WikiCU - User contributions [en]

Phi Beta Kappa

2007-04-04T16:08:27Z

Owlet:

'''The Phi Beta Kappa Society''' is an academic honor society with the mission of "fostering and recognizing excellence" in the undergraduate liberal arts and sciences. Founded at the College of William and Mary on December 5, 1776, it was the first collegiate organization to adopt a Greek-letter name and is the oldest honor society in the United States. Today there are 270 chapters and over half a million living members.

Phi Beta Kappa (ΦΒΚ) stands for polytonic or ''philosophia biou kubernetes'' — "Love of wisdom, the guide of life."

== Membership ==
Although each individual chapter determines its specific application of the Phi Beta Kappa Council's 1952 Stipulations Concerning Eligibility for Membership and sets its own academic standards, even the most generous chapter will typically elect fewer than 10% among the candidates for degrees at that College of Arts and Sciences.

Because of its rich history and selectivity, Phi Beta Kappa is generally considered the most prestigious American college honor society and membership is one of the highest honors that can be conferred on undergraduate liberal arts and science students.

However, in the last two decades, rates of acceptance of Phi Beta Kappa membership invitations by students or "members in course" have significantly dropped. During the last triennial convention held in October 2006, the national secretary (chief executive officer) of Phi Beta Kappa admitted in his annual State of the Society address that:

"The data show a generally heartening, but not entirely untroubled picture. At about a third of our chapters, essentially no one turns down the invitation. At almost another third, the acceptance rate is above 80%. But at the remaining chapters, almost 100, the rates are lower. At a small number of chapters, the percentage of invited students who are subsequently initiated is as low as 40% and 30%. Some who have seen these figures question the viability of those campuses as sheltering institutions."<ref>John W. Churchill, "State of the Society Address", 41st Triennial Convention of Phi Beta Kappa, Atlanta, Georgia, October 2006.</ref>

The national secretary then admitted that:

"It is distressing that anyone should decline this honor. Our aim is to have strong acceptance rates at all our chapters."<ref>''Ibid''.</ref>

Making Phi Beta Kappa recognizable in many campuses is a major challenge that the Society faces in this new millennium.

== History ==
Student associations of a social nature were formed hundreds of years ago in European universities. These student groups, guilds and other social, literary, and religious associations, existed in Europe over many centuries and in many forms. By the time colleges were founded in the American colonies, however, nearly all traces of student organizations and independence in lifestyle had been eliminated. Thus, the institution of American college Greek-letter fraternities is the unique development of American students.

Of the nine colonial colleges established in the 1600s and 1700s, the College of William and Mary was among the most prominent and had some of the best classroom and residential buildings. Founded in 1693, it is second in age only to Harvard. It was at William and Mary, during the Revolutionary War, that the first Greek-letter college fraternity was established.

When the United States Declaration of Independence was read in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, it proclaimed the right of the colonials to have government "of the people, by the people, and for the people." Adoption of that galvanizing idea soon reached Williamsburg, Virginia, a hotbed of agitation for independence. The flame of revolution spread among students at William and Mary, and they were eager to discuss the burning issues of the day, especially topics more directly affecting student life.

However, the opportunity for students to form a group and to debate any issue was severely restricted within college walls, so students gathered in the Apollo Room of the Raleigh Tavern in Williamsburg for the limited discussions which were possible. In this atmosphere, on December 5, 1776, five close and trusted friends remained after other students returned to campus. They formed the first permanent Greek-letter society in North America. The name they chose was Phi Beta Kappa (ΦΒΚ).

It is believed that Phi Beta Kappa grew out of an older William and Mary organization, founded in 1750, named the Flat Hat Club|Flat Hat Society; notably, Thomas Jefferson was a member. Phi Beta Kappa was, of necessity, a secret society. To protect its members, it had all of the attributes of most modern fraternities--an oath of secrecy, a badge or key, mottos in Greek, an initiation and a handshake.

Before the British invasion of Virginia forced closure of the College of William and Mary and the disbandment of Phi Beta Kappa in early 1781, students in New England colleges established other branches of the society. The second chapter was founded at Yale University in late 1780, the third at Harvard University in 1781, and the fourth at Dartmouth College in 1787. From them, Phi Beta Kappa evolved from a fraternity with principally academic and some social purposes to an entirely honorary organization recognizing scholastic achievement. While Phi Beta Kappa developed the distinctive characteristics of Greek-letter fraternities, it was left to other students to fill the natural human need for fellowship with kindred students by extension of fraternity to a social context.

Further chapters appeared at Union College in 1817, Bowdoin College in 1825, and Brown University in 1830. The original chapter at William & Mary also was reestablished. Secrecy was abandoned in 1831 during a period of strong anti-Masonic sentiment. The first chapter established after becoming an "open" society was at Trinity College in 1845.

As the first collegiate organization of its type to adopt a Greek alphabet|Greek-letter name, it is generally considered the forerunner of modern college fraternities and sororities|fraternities as well as the model for later honor societies. Ironically, it was partly the rise of true "social" fraternities modeled after Phi Beta Kappa later that century which obviated the social aspects of membership in the organization, transforming it into the honor society it is today.

By 1883, when the United Chapters of Phi Beta Kappa were established, there were 25 chapters. The first women were elected to the society at the University of Vermont in 1875, and the first African-American member was elected at the same institution two years later.

Each chapter is designated by its state and a Greek letter indicating the order in which that state's chapters were founded. For example, Alpha of Pennsylvania refers to the chapter at Dickinson College (1887); Beta of Pennsylvania at Lehigh University (1887); Gamma of Pennsylvania at Lafayette College (1890); and Delta of Pennsylvania at the University of Pennsylvania (1892).

By 1920, there were 89 chapters at a variety of schools. They included:
*College of William and Mary]] (1776 and later);
*Yale College|Yale (1780);
*Harvard (1781);
*Dartmouth College|Dartmouth (1787);
*Union College|Union (1817);
*Bowdoin College|Bowdoin (1825);
*Brown University|Brown (1830);
*Trinity College (Connecticut)|Trinity College (1845);
*Wesleyan University (1845) ;
*Western Reserve University|Western Reserve (1847);
*University of Vermont|Vermont (1848);
*University of Alabama|Alabama (1851);
*Amherst College|Amherst (1853);
*Kenyon College|Kenyon (1858);
*New York University (1858);
*Marietta College|Marietta (1860);
*Williams College|Williams (1864);
*College of the City of New York|CCNY (1867);
*Middlebury College|Middlebury (1868);
*Columbia University in the City of New York|Columbia (1869);
*Rutgers College|Rutgers (1869);
*Hamilton College|Hamilton (1870);
*Hobart College|Hobart (1871);
*Colgate University|Colgate (1878);
*Cornell University|Cornell (1882);
*Dickinson College|Dickinson (1887);
*Lehigh University|Lehigh (1887);
*University of Rochester|Rochester (1887);
*DePauw University|DePauw (1889);
*Northwestern University|Northwestern (1890);
*University of Kansas|Kansas (1890);
*Lafayette College|Lafayette (1890);
*University of Iowa|Iowa (1892);
*University of Minnesota|Minnesota (1892);
*University of Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania (1892);
*Tufts University|Tufts (1892);
*Johns Hopkins University|Johns Hopkins (1895);
*University of Nebraska|Nebraska (1895);
*Colby College|Colby (1896);
*Swarthmore College|Swarthmore (1896);
*Syracuse University|Syracuse (1896);
*University of California, Berkeley|Berkeley (1898);
*Haverford College|Haverford (1898);
*Vassar College|Vassar (1898);
*Wabash College|Wabash (1898);
*Boston University (1899);
*University of Cincinnati|Cincinnati (1899);
*Princeton University|Princeton (1899);
*University of Chicago|Chicago (1899);
*University of Wisconsin-Madison|Wisconsin (1899);
*University of Missouri|Missouri (1901);
*Vanderbilt University|Vanderbilt (1901);
*Allegheny College|Allegheny (1902);
*University of Colorado at Boulder|Colorado (1904);
*Colorado College (1904);
*University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill|North Carolina (1904);
*Ohio State University|Ohio State (1904);
*Smith College|Smith (1904);
*Stanford University|Stanford (1904);
*Wellesley College|Wellesley (1904);
*Goucher College|Goucher (1905);
*Mount Holyoke College|Mount Holyoke (1905);
*University of Texas at Austin|Texas (1905);
*University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign|Illinois (1907);
*University of Michigan|Michigan (1907);
*Oberlin College|Oberlin (1907);
*Ohio Wesleyan University|Ohio Wesleyan (1907);
*Franklin & Marshall College|Franklin & Marshall (1908);
*Grinnell College|Grinnell (1908);
*Tulane University|Tulane (1909);
*University of Virginia|Virginia (1909);
*West Virginia University|West Virginia (1910);
*Beloit College|Beloit (1911);
*Denison University|Denison (1911);
*Indiana University Bloomington|Indiana (1911) ;
*Miami University|Miami (1911);
*Washington & Lee University|Washington & Lee (1911);
*Carleton College|Carleton (1914);
*Lawrence University|Lawrence (1914);
*University of Georgia|Georgia]] (1914);
*University of North Dakota|North Dakota (1914);
*Pomona College|Pomona (1914);
*Radcliffe College|Radcliffe (1914);
*University of Washington (1914);
*Washington University in St. Louis|Washington University (1914);
*Bates College|Bates (1917);
*Knox College|Knox (1918);
*Duke University|Duke (1920);

New chapters are continuously added; currently there are 270.

