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Phi Beta Kappa
Phi Beta Kappa
UCSB hosts a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, and top students are eligible for election into this society, typically in their senior year. The aim of Phi Beta Kappa is to recognize academic excellence and "intellectual curiosity" in liberal studies, and membership is by invitation only. Election to Phi Beta Kappa requires that a student have demonstrated genuine intellectual curiosity by taking a wide range of classes, especially beyond what is minimally required. Many of the degree programs in the sciences, including the biological sciences degrees, have a large number of required courses; together with the General Education requirements, there are relatively fewer units with which to demonstrate this intellectual curiosity. Students in the biology departments who are interested in being elected to Phi Beta Kappa should note that among the criteria used are demonstration of mastery of a foreign language; this usually requires at least one quarter of University-level language. Further information can be found at the Phi Beta Kappa Website. |
| Undergraduate Program in Biology - University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9611 |
"For more than 200 years, the Phi Beta Kappa Society has pursued its mission of fostering and recognizing excellence in the liberal arts and sciences. The Society's distinctive emblem, a golden key, is widely recognized as a symbol of academic achievement. (from the Phi Beta Kappa web site www.pbk.org)."