The first step in forming an IEEE Student Branch is to complete the online Petition Form. You will need to have faculty and department support as well as signatures of at least twelve (12) active IEEE Student and/or Graduate Student Members.
Student Branches
An IEEE Student Branch gives students a community of peers, and a connection to faculty and industry professionals who drive innovation in countless technical fields. Student involvement in Branch activities, whether special projects, social and technical meetings, outreach programs, conferences, local Section or Regional opportunities, etc. can help develop a record of accomplishment and capabilities beyond the norm.
Benefits of Forming an IEEE Student Branch
- Opportunities to network on a local level
- Free website hosting
- Obtain funding for events, projects, and activities
- Develop projects and obtain sponsorship based on your IEEE affiliation
- Receive support for hosting professional awareness programs
- Connect with other like minded student groups to advance the IEEE mission
In addition to benefits, IEEE offers programs and projects that keep students interested in the Branch and its activities and their chosen profession.
Form an IEEE Student Branch
An IEEE Student Branch provides opportunities to meet and learn from fellow IEEE Student and Graduate Student Members and engage with professional IEEE members locally. An active IEEE Student Branch can be one of the most positive elements of your academic career, offering programs, activities, and professional networking opportunities that build critical skills outside of the classroom. IEEE currently has Student Branches at thousands of universities and colleges in hundreds of countries throughout the world.
Getting Started
The Key to Success
The key to running a successful Student Branch is in the administration. There are several key positions: the Branch Officers (Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary), the Branch Counselor (or Faculty Advisor), and the subcommittee Chairs. While each has somewhat different duties, it is important to work together as a team. All officers should be aware of the benefits of IEEE membership.
IEEE Offerings
– Participation in regional conferences, workshops, and competitions
– Development of leadership, interpersonal and team building skills
– Participation in awards, scholarships and project/design programs and student paper contests
– Access IEEE online services and resources
– Materials designed to promote IEEE membership and its services
We’re here to help answer any of your questions.
Forming an Affinity Group is the best way to interact and share information with others with similar interests in your local area. You may submit a petition to form two types of Affinity Group formations:
- Section Affinity Group
- Student Branch Affinity Group
To form an Affinity Group:
1) Recruit six IEEE members willing to be part of the founding Affinity Group;
2) Select someone to be responsible for the Affinity Group until the first meeting is held and the Officers are formally appointed;
3) Obtain approval from your Section or Student Branch Executive Committee approval (an Affinity Group depends administratively and financially on the Section);
IEEE Computer Society has over 350 student branch chapters worldwide. Being part of a student community helps computing students to meet like-minded students, compete in computing challenges, and enjoy a wide variety of events and networking opportunities.
What Is Needed
- Determine whether an IEEE Student Branch exists at your college or university. An IEEE Student Branch is required to establish a Student Branch Chapter.
- FIND MEMBERS! A minimum of six IEEE Computer Society undergraduate or graduate members are required to establish a student branch chapter.
- At least 1 full-time faculty member who is an IEEE Computer Society member who agrees to serve as faculty advisor
What to Do
- Complete the IEEE Computer Society Student Branch Chapter Application. (member log in required)
IEEE student services will obtain formal approval of the petition by the regional director, the regional student activities committee chair, and the Computer Society President.
Apply For Funds
- Student Branch Chapters qualify for start up funding. Once approval of your application is complete apply for funding.
- Additional funding is available via a chapter program. Apply today.
The Chapter formation process is now submitted through the online petition. The online petition process automatically populates active IEEE and Society members of that particular Section who are eligible to sign the petition (GSM and above) and obtains the signatures and approvals electronically. It is recommended to reach out to the Section prior to initiating the petition. The individual submitting the petition will need to use their IEEE Web Account to sign on.
Helpful Links
How to Join IEEE.
Create an IEEE Account.
Online Petition: See “Forming a Geographic Unit” and Click “Access Petition Form”
Additional questions relating to the online petition form should be directed to petition@ieee.org.