In 1988, the United Chapters of Phi Beta Kappa officially changed its name to ''The Phi Beta Kappa Society''.

In 2005, a controversy surrounding the revocation of a speaking invitation to filmmaker and activist Michael Moore derailed the membership application of George Mason University. Economics Professor James Bennett, faculty senate chairman, was disappointed by the decision, telling the ''Washington Post'' that "Phi Beta Kappa is the ultimate recognition of undergraduate academic achievement. We owe it to our students [to establish a chapter]." [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61736-2005Feb28.html] George Mason will become eligible for consideration again in 2008.

==The Key==

The symbol of the Phi Beta Kappa Society is a golden key engraved on the obverse with the image of a pointing finger, three stars, and the Greek letters from which the society takes its name. The stars are said today to represent the ambition of young scholars and the three distinguishing principles of the Society: friendship, morality, and learning. On the reverse are found the initials "SP" in script, which stand for the Latin words ''societas philosophiae'', or "society of philosophy".

The "key" of Phi Beta Kappa did not actually begin as a (watch) key in 1776. The first were in fact medallions, or better, watchfobs, essentially squares of metal with a loop forged integrally to the body of the fob in order to allow for suspension from a watch chain. The post or stem, designed for the winding of pocketwatches, did not appear on fobs until the beginning of the 19th century. The fobs weren't even gold at first; the earliest extant 18th century models were made of silver or pewter, and again it was not until the first quarter of the 19th century that gold largely supplanted the use of silver or pewter; some notable exceptions did occur, such as at Harvard, which continued the use of silver or pewter for some of its keys up until the first decade of the 20th century. While several stylistic features have survived since the earliest days - the use of the stars, pointing hand, and Greek letters on the obverse, for example - a number of differences are noted with older keys when compared to more modern examples. For one, the name of the recipient was not engraved on the earliest fobs or keys, and it was not until the first decade of the 19th century that examples are known on which is engraved the name of the recipient of the honor. The name of the school from which the fob or key came was also not routinely included on the earliest models, and sometimes the only way to trace a key to a particular school's chapter is by researching the name of the recipient against surviving class records (which is possible only regarding keys with the owner's name engraved). The number of stars on the obverse has also changed over the years, with never fewer than three, but on some known examples with as many as a dozen (the explanation as to the meaning of the stars in these early cases varies from chapter to chapter). Also, the date of the awarding of the honor is only seen on relatively later models (from the second quarter of the 19th century onward). Some people mistake the date that appears on the fob or key - December 5th, 1776 - as the date that a particular fob or key was awarded, when in fact that is merely the date of the founding of the society. Finally, in 1912, the key was standardized such that its size, golden appearance (some are plated), and engraving with the school's name, recipient's name, and date of the award all became standard, and the key lost much of its earlier archaic charm.

==Activities and publications==

The Phi Beta Kappa Society publishes ''The Key Reporter'', a newsletter distributed quarterly to all contributing members and biannually to all other members, and ''The American Scholar'', a quarterly subscription-based journal that accepts essays on literature, history, science, public affairs, and culture. The latter publication, named for the The American Scholar|address delivered to the Society by Ralph Waldo Emerson, has won four National Magazine Awards.

Phi Beta Kappa also funds a number of fellowships, visiting scholar programs, and academic awards.

== External links ==
* [http://college.columbia.edu/facultyadmin/dus/honors/phibetakappa.php Phi Beta Kappa info on Columbia College homepage]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phi_Beta_Kappa Phi Beta Kappa (Wikipedia)]
* [http://www.pbk.org/ The Phi Beta Kappa Society]
* [http://www.shsu.edu/~eng_wpf/frat_hist.html "The First Fraternity"]
* [http://www.greekpages.com/LocalsOnline/history.htm#pbk The History of College Fraternities]

[[Category:1776 establishments|Phi Beta Kappa Society]]
[[Category:Honor societies|Phi Beta Kappa Society]]

[[Category:Awards]]

Phi Beta Kappa

2007-04-04T15:42:24Z

Owlet:

[[Image:PhiBetaKappaKey2.gif|thumb|160px|right|The Phi Beta Kappa Key]]

'''The Phi Beta Kappa Society''' is an academic [[honor society]] with the mission of "fostering and recognizing excellence" in the [[undergraduate]] [[liberal arts]] and [[science]]s. Founded at the [[College of William and Mary]] on [[December 5]], [[1776]], it was the first collegiate organization to adopt a Greek-letter name and is the oldest honor society in the [[United States]]. Today there are 270 chapters and over half a million living members.

Phi Beta Kappa (ΦΒΚ) stands for {{polytonic|Φιλοσοφία Βιοῦ Κυβερνήτης}} or ''philosophia biou kubernetes'' — "Love of wisdom, the guide of life."

== Membership ==
Although each individual chapter determines its specific application of the Phi Beta Kappa Council's 1952 Stipulations Concerning Eligibility for Membership and sets its own academic standards, even the most generous chapter will typically elect fewer than 10% among the candidates for degrees at that College of Arts and Sciences.

Because of its rich history and selectivity, Phi Beta Kappa is generally considered the most prestigious American college honor society and membership is one of the highest honors that can be conferred on undergraduate liberal arts and science students.

However, in the last two decades, rates of acceptance of Phi Beta Kappa membership invitations by students or "members in course" have significantly dropped. During the last triennial convention held in October 2006, the national secretary (chief executive officer) of Phi Beta Kappa admitted in his annual State of the Society address that:

"The data show a generally heartening, but not entirely untroubled picture. At about a third of our chapters, essentially no one turns down the invitation. At almost another third, the acceptance rate is above 80%. But at the remaining chapters, almost 100, the rates are lower. At a small number of chapters, the percentage of invited students who are subsequently initiated is as low as 40% and 30%. Some who have seen these figures question the viability of those campuses as sheltering institutions."<ref>John W. Churchill, "State of the Society Address", 41st Triennial Convention of Phi Beta Kappa, Atlanta, Georgia, October 2006.</ref>

The national secretary then admitted that:

"It is distressing that anyone should decline this honor. Our aim is to have strong acceptance rates at all our chapters."<ref>''Ibid''.</ref>

Making Phi Beta Kappa recognizable in many campuses is a major challenge that the Society faces in this new millennium.

== History ==
Student associations of a social nature were formed hundreds of years ago in European universities. These student groups, guilds and other social, literary, and religious associations, existed in Europe over many centuries and in many forms. By the time colleges were founded in the American colonies, however, nearly all traces of student organizations and independence in lifestyle had been eliminated. Thus, the institution of American college Greek-letter fraternities is the unique development of American students.

Of the nine colonial colleges established in the 1600s and 1700s, the [[College of William and Mary]] was among the most prominent and had some of the best classroom and residential buildings. Founded in 1693, it is second in age only to [[Harvard]]. It was at William and Mary, during the Revolutionary War, that the first Greek-letter college fraternity was established.

When the [[United States Declaration of Independence]] was read in Philadelphia on [[July 4]], [[1776]], it proclaimed the right of the colonials to have government "of the people, by the people, and for the people." Adoption of that galvanizing idea soon reached [[Williamsburg, Virginia]], a hotbed of agitation for independence. The flame of revolution spread among students at William and Mary, and they were eager to discuss the burning issues of the day, especially topics more directly affecting student life.

However, the opportunity for students to form a group and to debate any issue was severely restricted within college walls, so students gathered in the Apollo Room of the Raleigh Tavern in Williamsburg for the limited discussions which were possible. In this atmosphere, on December 5, 1776, five close and trusted friends remained after other students returned to campus. They formed the first permanent Greek-letter society in North America. The name they chose was Phi Beta Kappa (ΦΒΚ).

It is believed that Phi Beta Kappa grew out of an older William and Mary organization, founded in 1750, named the [[Flat Hat Club|Flat Hat Society]]; notably, [[Thomas Jefferson]] was a member. Phi Beta Kappa was, of necessity, a secret society. To protect its members, it had all of the attributes of most modern fraternities--an oath of secrecy, a badge or key, mottos in Greek, an initiation and a handshake.

Before the British invasion of Virginia forced closure of the College of William and Mary and the disbandment of Phi Beta Kappa in early 1781, students in New England colleges established other branches of the society. The second chapter was founded at [[Yale University]] in late 1780, the third at [[Harvard University]]in 1781, and the fourth at [[Dartmouth College]] in 1787. From them, Phi Beta Kappa evolved from a fraternity with principally academic and some social purposes to an entirely honorary organization recognizing scholastic achievement. While Phi Beta Kappa developed the distinctive characteristics of Greek-letter fraternities, it was left to other students to fill the natural human need for fellowship with kindred students by extension of fraternity to a social context.

Further chapters appeared at [[Union College]] in 1817, [[Bowdoin College]] in 1825, and [[Brown University]] in 1830. The original chapter at William & Mary also was reestablished. Secrecy was abandoned in 1831 during a period of strong anti-[[Masonic]] sentiment. The first chapter established after becoming an "open" society was at Trinity College in 1845.

