Professional Engineering Societies
Professional societies connect you with the engineering community beyond your campus. They offer scholarships, conferences, competitions, mentorship, and career resources that can shape your path from student to working professional.
ASME
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
ASME supports mechanical engineers with technical standards, professional development, and student programs. They run well-known competitions like the Human Powered Vehicle Challenge and student robotics events.
Student Benefits
Student members can participate in design competitions like HPVC and robotics events, attend national and regional conferences, apply for scholarships and fellowships, and access technical publications.
ASCE
American Society of Civil Engineers
ASCE advances civil engineering through infrastructure advocacy, student chapters, and hands-on competitions. Their student programs emphasize mentorship, leadership, and real-world project experience.
Student Benefits
Student benefits include infrastructure design competitions, active student chapters nationwide, mentorship from practicing engineers, and scholarships and awards.
IEEE
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organization, serving electrical, electronics, and computer engineers. They publish leading journals and host thousands of conferences each year globally.
Student Benefits
As the largest technical society worldwide, IEEE gives student members access to the IEEE Xplore publication library, a global conference network, and student branch activities and competitions.
AIChE
American Institute of Chemical Engineers
AIChE provides chemical engineers with technical resources, safety standards, and student programs. Their signature Chem-E-Car competition challenges students to build chemically powered vehicles.
Student Benefits
Students can compete in the Chem-E-Car competition, access ChemE-specific career resources, receive student chapter funding and support, and attend national and regional conferences.
NSPE
National Society of Professional Engineers
NSPE advocates for professional engineering licensure and ethical practice across all disciplines. They provide PE exam resources, ethics guidance, and a career center for engineers at every stage.
Student Benefits
Members get PE licensure advocacy and resources, ethics education with real case studies, a career center and job board, and cross-discipline networking opportunities.
SWE
Society of Women Engineers
SWE empowers women in engineering through networking, scholarships, and professional development. Their annual conference is the largest gathering for women in engineering in the world.
Student Benefits
SWE hosts the largest conference for women in engineering and has awarded over $100M in scholarships. Members also benefit from networking and mentorship programs and leadership development opportunities.
SHPE
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers
SHPE works to increase Hispanic representation in STEM through academic support, professional development, and community building. Their national conference is a major recruiting and networking event.
Student Benefits
SHPE offers STEM access and outreach programs, scholarships for Hispanic students, a national conference with a career fair, and regional and student chapter events.
NSBE
National Society of Black Engineers
NSBE promotes academic excellence, leadership, and professional development for Black engineers and scientists. Their programs span K-12 outreach through career development for practicing professionals.
Student Benefits
NSBE provides leadership development programs, academic excellence initiatives, one of the largest career fairs in the country, and regional and national conferences.
Why Join as a Student?
Student memberships are heavily discounted or free. The return on that investment can be significant.
Scholarships & Grants
Most societies offer scholarships exclusively for student members, from a few hundred dollars to full-ride awards. Some also fund student chapter activities and conference travel.
Conferences & Networking
Student conferences connect you with practicing engineers, recruiters, and peers from other schools. Many societies offer discounted or free student registration.
Resume Building
Active membership, competition participation, and leadership roles in student chapters are concrete resume items that demonstrate initiative and teamwork.
Industry Connections
Society events put you in the same room as hiring managers and technical leads. Many companies recruit directly through society career fairs and mentorship programs.
Not sure which discipline is right for you?
Take our STEM Career Match Quiz to see which engineering fields align with your interests, then find the matching society above.
Take the Quiz