IEEE Geographic Unit Formation Policies and Petitions
In accordance with the actions of the IEEE Member and Geographic Activities Board, there are specific guidelines to follow when forming an IEEE geographic unit.
Geographic unit petitions are submitted online (with the exception of Geographic Councils, where a form must be downloaded, circulated, and submitted.)
The lifecycle of an online petition is as follows:
For each petition type, the roles of Organizer, Endorser, Petitioner and Approver must meet specific requirements.
Choose a geographic unit below to learn more about or begin the formation process.
- Section
- Subsection
- Society / Technical Council Chapter and Joint Chapter
- Affinity Group
- Student Branch
- Student Branch Chapter
- Student Branch Affinity Group
- Chapter / Affinity Group Status Change
- Student Unit Status Change
- Geographic Council
- Year to Date Geographic Unit Formation Report
Find more information about forming a geographic unit in Section 9 of the MGA Operations Manual
Petition to form an IEEE Section
Upon joining IEEE, members are automatically associated with an IEEE Section. IEEE Sections provide their members a venue to share technical, professional, and personal interests locally, with their fellow members who live and/or work in close proximity.
ORGANIZERS |
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ENDORSERS |
Section petitions must be endorsed by the following:
Note: If the Organizer does not report to a Section, the petition will only need to be endorsed by the Region Director. Endorsers will be invited to endorse the petition once the petition has been verified by IEEE Staff. |
PETITIONERS |
Section petitions must be signed by the following:
Qualified members will be invited to sign the petition once the petition has been endorsed by all Endorsers. |
APPROVERS | The IEEE Member and Geographic Activities Board shall approve the formation of a Section at its next scheduled meeting. |
Access the IEEE Geographic Unit Petition Application
Petition to form an IEEE Subsection
Upon joining IEEE, members are automatically associated with an IEEE Section. Subsections, a subunit of a Region or Section, are formed to meet the needs of a smaller group of members locally. Participating in a Subsection provides opportunities, through its many activities to grow, on multiple professional and personal levels.
ORGANIZERS |
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ENDORSERS |
Subsection petitions must be endorsed by the following:
Note: If the Organizer does not report to a Section, the petition will only need to be endorsed by the Region Director.
Endorsers will be invited to endorse the petition once the petition has been verified by IEEE Staff. |
PETITIONERS |
Subsection petitions must be signed by the following:
Qualified members will be invited to sign the petition once the petition has been endorsed by all Endorsers. |
APPROVERS | The IEEE Member and Geographic Activities Board shall approve the formation of a Subsection at its next scheduled meeting. |
Access the IEEE Geographic Unit Petition Application
Petition to form an IEEE Society/Technical Council Chapter and Joint Chapter
A Chapter shall be a technical subunit of a Region, one or more Sections, or a Geographic Council. There may be single Society Chapters, joint Society Chapters, and Technical Council Chapters. Chapters are your local link to the valuable resources available from IEEE and its 40+ Societies and Technical Councils.
ORGANIZERS |
Note: For Joint Section Chapters, there must be one Organizer/Co-Organizer from each contiguous section involved. |
ENDORSERS |
Chapter petitions must be endorsed by the following:
Joint Sections Chapter petitions must be endorsed by the following:
Note: If the Organizer does not report to a Section, the petition will be endorsed by the Region Director. Endorsers will be invited to endorse the petition once the petition has been verified by IEEE Staff. |
PETITIONERS |
Chapter petitions must be signed by the following:
Qualified members will be invited to sign the petition once the petition has been endorsed by all Endorsers. |
APPROVERS |
Chapter Petitions must be approved by the following:
Approvers will be invited to approve the petition once the petition has been signed by 12 Petitioners. |
Access the IEEE Geographic Unit Petition Application
Petition to form an IEEE Affinity Group
Forming an affinity group is the best way to interact and share information with others with similar interests in your local area.
- Section Affinity Group for members
ORGANIZERS |
Note: For Joint Section Affinity Groups, there must be one Organizer/Co-Organizer from each contiguous section involved. |
ENDORSERS |
Affinity Group petitions must be endorsed by the following:
Joint Sections Affinity Group petitions must be endorsed by the following:
Note: If the Organizer does not report to a Section, the petition will be endorsed by the Region Director. Endorsers will be invited to endorse the petition once the petition has been verified by IEEE Staff. |
PETITIONERS |
Affinity Group petitions must be signed by the following:
Qualified members will be invited to sign the petition once the petition has been endorsed by all Endorsers. |
APPROVERS |
Affinity Group petitions must be approved by the following:
Approvers will be invited to approve the petition once the petition has been signed by 6 Petitioners. |
Access the IEEE Geographic Unit Petition Application
Petition to 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.