As the first collegiate organization of its type to adopt a [[Greek alphabet|Greek]]-letter name, it is generally considered the forerunner of modern college [[fraternities and sororities|fraternities]] as well as the model for later honor societies. Ironically, it was partly the rise of true "social" fraternities modeled after Phi Beta Kappa later that century which obviated the social aspects of membership in the organization, transforming it into the honor society it is today.

By 1883, when the United Chapters of Phi Beta Kappa were established, there were 25 chapters. The first women were elected to the society at the [[University of Vermont]] in 1875, and the first African-American member was elected at the same institution two years later.

Each chapter is designated by its state and a Greek letter indicating the order in which that state's chapters were founded. For example, Alpha of Pennsylvania refers to the chapter at [[Dickinson College]] (1887); Beta of Pennsylvania at [[Lehigh University]] (1887); Gamma of Pennsylvania at [[Lafayette College]] (1890); and Delta of Pennsylvania at the [[University of Pennsylvania]] (1892).

By 1920, there were 89 chapters at a variety of schools. They included:
*[[College of William and Mary]] (1776 and later);
*[[Yale College|Yale]] (1780);
*[[Harvard]] (1781);
*[[Dartmouth College|Dartmouth]] (1787);
*[[Union College|Union]] (1817);
*[[Bowdoin College|Bowdoin]] (1825);
*[[Brown University|Brown]] (1830);
*[[Trinity College (Connecticut)|Trinity College]] (1845);
*[[Wesleyan University]] (1845) ;
*[[Western Reserve University|Western Reserve]] (1847);
*[[University of Vermont|Vermont]] (1848);
*[[University of Alabama|Alabama]] (1851);
*[[Amherst College|Amherst]] (1853);
*[[Kenyon College|Kenyon]] (1858);
*[[New York University]] (1858);
*[[Marietta College|Marietta]] (1860);
*[[Williams College|Williams]] (1864);
*[[College of the City of New York|CCNY]] (1867);
*[[Middlebury College|Middlebury]] (1868);
*[[Columbia University in the City of New York|Columbia]] (1869);
*[[Rutgers College|Rutgers]] (1869);
*[[Hamilton College|Hamilton]] (1870);
*[[Hobart College|Hobart]] (1871);
*[[Colgate University|Colgate]] (1878);
*[[Cornell University|Cornell]] (1882);
*[[Dickinson College|Dickinson]] (1887);
*[[Lehigh University|Lehigh]] (1887);
*[[University of Rochester|Rochester]] (1887);
*[[DePauw University|DePauw]] (1889);
*[[Northwestern University|Northwestern]] (1890);
*[[University of Kansas|Kansas]] (1890);
*[[Lafayette College|Lafayette]] (1890);
*[[University of Iowa|Iowa]] (1892);
*[[University of Minnesota|Minnesota]] (1892);
*[[University of Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]] (1892);
*[[Tufts University|Tufts]] (1892);
*[[Johns Hopkins University|Johns Hopkins]] (1895);
*[[University of Nebraska|Nebraska]] (1895);
*[[Colby College|Colby]] (1896);
*[[Swarthmore College|Swarthmore]] (1896);
*[[Syracuse University|Syracuse]] (1896);
*[[University of California, Berkeley|Berkeley]] (1898);
*[[Haverford College|Haverford]] (1898);
*[[Vassar College|Vassar]] (1898);
*[[Wabash College|Wabash]] (1898);
*[[Boston University]] (1899);
*[[University of Cincinnati|Cincinnati]] (1899);
*[[Princeton University|Princeton]] (1899);
*[[University of Chicago|Chicago]] (1899);
*[[University of Wisconsin-Madison|Wisconsin]] (1899);
*[[University of Missouri|Missouri]] (1901);
*[[Vanderbilt University|Vanderbilt]] (1901);
*[[Allegheny College|Allegheny]] (1902);
*[[University of Colorado at Boulder|Colorado]] (1904);
*[[Colorado College]] (1904);
*[[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill|North Carolina]] (1904);
*[[Ohio State University|Ohio State]] (1904);
*[[Smith College|Smith]] (1904);
*[[Stanford University|Stanford]] (1904);
*[[Wellesley College|Wellesley]] (1904);
*[[Goucher College|Goucher]] (1905);
*[[Mount Holyoke College|Mount Holyoke]] (1905);
*[[University of Texas at Austin|Texas]] (1905);
*[[University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign|Illinois]] (1907);
*[[University of Michigan|Michigan]] (1907);
*[[Oberlin College|Oberlin]] (1907);
*[[Ohio Wesleyan University|Ohio Wesleyan]] (1907);
*[[Franklin & Marshall College|Franklin & Marshall]] (1908);
*[[Grinnell College|Grinnell]] (1908);
*[[Tulane University|Tulane]] (1909);
*[[University of Virginia|Virginia]] (1909);
*[[West Virginia University|West Virginia]] (1910);
*[[Beloit College|Beloit]] (1911);
*[[Denison University|Denison]] (1911);
*[[Indiana University Bloomington|Indiana]] (1911) ;
*[[Miami University|Miami]] (1911);
*[[Washington & Lee University|Washington & Lee]] (1911);
*[[Carleton College|Carleton]] (1914);
*[[Lawrence University|Lawrence]] (1914);
*[[University of Georgia|Georgia]] (1914);
*[[University of North Dakota|North Dakota]] (1914);
*[[Pomona College|Pomona]] (1914);
*[[Radcliffe College|Radcliffe]] (1914);
*[[University of Washington]] (1914);
*[[Washington University in St. Louis|Washington University]] (1914);
*[[Bates College|Bates]] (1917); [[Knox College|Knox]] (1918);
*[[Duke University|Duke]] (1920);

New chapters are continuously added; currently there are 270.

In 1988, the United Chapters of Phi Beta Kappa officially changed its name to ''The Phi Beta Kappa Society''.

In 2005, a controversy surrounding the revocation of a speaking invitation to filmmaker and activist [[Michael Moore]] derailed the membership application of [[George Mason University]]. Economics Professor James Bennett, faculty senate chairman, was disappointed by the decision, telling the ''[[Washington Post]]'' that "Phi Beta Kappa is the ultimate recognition of undergraduate academic achievement. We owe it to our students [to establish a chapter]." [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61736-2005Feb28.html] George Mason will become eligible for consideration again in 2008.

==The Key==

The symbol of the Phi Beta Kappa Society is a golden key engraved on the obverse with the image of a pointing finger, three stars, and the Greek letters from which the society takes its name. The stars are said today to represent the ambition of young scholars and the three distinguishing principles of the Society: friendship, morality, and learning. On the reverse are found the initials "SP" in script, which stand for the Latin words ''societas philosophiae'', or "society of philosophy".

The "key" of Phi Beta Kappa did not actually begin as a (watch) key in 1776. The first were in fact medallions, or better, watchfobs, essentially squares of metal with a loop forged integrally to the body of the fob in order to allow for suspension from a watch chain. The post or stem, designed for the winding of pocketwatches, did not appear on fobs until the beginning of the 19th century. The fobs weren't even gold at first; the earliest extant 18th century models were made of silver or pewter, and again it was not until the first quarter of the 19th century that gold largely supplanted the use of silver or pewter; some notable exceptions did occur, such as at Harvard, which continued the use of silver or pewter for some of its keys up until the first decade of the 20th century. While several stylistic features have survived since the earliest days - the use of the stars, pointing hand, and Greek letters on the obverse, for example - a number of differences are noted with older keys when compared to more modern examples. For one, the name of the recipient was not engraved on the earliest fobs or keys, and it was not until the first decade of the 19th century that examples are known on which is engraved the name of the recipient of the honor. The name of the school from which the fob or key came was also not routinely included on the earliest models, and sometimes the only way to trace a key to a particular school's chapter is by researching the name of the recipient against surviving class records (which is possible only regarding keys with the owner's name engraved). The number of stars on the obverse has also changed over the years, with never fewer than three, but on some known examples with as many as a dozen (the explanation as to the meaning of the stars in these early cases varies from chapter to chapter). Also, the date of the awarding of the honor is only seen on relatively later models (from the second quarter of the 19th century onward). Some people mistake the date that appears on the fob or key - December 5th, 1776 - as the date that a particular fob or key was awarded, when in fact that is merely the date of the founding of the society. Finally, in 1912, the key was standardized such that its size, golden appearance (some are plated), and engraving with the school's name, recipient's name, and date of the award all became standard, and the key lost much of its earlier archaic charm.

==Activities and publications==

The Phi Beta Kappa Society publishes ''The Key Reporter'', a newsletter distributed quarterly to all contributing members and biannually to all other members, and ''The American Scholar'', a quarterly subscription-based journal that accepts essays on literature, history, science, public affairs, and culture. The latter publication, named for the [[The American Scholar|address]] delivered to the Society by [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]], has won four [[National Magazine Awards]].

Phi Beta Kappa also funds a number of fellowships, visiting scholar programs, and academic awards.

