Eligibility & Election

To be elected to Alpha-Iota of Massachusetts, the Harvard College chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, a student must possess a record of outstanding scholarly achievement, showing both depth of study and breadth of intellectual interest.

Because Phi Beta Kappa is a national organization, to be considered for election to the Alpha Iota Chapter, students must meet all national PBK - Phi Beta Kappa Membership Requirements. This includes the language requirement.

To satisfy the Phi Beta Kappa Language Requirement, students must demonstrate intermediate-level proficiency in a language other than English, equivalent to two years of college-level study. This can be fulfilled in one of the following ways:

  • Placing out of the College’s language requirement by examination, namely: achieving a score of 5 on an Advanced Placement (AP) exam, 7 on an International Baccalaureate (IB) exam, 700 on a College Entrance Examination Board SAT II Test in a language other than English, or a score on a designated Harvard placement exam that fulfills the foreign language requirement.
  • Placing out of the College's language requirement by having attended a high school where the primary language of instruction was a language other than English, as confirmed by the Office of Undergraduate Education in consultation with the Admissions Office.
  • Successfully completing two semesters of Harvard language study at an intermediate level or higher (beyond the first-year introductory courses).

Note: While one year of introductory language study meets the College’s general language requirement, it is not sufficient for Phi Beta Kappa eligibility.

Undergraduates are elected to the Harvard College chapter of Phi Beta Kappa three times a year. The elections take place in the meetings of committees who carefully consider transcripts and confidential letters of recommendation. Twenty-four juniors are elected in March or April, forty-eight seniors in November, and an additional group of seniors (typically about ninety-six) in May to bring the total number of students elected in each graduating class to no more than 10 percent of the class. In the Junior 24 and Senior 48 elections, the election committees pay particular attention to the difficulty and intellectual coherence of the candidate's program.

Election committees are composed of Harvard faculty and senior staff who are members of Phi Beta Kappa. For each election, three committees are convened -- one each in Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Humanities. Each committee has before it a list of candidates that is about twice the number to be elected. The number of names on each committee's list reflects the proportion of students in the class who are concentrating in that subject-area. For example, in the Junior 24 election, the number of candidates will always be 48, and typically they will be in the proportions: 24 in Social Sciences - 14 in Natural Sciences - 10 in Humanities. The number elected in this case would be 12 in Social Sciences, 7 in Natural Sciences, and 5 in Humanities.

To arrive at the lists of candidates, the pool of eligible students (see Eligibility below) is sorted into the three areas of concentration, and then according to grade-point average (GPA). Those who are invited to become candidates are those with the highest GPAs in each area, up to the number allocated to that area. Notice that in this system there is no fixed GPA cut-off.

Students who are identified as possible candidates for the elections of the Junior 24 and Senior 48 receive a letter from the Chapter president inviting them to put their names forward. If they wish to do so, they must submit their student record and a confidential letter of recommendation, and also sign a release form, granting permission for electors to see copies of their transcripts and the letter. Students who do not grant permission for a release of their transcript or letters of recommendation cannot be considered for election. The Office of Undergraduate Education (OUE) manages this application process through CARAT. Please heed their instructions carefully and email the OUE in case of concerns or questions (oue@fas.harvard.edu).

The May elections are conducted without the need for a waiver or letters of recommendation. Elections will be conducted by Chapter officers, in consultation with Directors of Undergraduate Studies in the relevant concentrations, on the basis of transcripts and departmental honors recommendations. Ordinarily students not recommended for honors in their concentrations will not be elected. Students under consideration in this election WILL NOT be informed in advance that they are being considered; they will only hear if they have been elected, shortly before graduation.

After the election meetings, students are informed of the Chapter's decision in writing, generally within three weeks after the deadline for submitting Release Forms and letters of recommendation. Those who are elected and accept membership in Alpha Iota will be inducted at a ceremony shortly after each election. New members are asked to pay a registration fee of $85, which covers the cost of the certificate of membership, Alpha Iota dues, and lifetime membership in the National Phi Beta Kappa Society.

A candidate for election to PBK must have never failed a course, and must have never been found responsible by the Administrative Board of an offense of academic dishonesty. Those eligible for each election are as follows:

Junior 24. Members of the Junior Class who have completed two and a half years of undergraduate study at Harvard College. Students who are away from Harvard in the current term are eligible if they have two and a half years' work on their transcripts already. Students who have had a previous term away from Harvard and are therefore in their fifth term, are not eligible. Transfer students are likewise not eligible. Third-year students who are advanced standing and who intend to graduate in May are considered seniors and are thus not eligible.

Senior 48. Members of the Senior Class (either students in their final year or advanced standing seniors) who have completed two years of undergraduate study at Harvard College. Transfer students who came to Harvard in their second year are thus eligible, but not those who came in their third year. A senior is not eligible if they have been considered for this election in a previous year (as might have happened in the case of a third-year student who was counted as a Senior in virtue of advanced standing).

Final seniors. Students who will be graduating from Harvard College at the upcoming Commencement, or who have graduated in the preceding November or March. Transfer students are eligible if they have or will have completed at least two years of study at Harvard before graduation.