Pi Delta Phi- Beta Chapter

HISTORY

PI DELTA PHI was founded as a departmental honor society at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1906. After twenty years as a local chapter, Pi Delta Phi declared itself the National French Honor Society and chartered the Beta Chapter at the University of Southern California in 1925. The Society expanded gradually during the next fifteen years. After World War II, Pi Delta Phi has enjoyed phenomenal growth. At the present time, it numbers 271 chapters established at representative public and private colleges and universities in almost every state, as well as chapters in Paris and Aix-en-Provence. The Society was admitted to membership in the Association of College Honor Societies in 1967. The official publication of Pi Delta Phi is the Newsletter.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this Society shall be (1) to recognize outstanding scholarship in the French languages and its literature; (2) to increase Americans’ knowledge and appreciation of the cultural contributions of the French-speaking world; (3) to stimulate and encourage French cultural activities.

MEMBERSHIP

There are three categories of lifetime membership: regular, premium, and honorary.

Regular and Premium members include graduate and undergraduate students who shall be nominated in recognition of their academic achievement in at least one semester of upper-division French, with a minimum GPA of 3.3 in French and overall.

Honorary members include the French faculty of the sponsoring institutions, members of the faculty at large, diplomats and community leaders who have shown a strong support of French culture.

Each spring, the USC Department of French and Italian invites eligible students to join Pi Delta Phi, and the department organizes an Induction Ceremony for all Chapter members and new inductees.