== External links ==
{{Primarysources|date=February 2007}}
* [http://college.columbia.edu/facultyadmin/dus/honors/phibetakappa.php Phi Beta Kappa info on Columbia College homepage]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phi_Beta_Kappa Phi Beta Kappa (Wikipedia)]
* [http://www.pbk.org/ The Phi Beta Kappa Society]
* [http://www.shsu.edu/~eng_wpf/frat_hist.html "The First Fraternity"]
* [http://www.greekpages.com/LocalsOnline/history.htm#pbk The History of College Fraternities]

[[Category:1776 establishments|Phi Beta Kappa Society]]
[[Category:Honor societies|Phi Beta Kappa Society]]

[[de:Phi Beta Kappa]]
[[pl:Phi Beta Kappa]]

[[Category:Awards]]

School of General Studies

2007-04-04T06:10:04Z

Owlet: /* Core Requirements */

{{Infobox school
|Name=General Studies
|Image=GS-Shield.gif
|Established=[[1947]]
|Dean=[[Peter Awn]]
|Degrees=[[BA]], [[BS]], Postbac Certificate in Premedical Sciences
|Enrollment=1,260 Undergraduate, 433 Postbac students (2006)
|Website=[http://www.gs.columbia.edu/ www.gs.columbia.edu]
}}The '''School of General Studies''', or '''GS''' is a degree-granting college of Columbia University. It confers Bachelor of Art and Bachelor of Science degrees in over forty different majors. In addition to its undergraduate program, GS also offers a joint program with List College of the [[Jewish Theological Seminary]] as well as a postbaccalaureate premedical program. The average age of GS students is 27.<ref>[http://www.gs.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/newspages.dll/pages?sitename=COLAD&record=449&htmlfile=gsnews2.htm Profile of 2006 admitted students]</ref>

== Admissions ==
Although the School of General Studies is notoriously tight-lipped about its admission criteria and the statistics on admitted students, some information is available. Most GS students are transfer students, as 78% of the admitted class in 2006 transferred some college credit.<ref>Source: [http://www.gs.columbia.edu/bulletin_courses/bulletin98/tc.html 78% of 2006 admitted students transferred credit.]</ref> For transfer students, a minimum college GPA of 3.00 is required.<ref>[http://www.gs.columbia.edu/FAQ_transferstudents.htm Source: GS admissions FAQ for transfer students]</ref> GS also requires standardized test scores for entry. The school will use scores from the SAT, ACT, or the school's own General Studies Admissions Exam. <ref>[http://www.gs.columbia.edu/FAQ_transferstudents.htm Source: ibid]</ref> A list of admissions requirements and procedures is available from the [http://www.gs.columbia.edu/index_howtoapply.htm/ General Studies website]

The School tends to admit nearly 50% of applicants.<ref>[http://www.columbia.edu/cu/opir/abstract/admissions_2006.html Admissions Statistics 2004-2006]</ref> The profile of the applicant pool or the admitted pool is unknown.

Additional statistics on application, admission, and matriculation are available at the website of the Office of Planning and Institutional Research. [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/opir/index.html]

== Academics ==
GS students must complete a total of 124 credits to graduate. Up to 60 of these credits may be transferred from another institution; at least 64 credits must be completed at Columbia University.<ref>Source: [http://www.gs.columbia.edu/bulletin_courses/bulletin98/tc.html GS Credit Policies]</ref> GS students must complete the core requirements and a major. GS students may attend full-time or part-time, while CC students are expected to attend full-time (part-time study is accepted under special circumstances.)

== Core Requirements ==

The GS Core requirements provide the foundation for a solid liberal arts education, assuring that students develop critical skills in writing and quantitative reasoning, while exposing them to a range of knowledge that will broaden and enhance their education. Flexibility within the Core requirements allows students to choose from several different departments to fulfill specified Core fields in science, literature, humanities, and social sciences, thereby encouraging students to explore new areas of inquiry and develop their individual intellectual interests.

Note: Students who matriculated to the School of General Studies before fall 2003 are required to complete the GS distribution requirements in place at the time of their matriculation. However, students readmitted to GS after an absence of more than three years are bound by the current Core requirements. For a complete list of the distribution requirements prior to fall 2003, please see Distribution Requirements.

The following table lists the core requirements for CC and GS:

{|- border="1" cellpadding="2"
|-
|
!width="45%"|CC<ref>[http://www.college.columbia.edu/core/ Columbia College Core Curriculum]</ref>
!width="45%"|GS<ref>[http://www.gs.columbia.edu/bulletin_courses/Bulletin98/bach_core.html School of General Studes Core Requirements]</ref>
|-
!Writing<ref>[[University Writing]] is required of both CC and GS students, but the sections are divided by school.</ref>
|[[University Writing]]
|[[University Writing]]
|-
!Literature
|[[Literature Humanities]]
|[[Literature Humanities]] OR 2 Literature Courses
|-
!Foreign Language
|4th Semester of a Language OR exemption by university exam
|4th Semester of a Language OR exemption by university exam
|-
!Art
|[[Art Humanities]]
|[[Art Humanities]] OR Asian Humanities (Art) or exemption by similar course taken at another institution.
|-
!Music
|[[Music Humanities]]
|[[Music Humanities]] OR Asian Humanities (Music) or exemption by similar course taken at another institution.
|-
!Humanities/Social Science
|[[Contemporary Civilization]]
|[[Contemporary Civilization]] OR 2 courses each in Humanities and Social Science.
|-
!Quantitative Reasoning
|Covered under Science requirement
|Covered under Science requirement OR exemption by exam: 600 on Math section of SAT.
|-
!Physical Education
|Two semesters of [[physical education]] and [[Swim test]].
|None
|-
!Science
|[[Frontiers of Science]] and 2 additional science courses
|3 science courses, one of which can be [[Frontiers of Science]]
|-
!Cultural Diversity
|2 courses from the Major Cultures [http://www.college.columbia.edu/DocRep/academics/core/major_cult.pdf Approved Courses List]
|1 course that focuses on a culture, society, literature, or language of a nation or region that, as a general principle, is located outside the United States, Canada, or Europe.
|}

===GENERAL RULES===

*Only courses of 3 or more credits taken for a letter grade can fulfill GS Core requirements.
*No course taken Pass/Fail can satisfy a Core requirement.
*AP credit cannot be used to fulfill a Core requirement, except for foreign languages.
*GS advisors determine whether a transfer course satisfies a Core requirement.
*GS advisors must approve all courses used to fulfill a Core requirement.

With the exception of the cultural diversity requirement and Frontiers of Science (Science C1000), no single course may be used to satisfy more than one GS Core requirement.

Students may count two courses from their major department toward the fulfillment of GS Core requirements; the limit on overlap is two, even if a student is a double major.

===WRITING===

University Writing, required of all GS students in their first semesters, facilitates students' entry into the intellectual life of the university by helping them to become more capable and independent academic readers and writers. With its small section size and emphases on the writing process and revision, critical analysis, collaboration, and research, the course provides an occasion for students to develop academic habits and skills important to their success in future courses. In planning their first semesters of study at Columbia, GS students should start by choosing the section of English F1010—University Writing that best fits their schedules. Non-native English speakers must reach level 10 in the American Language Program prior to registering for English F1010. In exceptional cases, a student may be permitted to enroll in University Writing during their second semester of study at GS.

===LITERATURE===

Literature courses expose students to master writers recognized for their ability to convey ideas, feelings, and images through the power and play of words. The study of literature provides students with an opportunity to deepen their critical reading and writing skills. The GS literature requirement is fulfilled by two literature courses, one of which must be taken at Columbia. In addition to the rich variety of courses in the English and Comparative Literature Department, students may choose from among the many literature courses found in Columbia's foreign language and literature departments as well as from the list of special GS colloquia. Courses on literature in translation, as well as literature courses in foreign languages at the 3000 level or above, may satisfy the literature requirement. GS students may also elect to take the two-semester Literature-Humanities course, Masterpieces of European Literature and Philosophy, (Humanities F1001-1002) to fulfill the literature or humanities requirement.

===FOREIGN LANGUAGE===

The study of a foreign language often opens up a whole new way of seeing, understanding, and describing the world. Today's students should not be limited by a single language, but should be able to think and communicate in a language other than their native tongues. GS requires that all candidates for the bachelor's degree demonstrate competence in a second language at or beyond intermediate level. In order to achieve this level of fluency and encourage more advanced language study, students are expected to reach intermediate-level proficiency by the time they have reached junior standing. Intermediate-level proficiency in a foreign language is assessed in one of the following ways:

*An appropriate score on the SAT II subject test or Advanced Placement test, taken before matriculation to GS, as determined by relevant departments for specific languages;
*Demonstrating intermediate-level competence on the language placement test administered by relevant departments or programs. Language placement tests must be taken within the first two semesters of study at GS, or, in cases where a student undertakes language study as part of a Columbia-approved study abroad program, at the beginning of the next term of enrollment after returning from study abroad;
*Approved transfer credits in foreign language study showing intermediate-level proficiency (usually two years of study);
*The satisfactory completion of the intermediate level of a language sequence at Columbia, as determined by the relevant department (usually the fourth term of a language);
*Completing secondary education in another country in a language other than English.

Students should speak with their GS advisors soon after matriculating at GS to discuss how they will satisfy this requirement. Because fulfillment of the language requirement can take four semesters of study to fulfill, students who have not fulfilled the language requirement by placement test, AP scores, or transfer credit are required to begin their language study no later than their second year at GS, and to continue enrollment in language courses each semester until the requirement has been met.

