Checklist and Deadlines for Senior Member Application

New IEEE members must have completed an IEEE Membership application and have received your IEEE member number before applying.  Members beginning the application process or nominating an IEEE Member for Senior Member Grade should carefully review the requirements to ensure eligibility.

For applications or nominations to be considered at any given Admission and Advancement (A&A) review panel meeting, they must be received - complete with all required references - at least 10 days prior to the meeting date. 

Review A&A Panel meeting dates

• The ad hoc Admission and Advancement (A&A) Review Panels: shall meet periodically, six to twelve times annually, to review applications or nominations for election or elevation to Senior Member (SM) grade. 
• Review panel meetings are held in various locations throughout the world.
• A panel of reviewers is recruited among Senior Members and Fellows in the Section where the meeting is to be held.
• This full-day session is presided over by the Admission and Advancement Chair and/or Vice Chair, as well as a representative of the Member and Geographic Activities Staff.

If you requested a Word doc or a PDF of the application download the application form and fill it out completely, including your references' member numbers if known. Save the file and name it accordingly as you will need it to send to references and to complete the online application.  NOTE: the Word doc and PDF are available by request only.

Identify three references who will support your application for Senior Member grade elevation.  References must be an active IEEE member and hold the grade of IEEE Senior member, Life Senior member, Fellow or Life Fellow.  It is preferred, but not required that your references know you personally or professionally.  Once a references membership number is entered into the application they will receive an email with a link to the Senior Membership portal. 

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

E-mail questions to senior-member@ieee.org

If you have difficulty locating references, contact your local section or chapter for assistance. Alternatively, you can ask your Section Chair if they would nominate you.  A nomination qualifies as one of the required three references.  A nomination by a Section or Society will help them earn a rebate at the end of the year through the Nominate a Senior Member Initiative. 

NOTE: If you are being nominating the application must be started by the nominator or nominating entiy.

After you have notified all your references and given them the proper instructions, fill out the online application via the Senior Membership portal . Nominations are to start the nomination process prior to the applicant completing the application via the Senior Membership portal.  Once the nominator or nominating entity enters the applicants membership number information  is saved by clicking on another tab prior to clicking on the return to portal button.  The applicant can now log in and complete the balance of the application.

Applications completed in Word or PDF formats are to be e-mailed to Denise Howard at senior-member@ieee.org or faxed to +1 732 463-9359.

NOTE: Word and PDF formats are availalbe by request only.

Applications not approved are sometimes a result of:

• applicants not providing relevant dates with their background;
• failure to fully document activities that meet the significant performance requirement.

It is recommended that you upload a resume or curriculum vitae when completing your application.  Dates help the Review Panel confirm that you meet the requirements. Your resume should highlight:

• five years of significant performance, dates and details;
• relevant dates  and details of your professional and educational experience.

Once your application has been received and is in the Submitted and Pending Referrals or Submitted and Pending Review status your name will appear on the Senior Member Status Report. Please allow about five to seven business days after submission for this to occur, as reports are not updated automatically upon submission.  You can also log into your applicaiton at any time and view the status as well as the status of your references. (Applications in "Draft" are not posted to the Web.)

After your application has reached the Complete stage (applications in Word or PDF ) or Submitted and Pending Review will automatically be scheduled to be considered at the next available Senior Member Elevation Review Panel.  This must occur at least 10 days prior to the Review Panel meeting to allow ample time for processing and shipping the application package to the meeting location.

You will receive a congratulatory letter if you have been approved, or an e-mail notification as to whether you have been deferred, or denied.

About two weeks following a review panel meeting, an update report with the names of the newly elevated Senior Members is published on the Web as well as sent electronically to individual subscribers and group mailing lists comprised of Section chairs and newsletter editors.

Approved applicants will:

• have their name posted in the newly elevated Senior Members report after all applicants have been notified.;
• receive a formal letter confirming grade elevation approximately six weeks after approval;
• receive a wood-and-bronze commemorative plaque and a voucher for up to US$25 which can be used to join a new IEEE Society of your choice.
• be able to notify employer using employer notification form.

Deferred applicants will normally be asked to submit additional documentation in support of their application. This generally means the committee was unable to ascertain whether all the requirements have been met. Failure to document relevant dates of positions or details of how your experience is to be considered significant are frequent reasons that applications are deferred. The meaning of job titles vary from company to company and may not be sufficient to confirm significant performance. For example, if you were a Team Leader, describe the size and scope of the projects worked on. Once further documentation has been submitted, the application will be sent for reconsideration at the next available A&A Review Panel. 

Denied applicants have the right to an appeal of the decision through the Appeal Committee. The Appeal Committee is comprised of the Vice-President-Member and Geographic Activities, the Vice President-Technical Activities, and the Vice President-Educational Activities. Appeals are not automatic, and must be requested by the applicant.

The Appeal Committee shall review documentation submitted to the Review Panel and make a determination to uphold or overturn the Panel's decision.  The applicant is allowed, but not required, to send along further documentation in support of his/her case.  For example, if the Review Panel determined that the applicant had only nine years of Professional Experience it may be helpful to provide a calculation of how you meet the requirement. Overlapping work and education experience will not be counted in both categories.