About Us

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.
About Our Members

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.
Did You Know

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.

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Welcoming Message

Welcome new Phi Beta Kappa initiates and returning campus members! As citizen-scholars who have achieved academic excellence, you have much to contribute to the healing and renewal of our communities, nation, and planet. I am proud to serve this year as President of the Mu Chapter of PBK. This year we aim to connect with our members around matters of moment and to increase the diversity of our ranks. We hope you will join us for the PBK Lecture by actor, director and writer Roger Guenveur Smith on May 5-6, 2021.

PBK President Dr. Julia Reinhard Lupton

Welcoming Message

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

About

Though you may have been asked to join other honor societies, discover why Phi Beta Kappa is the most prestigious.

History

Discover the rich history of the oldest, best-known, and most prestigious of all undergraduate academic honor societies.

Contact

The UCI PBK Office is located in the Writing Center, on the first floor of the Science Library. Click here for more contact information.

PBK Member Spotlight

March Highlight: Aparna Shakkarwar

Aparna Shakkarwar is a fourth-year, junior inductee to Phi Beta Kappa, graduating in spring of 2021. She is currently pursuing a double-major in Economics and Education Sciences, as well as a minor in Political Science. She was admitted to UCI as a UC Regents’ Scholar, received the Malcom Stacey Memorial Scholarship for two years, and is a current Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Fellow.

To learn more about Aparn's Journey, click here!

February Highlight: Ravi Sandhu

A junior inductee to Phi Beta Kappa, Ravi graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Public Health and received the Chancellor’s Award of Distinction, Honors in Public Health, Special Recognition in Public Health, along with distinction in the Biological Sciences for Research Excellence, and membership in the Delta Omega public health honor society.

In January 2021, Ravi became the first UCI undergraduate Semi-Finalist for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program English Teaching Assistantship to Moldova. He is currently awaiting results from the Moldova review panel, which will choose recipients by the end of Spring Quarter 2021.

January Highlight: Malak Kudaimi

Congratulations to Malak Kudaimi for being selected as one of the 2020 Marshall scholars! She is the thirs UC Irvine student to receive the award, following Felipe Hernandez in 2015 and Kelly Maglia in 1996. In addition, Kudaimin, who is a full-time staff member at the Fresh Basic Needs Hub, is also the first UCI staff member to receive the Marshall Scholarship.

Announcements

Shakespeare Festival of Foolery

Join your fellow campus PBK members to unite as a team and compete in fun, food and frivolity.

For more details about this event, check out our Upcoming Events page!

Winter 2021 Events

"What Matters to Me and Why"

Join us in this discussion with PBK Mu Chapter Historian Virginia Trimble. The series explores personal journeys – choices made, difficulties encountered, commitments formed and joys revealed – with the hope that these stories will help us to understand diverse pathways in life, work and leadership. Such understandings are crucial for fortifying tolerance, strengthening bonds, and supporting the virtues that make UCI a great institution.

Click here to learn more about this event.

Event hosted by UCI Office of the Chancellor