Native speakers of languages other than English must take a language placement test within two semesters of matriculating at GS. If a placement test in a particular language is not available at Columbia, students should speak with their GS advisors about alternative testing arrangements. Students diagnosed with a language learning disability must register with the Office of Disability Services in order to be considered for an accommodation for the foreign language requirement.

===ART AND MUSIC===

The art and music humanities Core courses are designed to awaken and encourage in students an appreciation of art and music; to help them learn to respond intelligently to a variety of musical idioms and artistic genres by developing analytical skills and a conceptual framework for interpretation; and to engage students in debates about the character and purpose of music and art throughout human history. GS students must fulfill both an art and music humanities requirement.

'''Art Humanities'''

This Core requirement is fulfilled by one of the following:

*Art Humanities W1121−Masterpieces of Western Art;
*Asian Humanities V3340−Art in China, Japan and Korea;
*Asian Humanities V3342−Masterpieces of Indian Art and Architecture;
*Asian Humanities V3343−Masterpieces of Islamic Art and Architecture;
*Exemption based on a comparable course taken at another college or university; (Petition forms for this exemption are available in the Dean of Students Office and are reviewed by the Chair of Art Humanities.)

If the art humanities requirement is fulfilled with Masterpieces of Western Art (W1121) or an approved, equivalent transfer course, students should not take Barnard Art History 1001 or 1002 as this constitutes a duplication of coursework and thus would not count toward the GS degree.

'''Music Humanities'''

This Core requirement is fulfilled by one of the following:

*Music Humanities W1123−Masterpieces of Western Music;
*Asian Humanities V3320−Musics of East Asia and Southeast Asia;
*Asian Humanities V3321−Musics of India and West Asia;
*Passing the Music Humanities test administered during the first week of each term by the Music Department (621 Dodge Hall);
*Exemption based on a comparable course taken at another college or university. (Petition forms for this exemption are available in the Dean of Students Office and are reviewed by the Chair of the Music Humanities.)

===HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES===

Students are required to take two courses selected from the humanities offerings and two courses in social sciences. Courses in the social sciences provide students with a basis for understanding social systems and the interactions of individuals and societies, while humanities courses offer ways to understand the development of cultures and how humans express themselves in art, music, literature, architecture, drama, and religion. By choosing to fulfill these Core requirements early on in their academic plans of study, students may discover a field of study they wish to pursue further and develop into a major.

The following interdisciplinary programs offer courses in both humanities and social sciences. GS advisors must determine the appropriate category for a course when taken to satisfy a GS Core requirement.

*African Studies
*African-American Studies
*American Studies
*Asian American Studies
*Comparative Ethnic Studies
*Comparative Literature and Society
*East Asian Languages & Cultures
*Human Rights
*Latino Studies
*Middle East and Asian Languages & Cultures
*Women's and Gender Studies

'''Humanities'''

Students must select two humanities courses from the following departments or above-mentioned interdisciplinary programs to count toward the GS Core requirement. In foreign language departments, only courses at the 3000 level or above will be considered toward the GS Core humanities requirement.

*Archaeology
*Architecture
*Art History and Archaeology
*Classics
*English and Comparative Literature
*Film Studies
*Germanic Languages
*History
*Italian
*Music
*Philosophy
*Religion
*Slavic Languages
*Spanish and Portuguese

GS students may also elect to take the two-semester Literature-Humanities course, Masterpieces of European Literature and Philosophy, (Humanities F1001-1002) to fulfill the humanities or literature requirement.

'''Social Sciences'''

Students must select two social sciences courses from the following departments or abovementioned interdisciplinary programs to fulfill the GS Core social sciences requirement:

*Anthropology
*Economics
*Political Science
*Psychology (all Barnard department offerings but only Columbia department courses at the 2600 or 3600 level)
*Sociology

GS students may also elect to take the two-semester Contemporary Western Civilization course (Contemporary Civilization F1101-1102) to fulfill the social science requirement.

===QUANTITATIVE REASONING===

Courses required to fulfill the quantitative reasoning (QR) requirement aim to develop skills in quantitative analysis and deductive reasoning, which are particularly relevant to the study of science and social sciences. Students who have earned minimum test scores of 600 on the Math SAT or 27 on the math subsection of the ACT within the past eight years are considered to have met the quantitative reasoning requirement. All other students are required to take the GS quantitative reasoning exam during or prior to Orientation. Passing the test satisfies the quantitative reasoning requirement. Based on the QR test results, GS advisors will help students choose a course from the GS-approved list of quantitative reasoning courses. When choosing a QR course, students must make sure they have reviewed and met the specified prerequisites for the course prior to enrollment.

Any course selected from the following departments fulfills the GS quantitative reasoning requirement when passed with a satisfactory letter grade:

*Computer Science (except W1001, S1021D, S1022Q)
*Economics (Columbia department only)
*Mathematics
*Statistics
*Science C1000: Frontiers of Science satisfies both the QR and science requirements when passed with a letter-grade of C or above.

In addition, the following courses have been approved as satisfying the Quantitative Reasoning requirement if completed with a satisfactory letter grade.

*Economics BC2411—Statistics for Economics
*Philosophy F1401—Elementary Logic
*Philosophy V3411—Symbolic Logic
*Political Science BC3345—Statistical Analysis of Politics and Policy
*Political Science W4209—Game Theory and Political Theory
*Political Science W4360—Mathematical Methods for Political Science
*Political Science W4910—Principles of Quantitative Political Research
*Psychology BC1101—Statistics Sociology V1205—Evaluation of Evidence
*Sociology BC3211—Quantitative Methods
*Sociology V1205—Evaluation of Evidence
*Sociology V3212—Methods of Social Research
*Urban Studies BC3200—Program Evaluation: Methods and Case Studies

'''Barnard Courses'''

Note that Barnard students are given preference for enrollment in Barnard courses that may fulfill the GS QR requirement. Barnard courses that fulfill a GS core requirement will not necessarily count toward a major at Columbia if a student chooses to major or concentrate in one of these fields. (See individual departments concerning courses approved and required for the major.)

'''Updated List of Approved QR Courses'''

The list of approved courses for the QR requirement is updated yearly. If a particular quantitative reasoning course does not appear on the list, students should ask their GS advisor about its appropriateness for the requirement.

===SCIENCE===

The science requirement aims to develop critical awareness of the methods and limits of scientific inquiry, while fostering observational and analytical skills particularly in reference to the natural world. To fulfill the science requirement, students must successfully complete three courses selected from the following Columbia departments:

*Astronomy
*Biological Sciences
*Chemistry
*Earth and Environmental Sciences (Columbia department only)
*Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology
*Physics
*Psychology (Columbia courses only, except V3167 and1600-, 2600-, 3600- and 4600-level courses)
*Science C1000: Frontiers of Science satisfies both the science and QR requirements when passed with a letter-grade of C or above.

Courses taught through the Columbia-sponsored Summer Ecosystem Experience for Undergraduates (SEE-U) program also count towards the science requirements. When choosing a science course, students should make sure they have reviewed and met the specified prerequisites for the course prior to enrollment. Students who are considering careers in science-related fields, including health-related professions, are urged to begin their study of science within the first semester or two after matriculation at GS. Students majoring in Computer Science, Mathematics, or Statistics are allowed to have two of their major courses count toward the science course requirements (within the permitted limits of major/Core course overlap).

===CULTURAL DIVERSITY===

The GS cultural diversity requirement is intended to ensure that students are exposed to cultures other than their own and expand upon the ways they view the world. To that end, students are required to take at least one course that focuses on a culture, society, literature, or language of a nation or region that, as a general principle, is located outside the United States, Canada, or Europe. Columbia offers an excellent diversity of courses that focus on Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and various regions of Asia. Students are encouraged to choose a course outside their own ethnic or cultural framework as well as to go beyond the one-course requirement to explore a diversity of cultures or one particular culture in depth. A course meeting a major requirement or another Core requirement may simultaneously fulfill the cultural diversity requirement.

===MAJOR REQUIREMENTS===

Major requirements are determined departmentally. These are generally the same for both GS and CC.

== Financial Aid ==

GS offers scholarships for both newly accepted and continuing students. These scholarships are merit- rather than need-based, and the amounts awarded range from $500 to $18,000.

A common complaint made by GS students is that the financial aid amounts and options offered by GS are smaller than those offered to CC/SEAS students. In the absence of need-based institutional aid, many GS students rely on a combination of loans, external grants, and personal funds. In 2006 the University announced financial aid reforms for CC and SEAS students whose parents earn less than $50,000 annually.

GS does not offer parity with the packages offered to CC/SEAS students. This is because the scholarship system at GS is independent of the financial aid system for CC/SEAS and funding is sourced from a separate GS-only pool. GS has made some recent efforts to address the issue, both through campaigns to increase the endowment and by increasing its scholarship offerings by 10 percent (in 2006.)

== History ==
The University Extension program was reorganized and renamed the School of General Studies in 1947, in part to address the influx of GIs returning from World War II. It became Columbia's third official undergraduate school. It is sometimes claimed that [[Barnard College]] is Columbia's third undergraduate school, and GS is its fourth; however Barnard is officially only affiliated with Columbia University, while GS, its deans, and students are formally integrated into the university proper, along with [[Columbia College]] and the [[Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences]].

