The ad hoc Admission and Advancement (A&A) Review Panel, that is evaluating your application, will count the years you have been in professional practice.

Time working and attending school at the same time will be counted either as work experience OR education experience.

Your educational experience is credited toward that time as follows:

• Three years if you hold a baccalaureate degree or equivalent in an IEEE-designated field

or

• Fours years if you hold a master’s degree or equivalent in an IEEE-designated field

or

• Five years if you hold a doctorate or equivalent in an IEEE-designated field

 Please note, the maximum number of years for education that may be counted toward professional experience is five years.

Many prospective applicants make the mistake of assuming that “significant performance” requires special awards, patents, or other extremely sophisticated technical accomplishments, but this is not the case. Substantial job responsibilities such as team leader, task supervisor, engineer in charge of a program or project, engineer or scientist performing research with some measure of success (papers), or faculty developing and teaching courses with research and publications, all are indications of significant performance. The following are also indications of significant performance:

• Substantial engineering responsibility or achievement
• Publication of engineering or scientific papers, books, or inventions
• Technical direction, or management of important scientific or engineering work, with evidence of accomplishment
• Recognized contributions to the welfare of the scientific or engineering profession
• Development or furtherance of important scientific or engineering courses that fall within the IEEE designated fields of interest
• Contributions equivalent to those of the above in such areas as technical editing, patent prosecution, or patent law, provided these contributions serve to advance progress substantially in IEEE designated fields

Significant performance that would serve to qualify an individual for elevation to Senior member need not have occurred in the years immediately prior to the application. Thus, Life and Retired members are eligible for elevation.

The applicant must also provide three references from current IEEE members holding Senior Member, Fellow, or Honorary Member grade. Your professional colleagues are your best source of these references. If you have difficulty in locating Senior members or Fellows to serve as references, you have three options.

PLEASE NOTE: It is the responsibility of the applicant to follow up with their references regarding the completion of the reference form.

Option 1

Follow these simple steps to search for qualifying members using IEEE Collabratec.

1. Sign in to Collabratec.
2. Enter your user name and password.
3. On the top of Collabratec, click on “People.”
4. Under the “IEEE Membership Directory” on the lefthand side, use “Member Status” to filter “Senior Member,” “Life Senior,” “Fellow,” and “Life Fellow.”
5. Use the remaining Filters on the lefthand side to narrow your search as you please.
6. Click on any of the profiles listed that you wish to message.
7. Click the “Message” tab to message the member.

Option 2

Contact the Section or Chapter chair for assistance in finding qualified references. More information about your Section chair can be found under the “References” tab of your application.

The applicant is responsible for contacting your Region/Section Chair. Tell them you are applying for Senior membership and require three references. Your Section Chair may ask you a few questions and ask to see your resume. You will need names and membership numbers that will be entered into the reference tab of the application process.

If you are working with your Society or Region, they may offer to endorse (be a nominator) on your application. IEEE Sections/Societies can receive a rebate of $10 for each successful nomination as part of the Nominate a Senior Member Initiative. If they wish to serve as a nominator they should begin the application process for you and then the applicant will finish the remaining tabs of the application.

Please note: If you have a nominator, they serve as a reference as well; therefore, you will only require two additional references.

Option 3

Attend Section meetings and network with Senior members and Fellows in your area.