# Eligibility & Election ## expand\_more ## Election Process 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 [Phi Beta Kappa Membership Requirements](https://www.pbk.org/membership/membership-requirements). This includes the language requirement (stipulation 3) and mathematics, logic, and statistics requirement (stipulation 4). The Phi Beta Kappa national organization voted on and adopted updated stipulations in Summer 2025. To satisfy the **Phi Beta Kappa language requirement**, students must demonstrate "basic competency in communication skills in, and introductory linguistic understanding of, a non-native or second language." As such, students must have completed the College's language requirement at the time of election. To satisfy the **Phi Beta Kappa mathematics, logic, and statistics requirement**, students must have completed the College’s Quantitative Reasoning with Data (QRD) requirement at the time of election. 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 the academic records of candidates. The election committees pay particular attention to the difficulty and intellectual breadth and coherence of the candidate's program. 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. For each of the three elections, the list of candidates for election will be made up of: (1) Students with the highest GPAs in each of the three academic areas (Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences). The number of students from each area will reflect the proportion of students in the class who are concentrating in that subject-area. (2) Students nominated by the Director of Undergraduate Studies in their concentration or by their Allston Burr Resident Dean. The eligibility criteria for each election are listed below. **Students who are identified as possible candidates will automatically be considered for election.** Students’ academic transcripts will be reviewed by the election committee. **In line with the final senior election conducted each May, there is no longer an application component for the Junior 24 and Senior 48 elections.** Thus, students no longer need to submit letters of recommendation or short answer questions via CARAT for the Junior 24 and Senior 48 elections. The election committee is comprised of Phi Beta Kappa chapter officers and faculty representatives from the three academic areas. The election process is strictly confidential, and it includes consultation and review with the representatives from each concentration. **Students will be notified only if they have been elected to the chapter.** Notifications for the Junior 24 are typically sent in late March/early April; for the Senior 48 in mid- to late November; and for the final senior election shortly before graduation. The Chapter Officers and the [Office of Undergraduate Education](https://oue.fas.harvard.edu/) (OUE) manage this selection process and can answer questions at . Elections are strictly confidential, and students will not be told whether they are under consideration for any of the elections. Students elected to Phi Beta Kappa will be informed via email after each election. 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 $115, which covers the cost of the certificate of membership, Alpha Iota dues, and lifetime membership in the National Phi Beta Kappa Society. ## Eligibility 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. Candidates must also have completed PBK’s language requirement (stipulation 3) and mathematics, logic, and statistics requirement (stipulation 4) by the time of election. Those eligible for each election are as follows: **Junior 24.** Members of the Junior Class who are active students who have completed five terms of undergraduate study at Harvard College. Transfer students are thus not eligible for the Junior 24. **Senior 48.** Members of the Senior Class who are active students and who have completed at least six terms of undergraduate study at Harvard College. (Transfer students who have completed two years of undergraduate study at Harvard College are eligible.) **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. Please note students may be eligible only once in each of the three elections (Junior 24, Senior 48, and final senior). Off-cycle students with questions about the elections for which they are eligible can contact the Chapter at with any questions.