Phi Beta Delta

About

Phi Beta Delta (PBD), founded at California State University, Long Beach in 1986, is the first honor society dedicated to recognizing scholarly achievement in international education. As of December of 2012, 192 chapters have been chartered.

PBD traces its background to the eighteenth-century founding of Phi Beta Kappa. In the nineteenth century, Greek fraternities divided into the social, professional, and academic Greeks. Phi Beta Delta is an academic and professional society, unique because it is resolutely interdisciplinary and international. Its formal organization brought together numerous pre-existing internally-oriented campus groups. Its goals are:

• to recognize the scholarly achievement of international students and scholars, students who have studied abroad and faculty and staff who are involved in international activities;
• to serve as a vehicle for the development of academic-based international programming; and
• to provide a network on campus of faculty, staff and students involved in international endeavors

In 1995, the University of Richmond established the Gamma Iota chapter of Phi Beta Delta. Since then, more than 600 students have joined.

Criteria for Membership

The criteria for membership into the Gamma Iota chapter of PBD are:

• a grade point average of 3.2 or better,
• status as a 3^rd or 4^th year student,
• a semester (or two summer sessions) of study abroad.
• International students are exempt from the study abroad criteria
• PBD members are expected to engage in at least one opportunity for volunteer work and to pursue it throughout their time on campus, until graduation.