The Phi Beta Kappa Society
Phi Beta Kappa has been one of the most respected academic societies in the world
for more than 200 years. Phi Beta Kappa was founded in 1776 at the College of William
and Mary, Virginia. Within a decade chapters arose at Yale, Harvard, and Dartmouth.
The Wyoming Chapter received its charter in 1940, and today 293 colleges and universities
in America meet the strict qualifications for hosting a chapter. UW faculty and administrators
annually elect to membership fewer than one-tenth of the leading scholars of the senior
class, candidates for the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science. In
exceptional cases a junior may be elected. In addition to having a distinguished academic
record, a student eligible for Phi Beta Kappa must pursue a balanced and broad course
of study, which would include a foreign language as well as courses in math, the sciences,
and the humanities. At least three-quarters of the student's course work must be in
the liberal arts and sciences. Students are reviewed for eligibility and are notified
by mail the spring of their election. Students are not nominated and they may not
apply.
