Phi Beta Kappa at Auburn University
Phi Beta Kappa is the nation's oldest, most prestigious, and most selective academic honor society. The mission of the Society of Phi Beta Kappa is to foster and recognize excellence in the liberal arts and sciences. Founded in 1776, its members have included seventeen U.S. Presidents, forty-one U.S. Supreme Court Justices, and more than one hundred and forty Nobel laureates. As the society's website attests: "Famous or not, all of our members have one thing in common — the pursuit of excellence."
Phi Beta Kappa celebrates and advocates excellence in the liberal arts and sciences. Its campus chapters invite for induction the most outstanding arts and sciences students at America's leading colleges and universities. The Society sponsors activities to advance these studies — the humanities, the social sciences, and the natural sciences — in higher education and in society at large.
Only about one in ten colleges and universities that display a strong commitment to the arts and sciences are found to be of such exceptional quality that they are allowed charters for local PBK chapters. Only a very small number of students at these select institutions qualify for election each year by demonstrating truly outstanding achievement in the pursuit of a rigorous education in the traditional arts and sciences. After many years of effort, Auburn University earned its PBK charter in 2001.
Among the bare minimum requirements for membership are a GPA near 4.0, at least four semesters of university-level foreign language study, MATH 1120 or higher, and 90 credit hours in the traditional liberal arts and sciences. In most years, only about 1% of all Auburn juniors and seniors earn an invitation to join the chapter.
For more information please contact chapter secretary, Elijah Gaddis or visit the national office website.
News
Victoria Ashley, a finalist for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship, has spent her time at Auburn leading with a “servant’s heart.”
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Jack Janik’s time at Auburn was shaped by curiosity, collaboration and a growing passion for tribology — the study of friction, wear and lubrication. The graduate of the Honors College and the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering credits Auburn with helping him discover his academic interests and prepare for a career in industry.
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Rachel Dinkel is contracting her way through her Honors career. Contracting allows students to earn Honors credit by adding a unique, academically rigorous component to a non-Honors course. These projects go beyond the standard curriculum, offering students the chance to dive deeper into topics that matter to them, whether this is through research, creative work or service learning.
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The Honors College hosted its annual Induction Ceremony on Sept. 14, welcoming its newest Honors students in a moment that marked the beginning of their Auburn journey.
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One of the benefits that Honors students enjoy during their time at Auburn is access to two academic advisors: one rooted in the college of their major and one in the Honors College.
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During the Honors College's annual Week of Service program, 86 students and 15 student counselors served a total of 1,045 hours.
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Honors students at Auburn can enjoy access to two study spaces that are designed specifically for them, offering quiet environments away from — yet close to — the bustle of campus.
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Benjamin Fagan has been appointed as the Honors College’s assistant director for National Prestigious Scholarships. The associate professor of English will support undergraduate and graduate students from across campus, educating them on national scholarship programs.
July 16, 2025
