Phi Beta Kappa, Gamma of New Jersey

In 1979, Drew became the third institution in New Jersey to be granted a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.

Members are elected in the spring semester and an induction ceremony is held in April.

The History of Phi Beta Kappa

Five students at the College of William and Mary founded The Phi Beta Kappa Society in 1776, during the American Revolution. For more than two and a quarter centuries, the Society has embraced the principles of freedom of inquiry and liberty of thought and expression. Phi Beta Kappa (ΦΒΚ) stands for Φιλοσοφία Βίου Κυβερνήτης in Greek (Philosophia Biou Kubernetes in Latin letters), which means “Love of learning is the guide of life, ” the motto of the Society. These ideas, symbolized on Phi Beta Kappa’s distinctive gold key, still lay the foundations of personal freedom, scientific inquiry, liberty of conscience, and creative endeavor.

Today, the Phi Beta Kappa Society celebrates and advocates excellence in the liberal arts and sciences. Phi Beta Kappa chapters invite for induction the most outstanding arts and sciences students at 283 leading U.S. colleges and universities. The Society sponsors activities to advance the humanities, the social sciences, and the natural sciences in higher education and in society at large.

A network of associations provides Phi Beta Kappa members opportunities to stay connected and involved in their own communities. Each year, about one college senior in a hundred, nationwide, is invited to join The Phi Beta Kappa Society. Only about 10 percent of the nation’s institutions of higher learning have Phi Beta Kappa chapters. And only about 10 percent of the arts and sciences graduates of these distinguished institutions are invited to join The Phi Beta Kappa Society which makes the invitation process one of the most selective in the nation.

The ideal Phi Beta Kappa member has demonstrated intellectual integrity, tolerance for other views, and a broad range of academic interests. Since the Society’s founding in 1776, 17 U.S. Presidents, 42 U.S. Supreme Court Justices, and more than 150 Nobel Laureates have been inducted as members, along with countless authors, diplomats, athletes, researchers, actors, and business leaders. Famous or not, all of our members have one thing in common their rigorous pursuit of excellence in the arts and sciences. Visit: https://www.pbk.org/web

Below are the principal qualifications the chapter uses to determine whether the academic requirements have been met, and a list of members of the Drew Gamma Chapter of The Phi Beta Kappa Society: