Honors Societies

Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest and most prestigious liberal arts honorary society in the United States. The organization was founded in 1776 at the College of William and Mary in Virginia. The Alpha chapter in the State of New Jersey was established at Rutgers College in 1869, and the Douglass College section was created in 1922 with the graduation of the first class from the New Jersey College for Women.

Douglass students are invited to membership by the Douglass section in the spring term. The Douglass section reviews student records for the following criteria for consideration of election:

Cumulative grade point average of at least a 3.500 for seniors and 3.800 for juniors.
Evidence of academic proficiency in a language other than English or at least completion of the second intermediate course (generally the course numbered 132) Proficiency may be established by placement examination.
Course work which is at least three-quarters liberal in nature. Professional or applied coursework such as accounting or performance music is generally excluded.
A minimum of forty-eight credits earned or expected at Rutgers University

Students who meet these minimum criteria are not guaranteed election, particularly in the case of juniors where only a very few offers of membership are extended.

Each year, many Douglass women meet and exceed these criteria and are offered membership into this organization. Phi Beta Kappa is a prestigious honor, widely recognized through out the world and a significant achievement of its members.

Douglass Students Elected to Phi Beta Kappa, Spring 2009

Douglass women are recognized by several other societies including:

Sigma Theta Tau International (College of Nursing)
Omicron Delta Epsilon (Economics)
Tau Beta Pi (National Engineering Society)
Phi Sigma Iota (Foreign Language)
Delta Phi Alpha (German)
National Society of Collegiate Scholars
Phi Alpha Theta (History)
Pi Sigma Alpha (Political Science)
Psi Chi (Psychology)
School of Pharmacy Honor Societies
Sigma Delta Pi (Spanish)
Sigma Xi - (Science)

For further information, contact Dean Marjorie Munson, Office of Research, Scholarships and Assessment.