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• Have at least 24 liberal courses completed and/or in progress
  • A course is designated as liberal if it is in the traditional disciplines of the natural sciences, mathematics, social sciences, and humanities. Applied or pre-professional courses are not considered liberal. For example, internship courses are not considered liberal. Additionally, some courses in Nursing, Education, Athletic Training, Accounting, and other areas are not considered liberal.
• Have the QUANT course completed and/or in progress (AP credit does not satisfy the QUANT requirement)
• Have demonstrated a knowledge of a second or non-native language. This is done by
  • Completing or being in the process of completing a 200-level language course at Â鶹ÊÓƵ
  • Being multilingual
  • Demonstrating competency in another language and receiving a waiver for the Â鶹ÊÓƵ language requirement
• Have one or fewer instances academic dishonesty reported and zero instances of disciplinary probation for student conduct
• Meet the breadth requirement. This is done by
  • Completing or being in the process of completing 3 liberal course credits in three of the five divisions or 2 liberal course credits in four of the five divisions
    • There are five divisions in which courses are categorized based on the department that offers the course. The five divisions are: Education, Fine Arts, Humanities, Natural Sciences/Math, and Social Sciences. Note that a course must be considered liberal to be classified into a division.
  • Completing 2 liberal course credits at the 200-level or higher in two of the five divisions, excluding the first 200-level language credit
• Meet the liberal GPA cutoff. This is done by
  • Earning a minimum of a 3.9 GPA as a senior
  • Earning a minimum of a 3.9 GPA as a junior
    • The liberal GPA is calculated using only those courses considered liberal.
    • The GPA cutoffs are minimum; higher cutoffs may be used to ensure that a maximum of 10% of eligible students from a graduating class are inducted each year.
       
    • All information for consideration comes from transcripts and school records. However, we recognize that these documents do not always contain all necessary materials. If you believe that you are eligible for induction into PBK and you did not receive an invitation, please complete the audit request form. More information about an audit request can be found below.

If you believe that you are eligible for induction into PBK and you did not receive an invitation, you can complete the and the PBK Executive Committee will review your request. The Audit Request Form is open only to graduating seniors and must be submitted by March 24, 2025. On this form, you will be asked to provide your name, student id number, and Â鶹ÊÓƵ email address. Additionally, you will need to upload a pdf copy of your unofficial transcript (which can be downloaded from MyÂ鶹ÊÓƵ). There will also be a text box for you to provide more information to aid the executive committee in reviewing your transcript. If you have any questions regarding the Audit Request Form, please reach out to the PBK president.

Friends of Eta of Minnesota

The following individuals are recognized as Friends of the Eta of Minnesota Chapter for displaying a commitment to the standards of Phi Beta Kappa and as people who were instrumental in establishing and founding our chapter. Edward Lindell was president of Â鶹ÊÓƵ from 1975-1980 at a time when the college, like many other small colleges, was struggling under financial strains and shortfalls. Despite the challenges that obtaining a PBK chapter meant, he provided key administration support for our effort. Patty Lindell was the driving spirit in the establishment of the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Library Association and served as its chairperson for 3 years. Her sprit, enthusiasm, and vision were responsible for the strength of the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Library Association and its success from its inception to the present day. Edward and Patty Lindell were early advocates of the importance of the Â鶹ÊÓƵ's affiliation with organizations such as Phi Beta Kappa and worked tirelessly to make the dream of a PBK chapter a reality. Robert E. Karsten was Dean of Faculty during the years 1973–1983 and while not a PBK member, devoted considerable time, energy, as well as the resources of the Dean's office, to assist with establishing a PBK chapter here and gaining approval for a charter from the PBK Society. Rhoda Lund (wife of Russell Lund) was the founding president of the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Library Association and instrumental in its fundraising success. Upon her death in 1979 it was said that "Much more important than her financial support was her active, personal working involvement." (With Grace, Elegance, and Flair: The First 25 Years of Â鶹ÊÓƵ Library Associates, p. 43). The Committee of Five was a faculty-mandated committee—Dr. Gerhard Alexis, Dr. Rodney Davis, Dr. Bernard Erling, Dr. Clair McRostie and Academic, Dean Albert G. Swanson. These involved and dedicated faculty members were responsible for researching the past Â鶹ÊÓƵ PBK chapter applications that had been denied and made recommendations based on their research that helped our successful application at the PBK 33rd Triennial Council meeting in Boston 1982.

Charter Chapter Members

The following individuals were the Eta of Minnesota Chapter charter members of Phi Beta Kappa. Eta of Minnesota was installed on April 7, 1983.

• Gerhard T. Alexis-University of Minnesota-1937
• Helen Baumgartner-Smith College-1953
• Margarete Bower-Allegheny College-1973
• Howard Cohrt-Stanford University-1960
• Rodney O. Davis-Trinity College, Connecticut-1949
• Patricia Dean-Carleton College-1958
• Aaron Everett-University of Idaho-1948
• Mary Everett-Florida State University-1944
• Thomas Emmert-St. Olaf College-1967
• Marleen B. Flory-Mount Holyoke College-1965
• Robert Gardner-Oberlin College-1966
• Thomas A. Gover-University of Kentucky-1955
• Beverly Hargraves-Carleton College-1971
• Clair Johnson-Augustana College, Illinois-1949
• Byron Nordstrom-Lawrence College-1965
• Ranae Peterson-University of South Dakota-1956
• Richard C. Potter-University of Iowa-1974
• Alicia Rivero Potter-Douglas College, Rutgers University-1976
• Michael Shafto-Carleton College-1970
• Barbara Simpson-Washington State University-1964
• Sarah A. Stevenson-University of Minnesota-1967
• Linnea Wren-Radcliffe College-1970

PBK Charters

PBK charters to establish a chapter are granted to the Phi Beta Kappa members on the faculty at the sheltering institution, rather than to the institution (college or university) itself. Â鶹ÊÓƵ, as our host institution, provides access to student information for appropriate faculty and staff so that the chapter can identify candidates for election to membership, a website, and other assistance that supports the efforts of our chapter. It is very difficult to obtain a charter from the Phi Beta Kappa Society (headquartered in Washington D.C.). It is a process that takes a huge commitment of time and energy from those at the sheltering institution. In addition, a wide array of factors is reviewed prior to granting a charter to faculty at a sheltering institution. Everything from the number of books in the library, the financial state of the institution, the kinds of majors, standardized test scores and grade point averages for incoming students, and many other factors. All of these features, and many more, are minutely scrutinized before the Committee on Qualifications of The Society will agree to go to the sheltering institution for the physical and more detailed review of the qualifications of the college or university. The rigor of the process ensures the integrity of both the Phi Beta Kappa Society and the chapter when a charter is granted.