Congratulations on your election to the Alpha of Vermont Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa!
To join the ranks of the approximately 4,500 outstanding students who have become Phi Beta Kappa members at UVM since the chapter’s founding in 1848, you must attend an induction ceremony and sign the chapter book. If you cannot attend the ceremony, please contact Prof. Nicole Phelps to make alternate arrangements.
Traditionally, our fall ceremony is on December 5, and our spring ceremony is on the Saturday morning of commencement weekend. (We are currently awaiting news about whether the May 2025 commencement activities will be on a traditional schedule or a new schedule.)
Students who were inducted in May 2020 or May 2021 and who have not yet signed the chapter book in person are invited to attend a future ceremony or to make an individual appointment to sign. Contact nphelps@uvm.edu for more information.
At the December ceremony, students wear professional attire. At the May ceremony, students wear regalia.
The chapter’s current practice is to present each student with a certificate, a Phi Beta Kappa key, and an honor cord during the ceremony. Our thanks to the various college deans for their support in this regard.
If you have a family member or professor who is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, that person can present you with your key during the ceremony. Please check in with us before the start of the ceremony so we can confirm the logistics.
If you our any of your guests need accommodations of some kind, please contact the chapter at phibeta@uvm.edu as soon as possible so we can make appropriate arrangements.
For the May ceremony, there is also a roundabout driveway in front of Royall Tyler Theatre to drop off people with mobility issues. Parking is available in the Allen House, Wheeler House, and Waterman parking lots.
Fees and dues. There is no cost to you to join Phi Beta Kappa, and once you participate in an induction ceremony, you are a member for the remainder of your life. Traditionally, the President’s Office at UVM very kindly pays the one-time national membership fee for each student upon their induction into the chapter.
The Alpha of Vermont, while housed at the University of Vermont, is financially independent of the university. Therefore, the chapter generally contacts alumni annually to request small contributions to the chapter; funds collected primarily finance the induction ceremonies and receptions. Individuals can opt to become lifetime dues members of the chapter, thereby removing their name from the annual contributions mailing. Annual and lifetime dues contributions are strictly optional, but they are very much appreciated.
The national Phi Beta Kappa Society also periodically contacts those elected to the Alpha of Vermont. Many of its services are available at no cost to those inducted into our chapter; others come with voluntary contributions to the national society. The Alpha of Vermont is financially independent of the national Phi Beta Kappa Society.