GS originally maintained its own faculty, classes, and programs. In 1967 the University first decided (over the objection of the Columbia College Faculty) to allow GS to grant the B.A. degree in addition to the B.S. In the 1980s it was separated from the [[School of Continuing Education|Division of Continuing Education]]. In 1990, the CC, GS, and GSAS faculties were merged into the Faculty of Arts & Sciences.

== Housing ==
General Studies students are not eligible for the CC/SEAS [[Room Selection]] process. However, many GS students receive housing through [[University Apartment Housing]].

== Myths ==
* GS is night school.
:GS students attend the same classes as students in other colleges at the university. Columbia offers some classes at night, which are available to all students.
* GS is an extension program.
:GS is a degree-granting college. Students are expected to pursue a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree. The separate [[School of Continuing Education]] offers individual courses on non-degree basis.
* GS is a back door to CC.
:* GS and CC are separate administrative units. It is not possible to go from GS to CC; in some cases, students can go from CC to GS.

== Relationship to Columbia College ==
The School of General Studies is loosely defined as a school for 'non-traditional students.' Non-traditional in GS terms seems to refer to anybody who has had a gap of one year or more in their undergraduate studies.<ref>[http://www.gs.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/newspages.dll/pages?sitename=COLAD&record=449&htmlfile=gsnews2.htm Average gap in studies for a GS student is 6 years]</ref> By inference, Columbia College is for 'traditional students' who matriculate directly from high school and have not had a gap of more than one year in their undergraduate studies. On this basis, students interested are applying to study at Columbia University are tracked to an 'appropriate' school. These admissions criteria favor tracking older students into the School of General Studies and is de facto if not de jure age discrimination.

Part of the tension between Columbia College and General Studies stems from the University's [[1967]] decision (over the objection of the Columbia College Faculty) to allow GS to grant the A.B. degree in addition to the B.S., undermining one of the few priveleges Columbia College had within a University that was often hostile to its very existence. As a result, even though GS and CC students are academically indistinguishable- they both receive instruction in the liberal arts and sciences from the Columbia Faculty of Arts and Sciences and receive the Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University- GS is treated as a lesser school, possibly at the instigiation of a still resentful College.

While the University's decision eliminated the College's exclusive prerogative to grant the A.B. degree, the University most likely viewed it as yet another revenue stream. It should be noted that for a large part of it's history, the University administration has paid scant attention to the College. Then-dean of the College David Truman reportedly broke into tears when he learned of the Trustees' decision.

At the time each of schools had a faculty independent of the other, with professors able to hold joint-appointments between multiple faculties. There was likely a certain sense of the College faculty's privilege to grant the A.B. being encroached on. The independent faculties of the schools have since been integrated into a single Faculty of Arts and Science.

With the integration of the faculties, it becomes harder to justify the segregation of GS within the University. GS admissions statistics are not reported in conjunction with CC/SEAS statistics- though this is related both to GS's much later decision dates, and the opacity of it's admissions process. GS releases few statistics about its incoming class, leading to speculation that GS lets in students with subpar statistics, which the University then 'hides.' This is also the grounds for accusations that GS is a "back door" to a Columbia undergraduate education.

Additionally GS students deal with a dearth of financial aid funding. Because GS is operated separately from the joint administration of CC and SEAS, it is not covered in the plan to eliminate student loans for CC and SEAS students with family incomes below $50,000, an initiative applicable only to the financial aid office under CC/SEAS's [[Division of Student Affairs]].

The somewhat arbitrary delineations between the College and GS have grown as a result of attempts to reconcile the overlap between the schools while justifying the disparate standing of the schools within the University. The wide range of constituents forming the GS student body, from professionals or drop outs returning to school for a degree, to students who took 2 years off before attending college, to 'traditional' age students enrolled in the Joint Degree Program with List College at JTS, to post-bac pre-med students, makes it hard to say just what identity GS students have that makes them so different from their fellow students in the College.

== Notes ==
<references />

==Further reading==
* [http://www.gs.columbia.edu/history.htm History of the School of General Studies]
*[http://media.www.columbiaspectator.com/media/storage/paper865/news/2007/03/05/News/Implications.General.Studies-2757242.shtml IMPLICATIONS: General Studies (Article on the evolving and conflicting identities of GS)] - [[Columbia Spectator|The Spectator]] 3/5/07
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,810834,00.html The Unwashed Brother (article on GS in Time Magazine, circa 1959.)]
* [[w:Columbia University School of General Studies|Wikipedia article]]

== External links ==
* [http://www.gs.columbia.edu/home.asp GS website]
* [http://www.gs.columbia.edu/studentservices/housing.htm GS Housing website]
* [http://www.alumni.gs.columbia.edu/ OwlNet, GS Alumni website]
* [http://gslounge.com/ GSLOUNGE] (Official Site of the [[GSSC]])

{{Schools}}

[[Category:Schools]]

School of General Studies

2007-04-04T06:01:56Z

Owlet: /* Core Requirements */

{{Infobox school
|Name=General Studies
|Image=GS-Shield.gif
|Established=[[1947]]
|Dean=[[Peter Awn]]
|Degrees=[[BA]], [[BS]], Postbac Certificate in Premedical Sciences
|Enrollment=1,260 Undergraduate, 433 Postbac students (2006)
|Website=[http://www.gs.columbia.edu/ www.gs.columbia.edu]
}}The '''School of General Studies''', or '''GS''' is a degree-granting college of Columbia University. It confers Bachelor of Art and Bachelor of Science degrees in over forty different majors. In addition to its undergraduate program, GS also offers a joint program with List College of the [[Jewish Theological Seminary]] as well as a postbaccalaureate premedical program. The average age of GS students is 27.<ref>[http://www.gs.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/newspages.dll/pages?sitename=COLAD&record=449&htmlfile=gsnews2.htm Profile of 2006 admitted students]</ref>

== Admissions ==
Although the School of General Studies is notoriously tight-lipped about its admission criteria and the statistics on admitted students, some information is available. Most GS students are transfer students, as 78% of the admitted class in 2006 transferred some college credit.<ref>Source: [http://www.gs.columbia.edu/bulletin_courses/bulletin98/tc.html 78% of 2006 admitted students transferred credit.]</ref> For transfer students, a minimum college GPA of 3.00 is required.<ref>[http://www.gs.columbia.edu/FAQ_transferstudents.htm Source: GS admissions FAQ for transfer students]</ref> GS also requires standardized test scores for entry. The school will use scores from the SAT, ACT, or the school's own General Studies Admissions Exam. <ref>[http://www.gs.columbia.edu/FAQ_transferstudents.htm Source: ibid]</ref> A list of admissions requirements and procedures is available from the [http://www.gs.columbia.edu/index_howtoapply.htm/ General Studies website]

The School tends to admit nearly 50% of applicants.<ref>[http://www.columbia.edu/cu/opir/abstract/admissions_2006.html Admissions Statistics 2004-2006]</ref> The profile of the applicant pool or the admitted pool is unknown.

Additional statistics on application, admission, and matriculation are available at the website of the Office of Planning and Institutional Research. [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/opir/index.html]

== Academics ==
GS students must complete a total of 124 credits to graduate. Up to 60 of these credits may be transferred from another institution; at least 64 credits must be completed at Columbia University.<ref>Source: [http://www.gs.columbia.edu/bulletin_courses/bulletin98/tc.html GS Credit Policies]</ref> GS students must complete the core requirements and a major. GS students may attend full-time or part-time, while CC students are expected to attend full-time (part-time study is accepted under special circumstances.)

== Core Requirements ==

The GS Core requirements provide the foundation for a solid liberal arts education, assuring that students develop critical skills in writing and quantitative reasoning, while exposing them to a range of knowledge that will broaden and enhance their education. Flexibility within the Core requirements allows students to choose from several different departments to fulfill specified Core fields in science, literature, humanities, and social sciences, thereby encouraging students to explore new areas of inquiry and develop their individual intellectual interests.

Note: Students who matriculated to the School of General Studies before fall 2003 are required to complete the GS distribution requirements in place at the time of their matriculation. However, students readmitted to GS after an absence of more than three years are bound by the current Core requirements. For a complete list of the distribution requirements prior to fall 2003, please see Distribution Requirements.

