Frequently Asked Membership Eligibility Questions:

PART-TIME STUDENTS

Q. Are part-time students eligible?
A. YES. According to the International Constitution and Bylaws, part-time students may be eligible IF they have accumulated the number of hours over two or more academic terms used by your institution to designate full-time status(usually 12 hours on a semester system). The decision to declare part-time students eligible is an option of the local chapter and should be addressed in each chapter’s bylaws. Phi Theta Kappa Headquarters strongly encourages the eligibility of part-time students, and currently more than 80 percent of all chapters do allow part-time students to be inducted.

NON-DEGREE SEEKING STUDENTS

Q. Are students who are enrolled in associate degree programs eligible if they do not plan to actually complete their associate degree, but instead plan to simply transfer to a senior institution?
A. YES. A student need not necessarily be planning to receive an associate degree, as long as he or she has accumulated at least 12 hours of course work that could be applied toward an associate degree where the student is currently enrolled. Therefore, students taking basic course work at a two-year institution, with plans to transfer to a four-year institution without completing associate degree requirements are eligible if they have accumulated their 12 hours and meet academic grade point average requirements.

CERTIFICATE SEEKING STUDENTS

Q. Are students pursuing certificate programs rather then associate degree programs eligible for membership?
A. MAYBE. A certificate student may be eligible for membership if the student has accumulated at least 12 hours of course work that could be applied toward an associate degree at the two-year college where the student is currently enrolled.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

Q. Are international students, those who are citizens of countries other than the United States or Canada,eligible?
A. YES. International students attending college on a United States student visa and who possess full rights of citizenship of their country ( just as citizens of the United States and Canada must) are eligible for membership.

TRANSFER CREDIT

Q. Can transfer hours from other colleges be considered when determining membership eligibility?
A. MAYBE. Grades for courses taken at another institution may be considered when determining membership eligibility if this procedure is acceptable to the institution the student is currently attending. The decision should be addressed in the chapter’s bylaws. However, while grades may be considered, the student must still complete at least 12 hours at the college in which the student is presently enrolled.

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

Q. Can a high school student who is taking college credit be a member of Phi Theta Kappa?
A. YES. A high school student enrolled at a two-year college who achieves at least 12 credit hours of associate degree course work and the required cumulative GPA is eligible for membership in Phi Theta Kappa.

COLLEGE GRADUATES

Q. Can a community college student who has already earned a degree be a member of Phi Theta Kappa?
A. YES. A student with a degree who is enrolled at the community college is eligible for membership if that student completes at least 12 hours of associate degree course work with the required cumulative GPA at the two-year he or she is presently attending.

GRADE FORGIVENESS

Q. If a student attended our college eight years ago and did not do well, do we have to consider those grades when determining the student’s eligibility?
A. According to the Phi Theta Kappa Constitution, studies taken more than five years ago need not be considered when determining membership eligibility. However, the college administration has the prerogative of increasing the number of years which must elapse for waiving course consideration to any period beyond five years. Our chapter holds this period to be infinite. All grades will be considered when deciding eligibility.



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