Why Join ACM?

What is the Association for Computing Machinery?

Founded at the dawn of the computer age, ACM brings together computing educators, researchers, and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources, and address the field's challenges. ACM’s reach extends to every part of the globe, with more than half of its more than 100,000 members residing outside the US. 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. ACM supports the professional growth of its members by providing opportunities for lifelong learning, career development, and professional networking.

Why should I join ACM?

As the power and scope of technology expands, computing is absolutely key to solving our world’s most critical problems. ACM enables its members to challenge established assumptions, present new concepts, and defend complex ideas. It offers the opportunity to access leading-edge resources, valuable career resources, both professional and academic support, and timely computing news and innovations.

What are the practical benefits of ACM membership?

As an ACM member, you can access our ACM Digital Library Premium subscription with full text articles from all ACM Publications and bibliographic data from the major publishers in computing, as well as AI-enhanced features, citation tools, collaboration features, and more. ACM’s growing portfolio of more than 75 research journals covering all the various fields of computing offers content of the highest scientific quality—and ACM members also have the opportunity to contribute to and take leadership or editorial positions at these journals.

ACM offers a global community of computing professionals as well as opportunities to connect with established experts to share ideas, discuss research, and find collaborators through its Special Interest Groups (SIGs) conferences, workshops, and symposia.

ACM also provides members access to lifelong learning and professional development tools and resources including thousands of online books, courses, videos from top content publishers, the TechTalk and ByteCast series featuring innovators who are at the intersection of computing research and practice, and so much more. 

What are ACM’s organizational values?

Computing professionals' actions change the world. To act responsibly, they should reflect upon the wider impacts of their work, consistently supporting the public good. ACM provides the computing profession with the ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct to inspire and guide the ethical conduct of all computing professionals, including current and aspiring practitioners, instructors, students, influencers, and anyone who uses computing technology in an impactful way. The ACM community is as diverse as the subfields that comprise computer science, from educators and researchers in academia to practitioners in project management, industrial research, and software development, engineering, and application design.

How can ACM assist me in my chosen professional area?

ACM provides computing professionals opportunities to publish their work in its high-impact journals and conference proceedings and to gain recognition and valuable feedback. ACM's publications are among the most respected and highly cited in the field because of their longstanding focus on quality and their ability to attract pioneering thought leaders from both academia and industry.

ACM’s diverse Special Interest Groups (SIGs) represent the major areas of the dynamic computing field and foster technical communities within their respective specialties across countries and continents. SIGs are invested in advancing the skills of their members, keeping them abreast of emerging trends and sponsoring more than 170 conferences, workshops, and symposia worldwide, with attendance ranging from dozens to tens of thousands. Many of ACM’s conferences are the preeminent events in their respective disciplines, bringing together experts, researchers, and practitioners from around the world to meet with colleagues, discover innovative trends, and address pressing issues.

How much does ACM membership cost? 

ACM offers a wide range of memberships to meet the needs of both students and professionals from all backgrounds, from a basic Student Membership ($19 USD) to a Professional Membership ($99 USD), with numerous other membership options to suit most individual needs.

ACM also offers special rates such as Academic Department Memberships, a Preferred Employer Program for small and startup companies, retired and hardship rates, and many other options.

Are there any ACM membership discounts? 

ACM offers several membership discounts for different needs, such as:

• Reduced membership rates for individuals residing in economically developing countries
• Lifetime Membership: available to ACM Professional Members in three age / rate tiers: age 49 and under; age 50 to 59; age 60 and above
• Retired Members: members must be at least 60 years of age and an ACM member for the last 10 years to qualify ($74 USD)
• Student Transition (to Professional) Membership ($49 USD)

ACM provides discounted group membership rates for faculty at colleges and universities and for small and startup companies:

• ACM Preferred Employer Program: allows small and startup companies to provide ACM Professional Membership and ACM Digital Library access to technical staff as an employee benefit
• ACM Academic Department Membership: allows universities and colleges to provide ACM Professional Membership to their faculty at a greatly reduced collective cost

Is my ACM membership recognized internationally? 

Absolutely! ACM’s reach extends to every corner of the globe, with more than half of its more than 100,000 members residing outside the US. Its growing membership has led to regional councils in Europe, India, and China with over 170 ACM conferences being held around the world, fostering networking opportunities that strengthen ties within and across countries and technical communities. These all enhance ACM’s ability to raise awareness of computing’s important technical, educational, and social issues on a global scale. 

How do I submit papers through ACM?

ACM's publications are among the most respected and highly cited in the field because of their longstanding focus on quality and their ability to attract pioneering thought leaders from both academia and industry. Authors can submit content for review through several mediums such as ACM Journals, ACM Proceedings (for conferences), ACM Magazines, and ACM Books.

Information about submitting work to ACM Publications can be found here.

What are the special benefits for industry vs. academia? 

ACM serves the research community very well. Whether working in academia or industry, many researchers know ACM best through their involvement in their technical communities. ACM’s Special Interest Groups serve as hosts and organize many of the leading conferences in their respective fields. ACM Professional Members enjoy significant savings on conference registration fees. Researchers are often encouraged to review conference papers, participate in program committees, and become more involved with the conference and SIG leadership, deepening their networks and connections to ACM. Academic researchers working toward tenured professorships are often motivated to get involved with ACM and its SIGs to satisfy service requirements for their career growth.

Many computing professionals working in practice settings join ACM to get access to life-long learning resources for ongoing career growth. They benefit from ACM’s collection of online books and courses promoting skills development and preparation for certifications. Many computing professionals in practice settings are drawn to ACM to participate in an organization that sits at the intersection of research and practice. They are interested in keeping current with the latest advancements in their fields, and they value Communications of the ACM as well as access to research papers in the ACM Digital Library.