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SAE Collegiate Chapter Program Overview

 

Become Your School’s Engineering Hero

Your school has a need for engineering experts to visit your campus and provide extra-curricular activities. You’re in luck because SAE International has 100+ Collegiate Chapters across the US and internationally, allowing college chapters and industry experts to meet and learn from each other. We’ve done all the programming work so you don’t have to, and you can focus on building your resume and learning to be a professional engineer. 

SAE Student Members are eligible for member-only scholarships, internships, networking opportunities, and more. Start building the skills and connections you’ll need once you graduate to start your career as a professional engineer.

 

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Find Your Chapter

SAE International operates over 100 student chapters across the US and around the world. 

Find your school and get involved:

 

Chapter Benefits

SAE International Collegiate Chapters provide engineering students with practical exposure to a leading professional engineering society and the framework to start expanding engineering activities on campus without starting from scratch.

Through your school’s participation in SAE Collegiate Chapters and the SAE Collegiate Design Series, you can develop key career skills including: Leadership, organization, communication, teaming project management, conflict resolution, time management, and finance and budgeting.

SAE College Chapters feature a range of growth opportunities and benefits for SAE Student Membership including:

Chapter Resources

As elected officers, student leaders of SAE Collegiate Chapters are responsible for chapter events and communication within your college or university. SAE provides all collegiate chapters with the following resources to help your team get started:

Student Competitions

Design, build, and test the performance of a real vehicle

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SAE Learn Twice

Volunteer in A World In Motion classrooms through Learn Twice

Learn More

Awards & Recogition

Get recognized as an outstanding SAE Collegiate Chapter

Learn More

Scholarships

Financial Aid from SAE
Achieve your career goals with a little help from the SAE community.

Learn More

Accelerating Future Engineers at Texas A&M

Texas A&M University 
University in College Station, Texas

Experiential Learning

To bridge classroom and hands-on learning, students can participate in three additional programs:  

  • SAE Development: Led by a graduate student and former SAE Collegiate Design Series (CDS) participant, students learn engineering skills through classroom and hands-on projects.

  • SAE 12th Man Garage: Open to all majors, students can reserve time in the shop to learn how to restore a 1985 Ford Mustang. 

  • SAE Apprentices: Working as an extension of a CDS team, the semester-long program is an opportunity for students to get involved with CDS. 

 

 

SAE Collegiate Chapter Student Leadership

 

The SAE Collegiate Chapter provides an opportunity for students to develop or enhance their leadership skills in a relaxed, non-threatening environment. Student members expand their technical knowledge with access to SAE content and by networking with their fellow students, faculty, and industry experts.

Recruiters want to hire recent college grads with hands-on experience, and providing leadership to your school’s SAE Chapter is one proven way to do just that.

Through your experience with the SAE Collegiate Chapter, you can expect to learn or enhance your understanding of the following skills companies and recruiters are looking for right now:

  • Leadership and managerial skills
  • Written and verbal communication
  • Project management
  • Conflict resolution
  • Budget and financial management

Required Leadership Positions

There are four primary roles for an SAE Collegiate Chapter:

  • Chair or President
  • Vice-Chair or Vice President
  • Secretary or Communications Director
  • Treasurer or Finance Director

We use the following titles, but you can rename your positions any way you'd like. You also have the freedom to add other positions that work for your Chapter.

Positions

Chair (President)

The Chair is like the team captain on a sports team. You don't play each position, but you manage those who do. Your players look to you for leadership and encouragement. You need to make sure you have teammates in each position and that they're successful in their roles throughout the school year.

Vice-Chair (Vice President)

The Vice-Chair may be called upon at any time to assume the responsibility of the Chairperson. So, it is essential for these two positions to work closely together. In addition, while the Chair is responsible for the overall management of the Chapter, the Vice-Chair plays a larger role in public relations to the university and student community.

Secretary (Communications Director)

Your Chapter will only be as good as your communications. The primary role of the Secretary is to communicate your Chapter's goals and activities throughout the university and the community at-large.

Treasurer (Finance Director)

The treasurer is responsible for managing the Chapter finances. This includes creating and managing a budget and ensuring the Chapter receives its dues allocations, if eligible. Learn more about eligibility requirements.

Optional Leadership Positions

Program Chair

Some duties can include:

  • Plan and execute Chapter meetings and programs.

  • Communicate between the Collegiate Chapter and any Collegiate Design teams on campus.

Program Chair

Some duties can include:

  • Greet attendees at meetings. Recruit other students as greeters, if possible.

  • Make introductions between attendees to increase networking opportunities.

  • Escort speakers and guests.

Publicity Chair

Some duties can include:

  • Email or text meeting announcements and reminders. Hang flyers where possible.

  • Communicate information on meetings and Collegiate Design teams to the newspaper, radio, and TV on-campus and in the community.

  • Maintain and update the chapter’s website regularly.

  • Take photos and videos of Chapter activities.

Membership Chair

Some duties can include:

  • Promote the benefits of SAE membership year-round.

  • Assist students in registering or renewing their membership.

  • Plan and direct an SAE membership drive each semester/term.

Financial Information

 

SAE International is a 501(c)(3) organization, and thus, exempt from federal income tax. It is also classified as a public charity under sections 509(a)(1) and 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) of the Internal Revenue Code. SAE Collegiate Chapters and SAE Collegiate Design Series™ teams are considered SAE International, not independent entities.

Bank Accounts
All banking and investment accounts for your Collegiate Chapter should be opened using the SAE International EIN. To start the process of opening a bank account for your Collegiate Chapter please contact:

Allie Fetchko  
Community Programs Specialist     
chapters@sae.org

Taxes
SAE files consolidated tax returns for all states and Canada. Therefore, SAE Collegiate Chapters are not to file any tax returns.

State Tax Exemptions
SAE is exempt from state sales and use tax in the following states:

Funding
SAE Collegiate Chapters and Clubs may obtain financial support through a variety of sources, including:

  • Chapter allocations (reimbursement of membership dues)
  • On-campus fund raisers
  • Corporate sponsorships
  • Individual donors
  • Alumni donations
  • Your local Professional SAE Section
  • Departmental funding
  • Student Government funding

Your Collegiate Chapter is eligible to receive tax deductible bequests, devises, transfers or gifts under section 2055, 2106 or 2522 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Request a tax receipt for sponsors and donors.

Contact:

SAE Customer Service
877-606-7323
724-776-5970 (outside the U.S. or Canada)
customerservice@sae.org

Allie Fetchko
Community Programs Specialist
chapters@sae.org

Resources

 

Starting a SAE Collegiate Chapter

 

Criteria for forming a new SAE International Collegiate Chapter

To qualify as a Collegiate Chapter, you must have:

  • A minimum of 15 paid student members
  • An appointed paid SAE Member Faculty Advisor
  • Elected student officers
  • A plan for your first year of meetings and projects

Step One: Complete the Collegiate Chapter application

Step Two: Obtain and submit a letter of support from the Department Chair or Dean of Engineering.

Step Three: Your engineering curriculum for your university

Step Four: Create your constitution

 

Universities in countries where we have SAE Affiliate programs should contact their SAE Affiliate directly for information on organizing their SAE Collegiate Chapter.

 

 
For more information or to submit your application, please contact:

 

Allie Fetchko
Community Programs Specialist
chapters@sae.org

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