Phi Beta Kappa (Delta of Tennessee Chapter)

The Phi Beta Kappa Society was founded by five students at the College of William and Mary in 1776, during the American Revolution. Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest and one of the most prestigious honor societies in the United States. In addition to advocating excellence in the liberal arts and the sciences, it also promotes freedom of inquiry and liberty of thought and expression. There are 500,000 members, at 280 American colleges and universities. Among the many members, there have been 17 United States presidents, 38 Supreme Court justices and 138 Nobel laureates. Fisk University was the first of four historically black colleges to be chartered with a Phi Beta Kappa Chapter. The Fisk Chapter, the Delta of Tennessee, was charted in April 1953. There were eight charter members and two foundation members, one of whom was Dr. John Hope Franklin. Four students were the first initiates, inducted in May 1953. Eligibility Criteria for Election of Undergraduate Students to Membership in Phi Beta Kappa:

Eligible students shall be candidates for a bachelor’s degree in a College of Arts and Sciences or its institutional equivalent.
They shall be majoring in an area of the liberal arts or sciences.
They shall include not less than 90 semester hours of liberal work among the 120 hours ordinarily required for the degree.
Grades earned in professional or applied work shall not be counted in computing the grade point averages for purposes of eligibility.
Candidates shall have demonstrated, by successful work in high school or college, or in the two together, knowledge of mathematics and of a foreign language at a level at least minimally appropriate for a liberal education.
Completion of at least six semesters of liberal arts work at Fisk University shall be the requirement for election. Transfer students will be considered eligible for election to the Delta Chapter of Tennessee if and only if they have:
Been at Fisk University for four semesters by their senior semester;
Earned at least a 3.3 cumulative grade point average as transfer students;
Earned at least a 3.8 cumulative grade point average while at Fisk University; and met all other requirements for eligibility.
Grades earned in applied or professional work shall not be counted in computing the grade point average for purposes of eligibility.
In the case of exchange students, grades secured in other colleges shall not be computed but the time spent as an exchange student shall be considered as residence at Fisk University.
Students who would like to be considered for election after six semesters, must have a 3.7 minimum grade point average. The minimum average for election based on seven or eight semesters of completed work shall be 3.5.
The number of undergraduates elected to membership from any class, including those elected after six semesters and beyond, shall in no case exceed 10% of the number of students with liberal arts majors who are eligible to become members of Phi Beta Kappa.