Membership

The ACM Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (SIGCHI) is the world’s largest association of professionals who work in the research and practice of human-computer interaction (HCI). We are an interdisciplinary group of computer scientists, software engineers, psychologists, interaction designers, graphic designers, sociologists, multi-media designers, information scientists, and anthropologists, just to name some of the domains whose special expertise come to bear in this area. What brings us together is a shared understanding that designing useful and usable technology is an interdisciplinary process, and when done properly it has the power to transform lives. SIGCHI has almost 70 active chapters across 6 continents, which aim to promote local support networks for HCI professionals.

You can sign up for SIGCHI membership on the ACM website. If you are a member currently, you can check your membership status and expiration date by logging in to MyACM and navigating to the ‘My Services’ section. Note that SIGCHI membership is different from ACM membership; one does not grant you the other. SIGCHI membership is relatively inexpensive in comparison to ACM membership and grants a different set of benefits. These are listed below, and the list is growing.

SIGCHI Professional Membership Rates (Per year)

SIGCHI Student Membership Rate* (Per year)

*The categorization of countries as Level 2/3 follows the associated regulations of the ACM.

SIGCHI Retired Membership Rate** (Per year)

**Only individuals who are retired, have held a SIGCHI membership for the past decade, and are 60 years or older are eligible for this membership rate. The option to select the retired rate is at the bottom of the invoice.

SIGCHI Benefits

How SIGCHI Membership Benefits the Individual

• Registration at conferences/workshops (co-)sponsored by SIGCHI is available to members at discounted rates. ACM membership also provides this benefit but at nearly twice the cost.

• Members can apply to the SIGCHI Development Fund, which supports special workshops or activities initiated by individuals, communities, or chapters within SIGCHI.

• Members can apply to the Gary Marsden Travel Awards, which supports SIGCHI members in need of financial support to attend SIGCHI’s virtual and in-person events.

• Members can apply to the SIGCHI annual awards program, which recognizes outstanding contributions to research and practice in the field (Lifetime Research Award, Lifetime Practice Award, Lifetime Service Award, Social Impact Award, Outstanding Dissertation Award, Special Recognition, and the SIGCHI Academy).

• Members can access the proceedings of conferences (co-)sponsored by SIGCHI that are in the ACM Digital Library, as well as selected proceedings for conferences held in-cooperation with SIGCHI.

• Members will have electronic access to the TOCHI, IMWUT, COMPASS, PACM HCI journals.

• Only SIGCHI members can vote in the SIGCHI elections that are held every three years, or on changes made to SIGCHI’s bylaws.

• Members get access to, and can use, a @sigchi.org email alias (find your alias at MyACM under ‘Mail Forwarding’).

• Members receive free access to Grammarly (via sigchi.org email alias).

• Members receive a 20% discount on Overleaf subscriptions.

• Members can seek support from SIGCHI CARES if they experience discrimination and/or harassment in any of SIGCHI’s activities. (Note that you do not need to be a member to seek support from CARES.)

• Members receive a (physical) subscription to the Interactions magazine, published six times per year.

• Members are added to the SIGCHI-Members mailing list, where SIGCHI updates are first announced.

• Retired individuals who have been SIGCHI members for the last 10 years and are at least 60 years old can receive a discounted membership rate of USD 10 (per year).

• Members are invited to participate in the SIGCHI Executive Committee’s monthly open meetings and open sessions that discuss important matters to guide the future of SIGCHI.

How SIGCHI Benefits the HCI Community

• SIGCHI (co-)sponsors 26 leading HCI conferences, including the CHI conference.

• SIGCHI supports HCI events and initiatives led by members globally, through its various community support mechanisms.

• The SIGCHI website, Medium publication, calendars, and other communications channels provides up-to-date information about conferences and deadlines, and various other resources.

• SIGCHI Operations runs several mailing lists. The SIGCHI-Members mailing list is where SIGCHI-relevant announcements are first shared, but these can only be posted by the Executive Committee. Other members can access over a dozen popular e-mail lists such as CHI-ANNOUNCEMENTS and CHI-JOBS for event announcements and job openings, etc., relevant for our global community.

• SIGCHI supports 70 chapters in 30+ countries on 6 continents in developing HCI capacity and supporting various initiatives.

• SIGCHI supports its volunteer base and provides advocacy as necessary on wide-ranging issues relating to accessibility, equity, sustainability, global inclusivity, and more.

• SIGCHI is in the process of strengthening its partnerships with a number of related institutions, such as International Federation for Information Procession (IFIP TC 13), Usability Experience Professionals’ Association (UXPA), and other HCI groups.