Phi Beta Kappa celebrates and advocates excellence in the liberal arts and sciences. It is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious national honors society. Only the most outstanding undergraduates at America’s leading colleges and universities who meet the Society’s rigorous and comprehensive standards are elected to membership each year.
The ideal PBK member has demonstrated intellectual integrity, tolerance for other views, and a broad range of academic interests. Members are committed to the liberal arts and sciences, to freedom of inquiry and expression, and to the love of wisdom and knowledge for its own sake.
At the 2021 National PBK Triennial Meeting, Calvin Van Niewaal, Chair of Phi Beta Kappa’s Committee on Chapters, presented their Outstanding Chapter Award to UCI Mu Chapter for their successful inclusion of first-generation students and consistently high acceptance and diversity recognition among those students offered membership.
At UCI there are NO fees for membership! In order to remove all financial barriers to membership, your life-time membership fee is being paid for by UCI. However please note, your registration on the national PBK registration site, as instructed, is still required to validate your membership acceptance.
PBK Initiates,
Welcome! Through its long and distinguished history, dating back to the founding of the United States of America, PBK has stood for excellence in the arts, humanities, and sciences. At UC Irvine, we endeavor to carry on this rich tradition by bringing scholars together and celebrating their work through our Fall Social, Visiting Scholar lectures, scholarships, and the new PBK Book Awards. We look forward to your joining us at many of our events this coming year.
To be selected for membership in Phi Beta Kappa is an extraordinary accomplishment and on behalf of the entire UCI community let me just say that we extend to you our most heartfelt congratulations.
UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman
Invitations to The Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society have been sent out! Please watch your emails for instructions regarding how to join as well as more information.
Want to hear from one of our PBK members? Watch Karishma Muthukumar's testimonial here.
AboutThough you may have been asked to join other honor societies, discover why Phi Beta Kappa is the most prestigious.
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HistoryDiscover the rich history of the oldest, best-known, and most prestigious of all undergraduate academic honor societies.
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ContactThe UCI PBK Office is located on the fifth floor of the Science Library in the Student Excellence Center. Click here for more contact information.
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Michelle Wei will be graduating this year with a double major in Education, with a specialization in Research and Evaluation, and Social Policy and Public Service, with an emphasis in Governance, and double minoring in Management and Political Science. In her 4 years as an undergraduate at UCI, she has served as a Student Parent Orientation Program Staffer, a Sierra Programmer in Mesa Court's SierraHall, a member and executive board member for the Dean's Ambassador Council of the School of Social Sciences, a Campus Representative for UCI Admissions, and a mentor in various club organizations. Her curiosity, persistent nature, and unwavering desire to challenge herself to expand her perspectives propels her ambition to be someone who can create change that helps our future generations thrive and grow.
To learn more about Michelle's journey, click here!
Andy Ketsiri graduated with a History major and Political Science minor in the Spring of 2021. Within three years of undergraduate study, Andy represented UCI as a former White House Intern and as a campus-endorsed candidate for the Rhodes Scholarship. Upon her return from Washington D.C., and her subsequent study abroad program in Rome, she then served as a dedicated Peer Advisor for the UCDC Capital Internship Program. Additionally, Andy championed growth and education in the campus community as a Right to Know/Championing All Men to Prevent Sexism (RTK/CHAMPS) Peer Educator and an Anteater Pledge Ambassador, while also being an Opinion Writer for the New University. Inducted as a junior to Phi Beta Kappa, she has also been recognized for the Chancellor’s Award of Distinction and the Distinguished Anteater Award.
To learn more about Andy's journey, click here!
Catthi Ly has been recently named a Gates Cambridge Scholar. She is the first U.S. recipient at UC Irvine in four years. She is a 2021 graduate who double-majored in Human Biology and Anthropology and received a minor in History and Philosophy of Science. A University of California Regents’ Scholar, Campuswide Honors Collegium Ambassador, and junior inductee of Phi Beta Kappa during her time at UCI, Catthi chose to major in both Human Biology and Anthropology because she knew she wanted to study not only medicine but also the social structures that make health care accessible.
To learn more about Catthi's journey, click here!
Sauntharya Manikandan is currently a Legal Ops Analyst at TIBCO Software and serves as a fellow for both California’s Young Leaders Advisory Council and the Legal Education and Access Pipeline. She is a 2021 inductee of the UCI Mu Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society, the PSI CHI honors society and was selected for the Distinguished Anteater Award in 2020-2021. She plans to pursue a Juris Doctorate degree and hopes to focus on making legal education and access more equitable!
To learn more about Sauntharya's journey, click here!
Thank you to all who participated in our 2021-22 Visiting Scholar Event, featuring Donald S. Lopez Jr. The image gallery is now available for your viewing pleasure.
Click here to view the gallery.
Jack Miles is the author of several books, most recently Religion as We Know It: An Origin Story. His book God: A Biography was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1996.
Click here to view the Forbes article regarding this discovery!
For additional articles:
Congratulations to Adrianna Burton for being our 2021 Phi Beta Kappa Graduate Study Scholarship Award winner! Alpha Alumni Association with additional funding support from the MU Chapter for our initiates, distributes funds and administers a scholarship program called the Graduate Study Award, for all Southern California PBK chapters. Under this program, Adrianna has received a $2500 cash award for use in her first year of graduate school.
To learn more about this award and Adrianna, click here!
Keynote Speaker: Michael Dennin (Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning, Dean of Undergraduate Education, Professor of Physics)
Celebrate the induction of UCI's 2021 juniors and seniors to Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest, most prestigious honor society, founded in 1776. Congratulations to all inductees!
Click here to view the recording.
Thank you to everyone who attended the 2021 PBK Visiting Scholar Event by Roger Guenveur Smith: Performing History! As a courtesy to those who were unable to attend this marvelous performance, please click here to enjoy the experience.
Meet our award winning and widely recognized Phi Beta Kappa members who work right here at UCI.
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Meet the Phi Beta Kappa Mu Chapter's executive board members
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