The following table lists the core requirements for CC and GS:

{|- border="1" cellpadding="2"
|-
|
!width="45%"|CC<ref>[http://www.college.columbia.edu/core/ Columbia College Core Curriculum]</ref>
!width="45%"|GS<ref>[http://www.gs.columbia.edu/bulletin_courses/Bulletin98/bach_core.html School of General Studes Core Requirements]</ref>
|-
!Writing<ref>[[University Writing]] is required of both CC and GS students, but the sections are divided by school.</ref>
|[[University Writing]]
|[[University Writing]]
|-
!Literature
|[[Literature Humanities]]
|[[Literature Humanities]] OR 2 Literature Courses
|-
!Foreign Language
|4th Semester of a Language OR exemption by university exam
|4th Semester of a Language OR exemption by university exam
|-
!Art
|[[Art Humanities]]
|[[Art Humanities]] OR Asian Humanities (Art) or exemption by similar course taken at another institution.
|-
!Music
|[[Music Humanities]]
|[[Music Humanities]] OR Asian Humanities (Music) or exemption by similar course taken at another institution.
|-
!Humanities/Social Science
|[[Contemporary Civilization]]
|[[Contemporary Civilization]] OR 2 courses each in Humanities and Social Science.
|-
!Quantitative Reasoning
|Covered under Science requirement
|Covered under Science requirement OR exemption by exam: 600 on Math section of SAT.
|-
!Physical Education
|Two semesters of [[physical education]] and [[Swim test]].
|None
|-
!Science
|[[Frontiers of Science]] and 2 additional science courses
|3 science courses, one of which can be [[Frontiers of Science]]
|-
!Cultural Diversity
|2 courses from the Major Cultures [http://www.college.columbia.edu/DocRep/academics/core/major_cult.pdf Approved Courses List]
|1 course that focuses on a culture, society, literature, or language of a nation or region that, as a general principle, is located outside the United States, Canada, or Europe.
|}

===GENERAL RULES===

*Only courses of 3 or more credits taken for a letter grade can fulfill GS Core requirements.
*No course taken Pass/Fail can satisfy a Core requirement.
*AP credit cannot be used to fulfill a Core requirement, except for foreign languages.
*GS advisors determine whether a transfer course satisfies a Core requirement.
*GS advisors must approve all courses used to fulfill a Core requirement.

With the exception of the cultural diversity requirement and Frontiers of Science (Science C1000), no single course may be used to satisfy more than one GS Core requirement.

Students may count two courses from their major department toward the fulfillment of GS Core requirements; the limit on overlap is two, even if a student is a double major.

===WRITING===

University Writing, required of all GS students in their first semesters, facilitates students' entry into the intellectual life of the university by helping them to become more capable and independent academic readers and writers. With its small section size and emphases on the writing process and revision, critical analysis, collaboration, and research, the course provides an occasion for students to develop academic habits and skills important to their success in future courses. In planning their first semesters of study at Columbia, GS students should start by choosing the section of English F1010—University Writing that best fits their schedules. Non-native English speakers must reach level 10 in the American Language Program prior to registering for English F1010. In exceptional cases, a student may be permitted to enroll in University Writing during their second semester of study at GS.

===LITERATURE===

Literature courses expose students to master writers recognized for their ability to convey ideas, feelings, and images through the power and play of words. The study of literature provides students with an opportunity to deepen their critical reading and writing skills. The GS literature requirement is fulfilled by two literature courses, one of which must be taken at Columbia. In addition to the rich variety of courses in the English and Comparative Literature Department, students may choose from among the many literature courses found in Columbia's foreign language and literature departments as well as from the list of special GS colloquia. Courses on literature in translation, as well as literature courses in foreign languages at the 3000 level or above, may satisfy the literature requirement. GS students may also elect to take the two-semester Literature-Humanities course, Masterpieces of European Literature and Philosophy, (Humanities F1001-1002) to fulfill the literature or humanities requirement.

===FOREIGN LANGUAGE===

The study of a foreign language often opens up a whole new way of seeing, understanding, and describing the world. Today's students should not be limited by a single language, but should be able to think and communicate in a language other than their native tongues. GS requires that all candidates for the bachelor's degree demonstrate competence in a second language at or beyond intermediate level. In order to achieve this level of fluency and encourage more advanced language study, students are expected to reach intermediate-level proficiency by the time they have reached junior standing. Intermediate-level proficiency in a foreign language is assessed in one of the following ways:

*An appropriate score on the SAT II subject test or Advanced Placement test, taken before matriculation to GS, as determined by relevant departments for specific languages;
*Demonstrating intermediate-level competence on the language placement test administered by relevant departments or programs. Language placement tests must be taken within the first two semesters of study at GS, or, in cases where a student undertakes language study as part of a Columbia-approved study abroad program, at the beginning of the next term of enrollment after returning from study abroad;
*Approved transfer credits in foreign language study showing intermediate-level proficiency (usually two years of study);
*The satisfactory completion of the intermediate level of a language sequence at Columbia, as determined by the relevant department (usually the fourth term of a language);
*Completing secondary education in another country in a language other than English.

Students should speak with their GS advisors soon after matriculating at GS to discuss how they will satisfy this requirement. Because fulfillment of the language requirement can take four semesters of study to fulfill, students who have not fulfilled the language requirement by placement test, AP scores, or transfer credit are required to begin their language study no later than their second year at GS, and to continue enrollment in language courses each semester until the requirement has been met.

Native speakers of languages other than English must take a language placement test within two semesters of matriculating at GS. If a placement test in a particular language is not available at Columbia, students should speak with their GS advisors about alternative testing arrangements. Students diagnosed with a language learning disability must register with the Office of Disability Services in order to be considered for an accommodation for the foreign language requirement.

===ART AND MUSIC===

The art and music humanities Core courses are designed to awaken and encourage in students an appreciation of art and music; to help them learn to respond intelligently to a variety of musical idioms and artistic genres by developing analytical skills and a conceptual framework for interpretation; and to engage students in debates about the character and purpose of music and art throughout human history. GS students must fulfill both an art and music humanities requirement.

====Art Humanities====

This Core requirement is fulfilled by one of the following:

*Art Humanities W1121−Masterpieces of Western Art;
*Asian Humanities V3340−Art in China, Japan and Korea;
*Asian Humanities V3342−Masterpieces of Indian Art and Architecture;
*Asian Humanities V3343−Masterpieces of Islamic Art and Architecture;
*Exemption based on a comparable course taken at another college or university; (Petition forms for this exemption are available in the Dean of Students Office and are reviewed by the Chair of Art Humanities.)

If the art humanities requirement is fulfilled with Masterpieces of Western Art (W1121) or an approved, equivalent transfer course, students should not take Barnard Art History 1001 or 1002 as this constitutes a duplication of coursework and thus would not count toward the GS degree.

====Music Humanities====

This Core requirement is fulfilled by one of the following:

*Music Humanities W1123−Masterpieces of Western Music;
*Asian Humanities V3320−Musics of East Asia and Southeast Asia;
*Asian Humanities V3321−Musics of India and West Asia;
*Passing the Music Humanities test administered during the first week of each term by the Music Department (621 Dodge Hall);
*Exemption based on a comparable course taken at another college or university. (Petition forms for this exemption are available in the Dean of Students Office and are reviewed by the Chair of the Music Humanities.)

===HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES===

Students are required to take two courses selected from the humanities offerings and two courses in social sciences. Courses in the social sciences provide students with a basis for understanding social systems and the interactions of individuals and societies, while humanities courses offer ways to understand the development of cultures and how humans express themselves in art, music, literature, architecture, drama, and religion. By choosing to fulfill these Core requirements early on in their academic plans of study, students may discover a field of study they wish to pursue further and develop into a major.

The following interdisciplinary programs offer courses in both humanities and social sciences. GS advisors must determine the appropriate category for a course when taken to satisfy a GS Core requirement.

*African Studies
*African-American Studies
*American Studies
*Asian American Studies
*Comparative Ethnic Studies
*Comparative Literature and Society
*East Asian Languages & Cultures
*Human Rights
*Latino Studies
*Middle East and Asian Languages & Cultures
*Women's and Gender Studies

====Humanities====

Students must select two humanities courses from the following departments or above-mentioned interdisciplinary programs to count toward the GS Core requirement. In foreign language departments, only courses at the 3000 level or above will be considered toward the GS Core humanities requirement.

*Archaeology
*Architecture
*Art History and Archaeology
*Classics
*English and Comparative Literature
*Film Studies
*Germanic Languages
*History
*Italian
*Music
*Philosophy
*Religion
*Slavic Languages
*Spanish and Portuguese

GS students may also elect to take the two-semester Literature-Humanities course, Masterpieces of European Literature and Philosophy, (Humanities F1001-1002) to fulfill the humanities or literature requirement.

====Social Sciences====

Students must select two social sciences courses from the following departments or abovementioned interdisciplinary programs to fulfill the GS Core social sciences requirement:

*Anthropology
*Economics
*Political Science
*Psychology (all Barnard department offerings but only Columbia department courses at the 2600 or 3600 level)
*Sociology

GS students may also elect to take the two-semester Contemporary Western Civilization course (Contemporary Civilization F1101-1102) to fulfill the social science requirement.

===QUANTITATIVE REASONING===

Courses required to fulfill the quantitative reasoning (QR) requirement aim to develop skills in quantitative analysis and deductive reasoning, which are particularly relevant to the study of science and social sciences. Students who have earned minimum test scores of 600 on the Math SAT or 27 on the math subsection of the ACT within the past eight years are considered to have met the quantitative reasoning requirement. All other students are required to take the GS quantitative reasoning exam during or prior to Orientation. Passing the test satisfies the quantitative reasoning requirement. Based on the QR test results, GS advisors will help students choose a course from the GS-approved list of quantitative reasoning courses. When choosing a QR course, students must make sure they have reviewed and met the specified prerequisites for the course prior to enrollment.

Any course selected from the following departments fulfills the GS quantitative reasoning requirement when passed with a satisfactory letter grade:

*Computer Science (except W1001, S1021D, S1022Q)
*Economics (Columbia department only)
*Mathematics
*Statistics
*Science C1000: Frontiers of Science satisfies both the QR and science requirements when passed with a letter-grade of C or above.

