Who We Are The Phi Beta Kappa Association of the Delaware Valley is one of 50 Phi Beta Kappa Associations nationwide. This page features interesting details about the national organization of Phi Beta Kappa, its rich history, and its many worthy projects. It was the first society to have a Greek letter name. The Society fosters and recognizes excellence in the liberal arts and sciences. It boasts 255 chapters and more than one half million members.
Membership is now honorary and based on high scholastic standing.
A member, informally called a Phi Beta Kappa or just Phi Bete is defined as a person winning high scholastic distinction in an American college or university and being elected to membership in the honor society. The emblem of the society is a gold key bearing the Greek letters Phi, Beta, and Kappa. The principal programs conducted by the Society on a national level are the Award Program , the Visiting Scholar program, and the Book Award Program. Annual awards include the Mary Isabel Sibley Fellowship, the Christian Gauss Award, the Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science, and the Ralph Waldo Emerson Award. It was first offered in 1959.