Invitations are paused. The list is not.
An appointed advisor has to certify eligibility before anyone can be invited — including us. Get on the list now and you are first in line when that changes.
Roughly 12 credits and a 3.5
Phi Theta Kappa membership generally goes to students who have completed a minimum number of applicable college credits at a two‑year institution while maintaining a high grade point average. Typically that means at least 12 applicable college credits and a GPA at or above roughly 3.5.
Treat those as the typical Society threshold, not as our confirmed local requirement. Chapters set specific eligibility within the Society’s framework through their own bylaws. We will confirm ours here once an advisor is appointed and has dashboard access.
One missing signature
An appointed advisor verifies student eligibility against college records and issues membership invitations. Our advisor’s position was eliminated over the summer, so until Bellevue College appoints a replacement, no one can extend a valid invitation — including the students organizing the chapter.
That is the whole obstacle. Everything else is ready.
Get on the interest list
The moment invitations open, that list is who we contact first.
Tell a faculty member about the role
A personal nudge from a student has moved this further than our email outreach has.
Keep your GPA where it needs to be
Eligibility is assessed against your record at the time invitations go out.
Bring an interest
The Honors in Action project is chosen by the members who show up for it.
Join the interest list
Nothing here commits you to anything, and we will not share it outside the organizing team. It exists so that the day the chapter can invite members, we already know who to invite.
What a year in the chapter looks like
The Society scores chapters across five categories every year. Here is what each one means for a member rather than an officer.
- Grow
- Recruitment runs year‑round. Members help reach eligible students who have not heard of the chapter — which, after a dormant year, is most of them.
- Engage
- Members and officers work through PTK Edge and Leadership Development Studies coursework. It is genuine professional development, not busywork.
- Network
- Regional events through the Greater Northwest Region, including its fall conference on November 21 at Portland Community College and the Scholar Dash 5K fundraiser.
- Lead
- The College Project — identifying a real Bellevue College need and working with college leadership on it. Its Hallmark entry is due early January.
- Discover
- Honors in Action: choose a theme, research it, then build an action project from what the research concluded.
What membership actually gets you
Transfer scholarships
More than 800 four‑year institutions offer awards specifically to Phi Theta Kappa members, several of them in Washington. This is the most concrete benefit and the reason most members join.
Research worth writing about
Honors in Action produces a real research project with conclusions and measured outcomes — substantially better transfer‑application material than a list of club memberships.
Professional development
PTK Edge courses and Leadership Development Studies are open to members, not just officers.
A cohort
Regional conferences and chapter meetings put you among students who take their coursework as seriously as you do.
Before you sign up
Can I join right now?
No — and neither can we. An appointed advisor has to certify eligibility before any invitation is valid. The interest list above is how you get contacted first when that changes.
What if my GPA is below 3.5?
Eligibility is assessed against your record at the time invitations go out, not today. If you are close and have quarters remaining, it is worth getting on the list anyway.
What does membership cost?
We are not publishing a figure we have not confirmed. It will be posted here once an advisor is appointed and we can verify it.
Do I have to be an officer to take part?
No. Members participate in the research project, service work and regional events without holding a role. That said, we would like more officer candidates — see the organizing team page.
Three ways in
See what a year commits you to
All five scored categories, and where the chapter stands on each today.
Help choose what we research
Members pick the theme and the research question. The subcommittee has not decided yet.
What it is worth when you transfer
Award levels at the Washington institutions that offer them to members.