee of election to Phi Beta Kappa.
Fewer than ten percent of each year’s graduating seniors and a very few juniors are invited to join Phi Beta Kappa from the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. Seniors with outstanding achievements in the liberal arts in other schools and colleges of the University of Michigan may be invited to join if they have earned a substantial number of liberal arts credits and they are nominated by their school. Transfer students with superior academic records in the liberal arts may also receive invitations to join.
Students do not need to apply for Phi Beta Kappa membership. Once a year, in January and February, we review the transcripts of potential candidates, students expected to graduate in May as well as August and December graduates from the previous year. Our review takes into account achievement in the liberal arts and sciences as indicated by a student’s cumulative grade point average, strength of curriculum, demonstrated proficiency in foreign language and mathematics, and other factors. The selection committee looks for evidence of both breadth and depth of interest in the liberal arts and sciences. Fourth-term proficiency in a language other than English (the equivalent of the LSA language requirement) is required, as is graded work in a sufficiently advanced quantitative area (MATH 115 or higher, STATS 250 or higher, most, but not all, QR/1 courses). A combination of two QR/2 courses is not acceptable.
Elements that can mitigate against an invitation include a large amount of pass/fail work , most of a distribution area taken pass/fail, and semesters with light course loads. With very few exceptions, no more than two courses for which a student has chosen pass/fail grading will be accepted. Consistent with the awards given by UM, our expectation is that students will take at least 14 credit hours each term. In recent years, the lowest GPA for seniors has been well above 3.9. For a junior invitation, it is considerably higher.
Often students ask whether or not we take their extracurricular activities and service projects into account. In a school as large as Michigan, it is impossible for us to have access to that information for the bulk of our potential membership, so we are not able to include that in our deliberations. However, students with unusual circumstances that might negatively influence our decisions are welcome to contact us and explain the situation. For example, a student with a full-time job throughout the undergraduate years might be given some flexibility with respect to the number of credit hours elected each term.
If you would like to have a member of our committee look over your record and offer suggestions about your program, email phibetakappa@umich.edu. One of us will be happy to discuss it with you. If you feel you are eligible for membership but do not receive an invitation by late March of your senior year, feel free to contact us and we will be sure to review your record. This is particularly relevant to transfer students and students graduating in three years who are occasionally not recognized as graduates.