In addition, the following courses have been approved as satisfying the Quantitative Reasoning requirement if completed with a satisfactory letter grade.

*Economics BC2411—Statistics for Economics
*Philosophy F1401—Elementary Logic
*Philosophy V3411—Symbolic Logic
*Political Science BC3345—Statistical Analysis of Politics and Policy
*Political Science W4209—Game Theory and Political Theory
*Political Science W4360—Mathematical Methods for Political Science
*Political Science W4910—Principles of Quantitative Political Research
*Psychology BC1101—Statistics Sociology V1205—Evaluation of Evidence
*Sociology BC3211—Quantitative Methods
*Sociology V1205—Evaluation of Evidence
*Sociology V3212—Methods of Social Research
*Urban Studies BC3200—Program Evaluation: Methods and Case Studies

====Barnard Courses====

Note that Barnard students are given preference for enrollment in Barnard courses that may fulfill the GS QR requirement. Barnard courses that fulfill a GS core requirement will not necessarily count toward a major at Columbia if a student chooses to major or concentrate in one of these fields. (See individual departments concerning courses approved and required for the major.)

====Updated List of Approved QR Courses====

The list of approved courses for the QR requirement is updated yearly. If a particular quantitative reasoning course does not appear on the list, students should ask their GS advisor about its appropriateness for the requirement.

===SCIENCE===

The science requirement aims to develop critical awareness of the methods and limits of scientific inquiry, while fostering observational and analytical skills particularly in reference to the natural world. To fulfill the science requirement, students must successfully complete three courses selected from the following Columbia departments:

*Astronomy
*Biological Sciences
*Chemistry
*Earth and Environmental Sciences (Columbia department only)
*Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology
*Physics
*Psychology (Columbia courses only, except V3167 and1600-, 2600-, 3600- and 4600-level courses)
*Science C1000: Frontiers of Science satisfies both the science and QR requirements when passed with a letter-grade of C or above.

Courses taught through the Columbia-sponsored Summer Ecosystem Experience for Undergraduates (SEE-U) program also count towards the science requirements. When choosing a science course, students should make sure they have reviewed and met the specified prerequisites for the course prior to enrollment. Students who are considering careers in science-related fields, including health-related professions, are urged to begin their study of science within the first semester or two after matriculation at GS. Students majoring in Computer Science, Mathematics, or Statistics are allowed to have two of their major courses count toward the science course requirements (within the permitted limits of major/Core course overlap).

===CULTURAL DIVERSITY===

The GS cultural diversity requirement is intended to ensure that students are exposed to cultures other than their own and expand upon the ways they view the world. To that end, students are required to take at least one course that focuses on a culture, society, literature, or language of a nation or region that, as a general principle, is located outside the United States, Canada, or Europe. Columbia offers an excellent diversity of courses that focus on Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and various regions of Asia. Students are encouraged to choose a course outside their own ethnic or cultural framework as well as to go beyond the one-course requirement to explore a diversity of cultures or one particular culture in depth. A course meeting a major requirement or another Core requirement may simultaneously fulfill the cultural diversity requirement.

=== Major Requirements ===

Major requirements are determined departmentally. These are generally the same for both GS and CC.

== Financial Aid ==

GS offers scholarships for both newly accepted and continuing students. These scholarships are merit- rather than need-based, and the amounts awarded range from $500 to $18,000.

A common complaint made by GS students is that the financial aid amounts and options offered by GS are smaller than those offered to CC/SEAS students. In the absence of need-based institutional aid, many GS students rely on a combination of loans, external grants, and personal funds. In 2006 the University announced financial aid reforms for CC and SEAS students whose parents earn less than $50,000 annually.

GS does not offer parity with the packages offered to CC/SEAS students. This is because the scholarship system at GS is independent of the financial aid system for CC/SEAS and funding is sourced from a separate GS-only pool. GS has made some recent efforts to address the issue, both through campaigns to increase the endowment and by increasing its scholarship offerings by 10 percent (in 2006.)

== History ==
The University Extension program was reorganized and renamed the School of General Studies in 1947, in part to address the influx of GIs returning from World War II. It became Columbia's third official undergraduate school. It is sometimes claimed that [[Barnard College]] is Columbia's third undergraduate school, and GS is its fourth; however Barnard is officially only affiliated with Columbia University, while GS, its deans, and students are formally integrated into the university proper, along with [[Columbia College]] and the [[Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences]].

GS originally maintained its own faculty, classes, and programs. In 1967 the University first decided (over the objection of the Columbia College Faculty) to allow GS to grant the B.A. degree in addition to the B.S. In the 1980s it was separated from the [[School of Continuing Education|Division of Continuing Education]]. In 1990, the CC, GS, and GSAS faculties were merged into the Faculty of Arts & Sciences.

== Housing ==
General Studies students are not eligible for the CC/SEAS [[Room Selection]] process. However, many GS students receive housing through [[University Apartment Housing]].

== Myths ==
* GS is night school.
:GS students attend the same classes as students in other colleges at the university. Columbia offers some classes at night, which are available to all students.
* GS is an extension program.
:GS is a degree-granting college. Students are expected to pursue a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree. The separate [[School of Continuing Education]] offers individual courses on non-degree basis.
* GS is a back door to CC.
:* GS and CC are separate administrative units. It is not possible to go from GS to CC; in some cases, students can go from CC to GS.

== Relationship to Columbia College ==
The School of General Studies is loosely defined as a school for 'non-traditional students.' Non-traditional in GS terms seems to refer to anybody who has had a gap of one year or more in their undergraduate studies.<ref>[http://www.gs.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/newspages.dll/pages?sitename=COLAD&record=449&htmlfile=gsnews2.htm Average gap in studies for a GS student is 6 years]</ref> By inference, Columbia College is for 'traditional students' who matriculate directly from high school and have not had a gap of more than one year in their undergraduate studies. On this basis, students interested are applying to study at Columbia University are tracked to an 'appropriate' school. These admissions criteria favor tracking older students into the School of General Studies and is de facto if not de jure age discrimination.

Part of the tension between Columbia College and General Studies stems from the University's [[1967]] decision (over the objection of the Columbia College Faculty) to allow GS to grant the A.B. degree in addition to the B.S., undermining one of the few priveleges Columbia College had within a University that was often hostile to its very existence. As a result, even though GS and CC students are academically indistinguishable- they both receive instruction in the liberal arts and sciences from the Columbia Faculty of Arts and Sciences and receive the Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University- GS is treated as a lesser school, possibly at the instigiation of a still resentful College.

While the University's decision eliminated the College's exclusive prerogative to grant the A.B. degree, the University most likely viewed it as yet another revenue stream. It should be noted that for a large part of it's history, the University administration has paid scant attention to the College. Then-dean of the College David Truman reportedly broke into tears when he learned of the Trustees' decision.

At the time each of schools had a faculty independent of the other, with professors able to hold joint-appointments between multiple faculties. There was likely a certain sense of the College faculty's privilege to grant the A.B. being encroached on. The independent faculties of the schools have since been integrated into a single Faculty of Arts and Science.

With the integration of the faculties, it becomes harder to justify the segregation of GS within the University. GS admissions statistics are not reported in conjunction with CC/SEAS statistics- though this is related both to GS's much later decision dates, and the opacity of it's admissions process. GS releases few statistics about its incoming class, leading to speculation that GS lets in students with subpar statistics, which the University then 'hides.' This is also the grounds for accusations that GS is a "back door" to a Columbia undergraduate education.

Additionally GS students deal with a dearth of financial aid funding. Because GS is operated separately from the joint administration of CC and SEAS, it is not covered in the plan to eliminate student loans for CC and SEAS students with family incomes below $50,000, an initiative applicable only to the financial aid office under CC/SEAS's [[Division of Student Affairs]].

The somewhat arbitrary delineations between the College and GS have grown as a result of attempts to reconcile the overlap between the schools while justifying the disparate standing of the schools within the University. The wide range of constituents forming the GS student body, from professionals or drop outs returning to school for a degree, to students who took 2 years off before attending college, to 'traditional' age students enrolled in the Joint Degree Program with List College at JTS, to post-bac pre-med students, makes it hard to say just what identity GS students have that makes them so different from their fellow students in the College.

== Notes ==
<references />

==Further reading==
* [http://www.gs.columbia.edu/history.htm History of the School of General Studies]
*[http://media.www.columbiaspectator.com/media/storage/paper865/news/2007/03/05/News/Implications.General.Studies-2757242.shtml IMPLICATIONS: General Studies (Article on the evolving and conflicting identities of GS)] - [[Columbia Spectator|The Spectator]] 3/5/07
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,810834,00.html The Unwashed Brother (article on GS in Time Magazine, circa 1959.)]
* [[w:Columbia University School of General Studies|Wikipedia article]]

== External links ==
* [http://www.gs.columbia.edu/home.asp GS website]
* [http://www.gs.columbia.edu/studentservices/housing.htm GS Housing website]
* [http://www.alumni.gs.columbia.edu/ OwlNet, GS Alumni website]
* [http://gslounge.com/ GSLOUNGE] (Official Site of the [[GSSC]])

{{Schools}}

[[Category:Schools]]

School of General Studies

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School of General Studies

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