Election of New Members
Each Fall and Spring term, the Chapter reviews the transcripts of hundreds of graduating students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences whose overall GPA is in the top 15-20% of their class. We also consider a smaller group of “rising seniors” (newly 4LS) with GPAs in the top 5% of the class. The distribution and diversity of coursework within and outside of their major discipline is evaluated, and those with sufficient “spread” of coursework in the liberal arts and sciences are invited to become members of the Society. The specific criteria and the evaluation process can be found under The Selection Process: Qualifying for PBK. Somewhere between half and two-thirds of students with qualifying GPA’s have sufficient spread to earn invitations, so an outstanding GPA is only part of the selection process.
Spring Initiation Ceremony and Banquet
Students elected in the fall or spring terms of each academic year and who have joined Phi Beta Kappa as new members may participate in the annual Initiation Ceremony. The event is held on campus, typically the week before the end of spring term classes. Initiates may also join with us for a buffet dinner preceding the ceremony.
Spring 2023 Charge to the Phi Beta Kappa Initiates, Robert D. Holt, University of Florida
Visiting Scholar Program
The National Society each year sponsors a Visiting Scholars Program. More than a dozen outstanding scholars, in areas ranging across the liberal arts and sciences, visit over 100 colleges and universities, spending two days at each one, meeting informally with students and faculty members, taking part in classroom discussions, and giving a public lecture open to the entire academic community. The visits are designed primarily for undergraduate participation. The purpose of the program is to contribute to the intellectual life of the campus by making possible an exchange of ideas between the Visiting Scholars and the resident faculty and students. More than 4,347 visits have been made by 518 Visiting Scholars who have taken part in the program during the past 49 years. The UF Chapter has succeeded in hosting a Visiting Scholar almost every year.
UF Phi Beta Kappa Lecture Series
In addition to the Visiting Scholar Program, the UF Chapter has sponsored occasional public talks by outstanding local scholars. For upcoming talks, visit our lecture series page.