Welcome
For over 200 years, election to Phi Beta Kappa has been a recognition of intellectual capacities well employed, especially in the acquiring of an education in the liberal arts. Phi Beta Kappa was founded in 1776 at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, and this prestigious honorary now has more than 240 chapters in institutions of higher learning. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (then Sciences and Humanities) at Iowa State University was granted its chapter charter in 1973. The ISU Charter, complete with the names of our founding faculty members, can be found in the 3rd floor conference room in Catt Hall.
Membership
To be eligible for an invitation to membership, an undergraduate must be enrolled in the curriculum in Liberal Arts and Sciences. To be qualified for election as a junior, a student must have completed at least 75 credits toward graduation with a cumulative GPA of 3.80 or higher. Seniors must have completed at least 100 credits toward graduation with a cumulative GPA of 3.60 or higher. For students who transfer to ISU, at least half of these credits must be earned at Iowa State, and both the ISU and adjusted GPA (ISU + transfer) must meet the minimum GPA requirement. Selection also depends on the breadth and difficulty of the program, so students with lower GPAs but more challenging courses will be selected ahead of students who have attained higher GPAs in part by avoiding challenges.
The program of study must include at least 93 credits in liberal arts courses (although they may appear on the degree program in the groups, the major(s), minor(s) or electives). Other requirements for eligibility are (a) six semester credits of collegiate study in the mathematical disciplines in courses acceptable for Group III in the General Education Requirements (or one year of geometry and two years of algebra and/or trigonometry in high school plus three semester credits of collegiate study in the mathematical disciplines), and (b) at least two semesters of collegiate study in one foreign language (or six semesters of high school study in one foreign language).
New members are invited in the first week of March.