Selection Criteria – Phi Beta Kappa

As stated on the Membership page, only one election per year per class is held in the spring semester (usually in April). The academic record considered includes credits and grades earned through the Fall semester. Therefore, coursework in progress during the Spring semester is not considered. Only Wooster courses can be considered in the determination of eligibility (an exception may be considered for courses completed at another institution hosting a Phi Beta Kappa chapter).

Membership
1. There are four classes of members of the Chapter.
  1. Members in Course: members of the Junior and Senior classes elected as described below.
  2. Alumni Members: members elected from among the College’s alumni body at some point after graduation.
  3. Associate Members: persons coming from other chapters who become members of the College’s faculty or staff and may be admitted to the Chapter with all the privileges of members. Only Associate Members may participate in the election of new members.
  4. Affiliated Members: other members of Phi Beta Kappa in the surrounding community who may become related to the Chapter and may be invited to public functions but are without responsibility for the conduct of the Chapter.
2. Members in Course
  1. General Regulations
    1. Election to membership-in-course requires a 3/4 vote of the members present at which the election is held.
    2. Only candidates for the B.A. degree may be elected to membership.
    3. Course (unless indicated otherwise) means any course graded A-F and excluding those numbered 410 or 415.
    4. No student shall be elected if they have spent fewer than four semesters in residence at the college as a full-time student. A “full time” student in each semester is one who takes at least three courses that semester (including courses graded S/NC).
    5. Not more than 10 percent of the graduating class shall ordinarily be elected to membership.
  2. Elections: There shall be only one election per year per class, and they shall be held in the spring semester.
Eligibility Requirements for Members in Course
1. The G.P.A. is to be computed beyond two decimal places and then rounded to two places, an exact half being rounded upward (e.g., 3. 714=3.71; 3.715=3.72; 3.718=3.72)
2. Juniors
  1. All students to be elected based on a 3.8 GPA (up to three percent of the graduating class) who satisfy the requirements in the above-mentioned items I.B.1. b., c., and d., shall be recommended for election based on:
    1. completing five semesters of full-time work (in this case full-time means four courses per semester) at Wooster, or
    2. less than the above amount of full-time work, but at least 19 courses, and
    3. having completed three courses taken at the College in each of Arts and Humanities (AH), History and Social Sciences (HSS), and Math and Natural Sciences (MNS), and
    4. having completed a foreign language course at the 102 level or greater, been granted a waiver to take a 200-level foreign language course, or been given credit for foreign language work at a 200 level or above, and
    5. having completed a course with the QL designation
  2. If exclusion is necessary under the three percent rule, those eligible above shall be taken in order of decreasing GPA.
3. Seniors, or eligibility after fulfilling the requirements for graduation:
  1. Graduating seniors who satisfy the requirements in the above-mentioned items I.B.1. b., c., and d. are eligible based on
    1. completing at least 12 courses in residence at Wooster in their last four semesters with an average of at least 3.67, and
    2. fulfilling the following:
      1. having completed three courses taken at the College in each of Arts and Humanities (AH), History and Social Sciences (HSS), and Math and Natural Sciences (MNS), and
      2. having completed a foreign language course at the 102 level, been granted a waiver to take a 200-level foreign language course, or been given credit for foreign language work at a 200 level or above, and
      3. having completed a course with the QL designation
    3. If exclusion is necessary under the 10 percent rule, those eligible above shall be taken in order of decreasing GPA.
4. Further Eligibility Requirements
  1. Electees must meet a standard of good moral character. A serious infraction of the Code of Academic Integrity or Code of Social Responsibility, as verified by the Dean for Curriculum and Academic Engagement and/or Dean of Students, makes a student ineligible.