Chapters are formed by petition of 12 or more members of an IEEE society or group of societies. Members of multiple IEEE societies can combine to create a Joint Chapter within their Section. Similarly, two or more contiguous IEEE Sections can form Joint Chapters of multiple Sections and multiple societies. This is ideal if your
Section has a low population of society members, or your local society members are dispersed around two or more nearby Sections.
To form a new SPS Chapter:
• A Chapter organizer must gather 12 or more signatures from fellow SPS members and complete a petition
through IEEE MGA. All members must be SPS members in good standing and member grade Graduate
Student Member or higher.
To form a new SPS Joint Chapter:
• A Joint Chapter organizer must gather 12 or more signatures from members of two or more societies. Of
those 12 signatures, no fewer than three of them must be from voting members of each of the petitioning
societies. All members must be members in good standing and member grade Graduate Student Member
or higher
For full information, requirements, and the petition for IEEE Chapter formation, visit the following link: https://mga.ieee.org/resources-operations/formations-petitions#chapter
- Go to https://officers.vtools.ieee.org/ – Find the name of the student branch of your university
- Find the contacts for your student branch
- Select an advisor
- Submit the petition, Access the petition here: https://www.ieee.org/communities/forms_petitions.html
- After the petition is submitted, it will be forwarded to IEEE Member & Geographic Activities for processing.
- The chapter will be established following approval from the appropriate Region Director and PES President (or their designee).
- You can view the year to date (YTD) geographic unit formation report lists the petitions approved on the MGA web page
- Email petition@ieee.org with questions regarding unit formation policies or unit formation petition processes.
- A petition, signed by not less than six (6), preferably more, IEEE Student Branch members, who are members of the technical Society, must be submitted to IEEE MGA Administration
- The petition must specify the name of the Student Branch, the name of the technical Society with which the Student Branch Chapter will be affiliated, the name of the interim Branch Chapter Chair and the name of the faculty Advisor, who must also be a member of IEEE and the technical Society
- Access the petition here: https://www.ieee.org/communities/forms_petitions.html
- After the Advisor and the Student Branch Executive Committee have approved the petition, it should be emailed to IEEE Member and Geographic Activities Administration Department or email <petition@ieee.org>. A Student Branch is required to establish a Student Branch Chapter.
- Upon receipt of the petition, staff will verify the membership of the individuals who signed the petition. If the petition is in order, staff will take the necessary action to obtain formal approval of the petition by the Society President, the Regional Director and the Regional Student Activities Committee Chair
- Send completed petition to:
IEEE Member and Geographic Activities Department Petitions
445 Hoes Lane
Piscataway, NJ 08854
Fax: +1 732 463 9359
- A SIGHT may be a group formed by an IEEE Organizational Unit by petition to the Humanitarian Ad Hoc Committee (HAHC) – SIGHT office.
- SIGHT groups must be affiliated to a Section, Student Branch, or Society to form a SIGHT Group.
- Where will your SIGHT Group be formed? All SIGHT Groups should be affiliated with an existing IEEE Organizational Unit (OU), of the following list:
- IEEE Section
- IEEE Subsection
- IEEE Student Branch
- IEEE Society
- IEEE Society Chapter
- The petition to establish a SIGHT shall contain the following:
⦁ Name of the Parent OU (Section, Student Branch, or Society).
⦁ Name and contact information of the organizer (who will serve as interim Chair pending election of a regular Chair at a later organization meeting). The organizer shall be of an IEEE Graduate Student Member or of a higher-grade status and must be an IEEE member.
⦁ Signatures of at least six (6) IEEE voting Members who are Members of the Section/Student Branch/Society involved, and who indicate they will join the SIGHT if established.
⦁ The mission/goals and proposed activities for first year. Signature of the Chair of the Parent OU (Branch Counselor for Student Branches) and interim Chair of SIGHT group. - The SIGHT staff will review the petition and advise if there are any discrepancies. If all conditions are satisfied, the SIGHT office at the IEEE Operations Center will inform the OU of the approval.
- Each SIGHT group will report once every six months on their activities during the period.
- Any change in the organizer / chair of the SIGHT Group or the corresponding contact details must be reported to the SIGHT staff.
- In case of non-reporting for two consecutive six-month periods, the SIGHT group will be suspended.