Benefits of forming a Student Branch
ORGANIZERS |
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ENDORSERS |
Student Branch petitions must be endorsed by the following:
Endorsers will be invited to endorse the petition once the petition has been verified by IEEE Staff. |
PETITIONERS |
Student Branch petitions must be signed by the following:
Qualified members will be invited to sign the petition once the petition has been endorsed by all Endorsers. |
APPROVERS |
Student Branch petitions must be approved by the following:
Approvers will be invited to approve the petition once the petition has been signed by 12 Petitioners. |
Access the IEEE Geographic Unit Petition Application
Petition to form an IEEE Student Branch Chapter
A Technical Chapter at your Student Branch is your local link to the valuable resources available from IEEE and its many Societies and Councils. There must be a current, active Student Branch at your school, in order to form a Student Branch Technical Chapter.
ORGANIZERS |
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ENDORSERS |
Student Branch petitions must be endorsed by the following:
Endorsers will be invited to endorse the petition once the petition has been verified by IEEE Staff. |
PETITIONERS |
Student Branch Chapter petitions must be signed by the following:
Qualified members will be invited to sign the petition once the petition has been endorsed by all Endorsers. |
APPROVERS |
Student Branch Chapter petitions must be approved by the following:
|
Access the IEEE Geographic Unit Petition Application
Petition to form an IEEE Student Branch Affinity Group
Forming a Women in Engineering (WIE) Affinity Group is the best way to interact and share information with others at your school with similar interests.
- Student Branch Affinity Group
ORGANIZERS |
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ENDORSERS |
Student Branch Affinity Group petitions must be endorsed by the following:
Endorsers will be invited to endorse the petition once the petition has been verified by IEEE Staff. |
PETITIONERS |
Student Branch Affinity Group petitions must be signed by the following:
Qualified members will be invited to sign the petition once the petition has been endorsed by all Endorsers. |
APPROVERS |
Student Branch Affinity Group petitions must be approved by the following:
Approvers will be invited to approve the petition once the petition has been signed by 6 Petitioners. |
Access the IEEE Geographic Unit Petition Application
Petition to Change the Status of an Existing Section Chapter/Affinity Group
The status of an existing Chapter or Affinity Group may be changed from single to joint, or vice-versa, or from one joint combination to another.
ORGANIZERS |
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ENDORSERS |
Section Chapter/Affinity Group Status Change petitions must be endorsed by the following:
Note: If the Organizer does not report to a Section, the petition will be endorsed by the Region Director. Endorsers will be invited to endorse the petition once the petition has been verified by IEEE Staff. |
PETITIONERS | Section Chapter/Affinity Group Status Change petitions do not require Petitioner signatures. |
APPROVERS |
Section Chapter/Affinity Group Status Change petitions must be approved by the following:
Approvers will be invited to approve the petition once the petition has been endorsed by all Endorsers. |
Access the IEEE Geographic Unit Petition Application
Petition to Change the Status of an Existing Student Unit
The status of an existing Student Branch, Student Branch Chapter or Student Branch Affinity Group may be changed from single to joint, or vice-versa, or from one joint combination to another.
ORGANIZERS |
|
ENDORSERS |
Student Unit Status Change petitions must be endorsed by the following:
Endorsers will be invited to endorse the petition once the petition has been verified by IEEE Staff. |
PETITIONERS | Student Unit Status Change petitions do not require Petitioner signatures. |
APPROVERS |
Student Unit Status Change petitions must be approved by the following:
Approvers will be invited to approve the petition once the petition has been endorsed by all Endorsers. |
Access the IEEE Geographic Unit Petition Application
Petition to form an IEEE Geographic Council
In several Regions, groups of Sections agree to form a Geographic Council. This type of Council is intended to act as a subordinate committee of the Sections, and the Sections’ leaders have the right to direct its operation. The Council carries out delegated tasks that can be best done together by the Sections, rather than singly by each Section. The Sections retain their recognition as the basic operating, executive, and administrative unit of IEEE.
The Region Director and the IEEE MGA Board approves the formation of a Geographic Council. The Geographic Council petition form includes complete directions and a workflow document of the Geographic Council petition processing activity.
Year to Date Geographic Unit Formation Report
The year to date (YTD) geographic unit formation report lists the petitions approved and subsequently formed geographic units, shown by unit type and by Region.