Professional Associations – Computer Information Systems
Professional associations are organizations that provide their members opportunities for learning, advocacy, and networking. Their membership is typically comprised of individuals in a particular profession, folks who work in the same industry, or people who share a common identity—similar to the student organization’s here in the College of Business, like Society for Human Resource Management, Real Estate Club, or Latinx Business Association.
Joining a professional association (even as a college student!) provides numerous benefits worth considering.
One of the biggest reasons to join a professional association is to build relationships with people in your industry or role. Connecting to a community of professionals while you’re in college can help you gain career insights, access to possible mentors (many associations have membership directories), and build a foundation of professional contacts that will be helpful as you begin your post-grad career.
Many professional associations have LinkedIn pages or groups you could join, too!
Attending conferences, webinars, and meet-ups hosted by a professional association will allow you to keep up with trends, knowledge, and skills necessary to be successful in your future career. You can dive deeper into niche topics, or even earn a credential, which will set you apart from other soon-to-be graduates. There may even be opportunities to volunteer on a committee or gain leadership experience, which can bolster your resume.
Apart from networking with members and professionals who may have job or internship opportunities to share, many professional associations have job boards (some are open, some require membership to access) or job announcements they send out to members.
As a membership benefit, professional associations may send out a newsletter, industry journal, or provide access to other resources to their members, again providing you the opportunity to learn from other professionals and stay on top of current news and trends.
Some professional associations offer scholarships and funding opportunities to make attending conferences and events, or earning credentials, more financially feasible for students. Associations often offer discounted student membership pricing you can take advantage of, too.
Below is just a sample of professional associations related to the Computer Information Systems concentration. For a more comprehensive list visit CareerOneStop, linked below, where you can search a database of hundreds of organizations by industry and/or role.
*Check association websites for up-to-date membership information and pricing.
Computer Information Systems
Professional Associations

Association for Computing Machinery
ACM brings together computing educators, researchers, and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources, and address the field’s challenges. As the world’s largest computing society, ACM strengthens the profession’s collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the highest standards, and recognition of technical excellence.
🎓 Discounted student and new professional memberships!

SysAdmin, Audit, Network & Security Institute
Launched in 1989 as a cooperative for information security thought leadership, it is SANS’ ongoing mission to empower cyber security professionals with the practical skills and knowledge they need to make our world a safer place. They fuel this effort with high quality training, certifications, scholarship academies, degree programs, cyber ranges, and resources to meet the needs of every cyber professional.
💲 Create an account to access many free resources.

Engaging computer engineers, scientists, academia, and industry professionals from all areas of computing, the IEEE Computer Society sets the standard for the education and engagement that fuels continued global technological advancement. By bringing together computer science and engineering leaders at every phase of their career for dialogue, debate, and collaboration, IEEE CS empowers, shapes, and guides the future of not only its members, but the greater industry, enabling new opportunities to better serve our world.
🎓 Discounted student membership!

Information Systems Audit and Control Association
As a globally recognized leader in IS/IT for over 50 years, ISACA is a professional membership organization committed to the advancement of digital trust by empowering IS/IT professionals to grow their skills and knowledge in audit, cybersecurity, emerging tech and more.
🎓 Discounted student membership!

Association of Support Professionals
The Association of Support Professionals is an international membership organization for customer support managers and professionals. In addition to its annual “Ten Best Web Support Sites” awards, the ASP publishes research reports on a wide range of support topics, including support compensation, fee-based support, and services marketing.

Help Desk Institute’s entire existence has been rooted in empowering service and support professionals to advance their careers, build their networks, and drive valuable connections. As the world navigates disruptive trends like artificial intelligence, hybrid work, digital transformation, and agile resourcing, HDI can help its members keep up in a fast-paced, cloud-based world.
💲 Create an account to access many free resources.

Network Professional Association
The Network Professional Association (NPA) is a nonprofit trade association made up of and for IT/Networking professionals who share the common core pillars of Career Growth, Professional Development and Ethical Integrity. The NPA also serves as an advocate for the IT/Networking profession.

Network and Systems Professionals Associations
Over the past 35 years thousands of technology professionals have coursed through NaSPA training programs, subscribed to its publications, supported its educational foundation, and have attended its technology conferences and trade shows.
🎓 Discounted student membership!

American Society for Industrial Security International
Founded in 1955, ASIS International is a global community of security practitioners, each of whom has a role in the protection of assets – people, property, and/or information. They offer a range of education programs, publications and events to help members thrive professionally.
🎓 Discounted student membership!

Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA)
CompTIA is the world’s most trusted certifying body of IT professionals. We serve the industry by providing forums for collaboration, mentorship and best practices. We also provide skills validation through our globally recognized training and certification products and insights from our world-class industry research.
💲 Free content available to CompTIA Community subscribers.

Association for Information Science and Technology
The Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) is the only professional association that bridges the gap between information science practice and research. For nearly 85 years, ASIS&T has been leading the search for new and better theories, techniques, and technologies to improve access to information.
🎓 Discounted student and new professional memberships!

WiCyS is where the recruitment, retention and advancement of women in cybersecurity happens. The organization was started in 2013 and in less than ten short years, it has grown into an organization representing a leading alliance between trailblazers from academia, government and industry.
🎓 Discounted student membership!