# Pi Delta Phi

Pi Delta Phi (ΠΔΦ) is the National French Honor Society—La Société d'Honneur de Français for undergraduate and graduate students at public and private colleges and universities in the United States and France. It was formed at the University of California, Berkeley in 1906. Pi Delta Phi is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies.

## History

Pi Delta Phi was founded in 1906 as a departmental honor society for French at the University of California, Berkeley. After many years as a local organization, Pi Delta Phi reorganized and declared itself the National French Honor Society in 1920. The society recognizes outstanding scholarship in the study of the French language or French literature, promotes appreciation of the contributions of French speakers, and encourages French and francophone cultural activities.
Pi Delta Phi chartered the Beta chapter at the University of Southern California in 1925, and the Gamma chapter at the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1926. The society expanded slowly during the next fifteen years but added chapters rapidly after World War II, especially between 1949 and 1952. In 1949 the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF) endorsed the Society officially as the only collegiate French honor society in the United States.
Pi Delta Phi awarded its first scholarship in 1955. In 1963, the society had 90 active chapters and 27,000 initiates. The society was admitted to membership in the Association of College Honor Societies in 1967. By 2011, Pi Delta Phi had 352 active chapters and 60,000 initiates.
Pi Delta Phi is the oldest collegiate academic honor society for a modern foreign language in the United States. It is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Its national headquarters is located at Geneseo, New York.

## Symbols

The motto of Pi Delta Phi is Probaínomen Diakritoi Philogálatoi or Avançons, amis fidèles de la culture française in French or "Forward, faithful friends of French culture" in English. The society's badge is on oblong rectangular key with the Greek letters ΠΔΦ on a vertical band.
Members may wear honor cords in the society's colors at graduation. Its colors are blue, white, and red. Its flower is the fleur-de-lis. Its publication is À Vous l'honneur; it was called Pi Delta Phi News Letter from 1951 to 2021.

## Activities

Pi Delta Phi national awards annual scholarships for summer study abroad in a French-speaking country for undergraduate and graduate members. Chapters host cultural events on campus in their community to promote French culture.

## Membership

Undergraduates who have completed their freshman year and graduate students are eligible for membership after completing one semester of upper-level French with a GPA of at least 3.0 in French and 3.30 overall and a class rank in the top 35 percent. Faculty who teach French and university alumni, diplomats, and community leaders who support the French language and culture are eligible for honorary membership.

## Governance

Pi Delta Phi's executive board, composed of elected four regional vice presidents, is chaired by an elected president who appoints the society's executive director and digital media editor.

## Chapters

It currently numbers more than 406 chapters established at representative public and private colleges and universities in almost every state, as well as chapters in Paris and Aix-en-Provence.

## Notable members

* Emily Apter, academic, translator, editor, and professor