Communities
Leverage the power of chapters and special interest groups (SIGs) consisting of members from around the world. Build lifelong relationships and advance your career through participation in STC’s global community of technical communicators. STC's communities involve education, advocacy, and member outreach at both the local and global level. There are two ways to get involved with STC communities—by geographic location (Professional or Student Chapters) or by area of interest (SIGs). Current membership in the STC is a requirement for joining a Chapter or SIG.
You can make your community selections with your membership application with STC. Dues are $25 for chapters, and $10/$15 for SIG COIs/COPs. Current members who wish to add communities to their existing membership can enroll by contacting STC membership at +1 (703) 522-4114 with payment information and your community selection. Members using their free community allotment can also email membership@stc.org.
The following membership categories receive complimentary community membership:
- Gold: one free professional chapter, any/all SIGs free (COP or COI)
- Student: one free professional chapter, one free student chapter (if applicable), one free SIG (COP or COI), Academic SIG
- Retired: one free professional chapter, one free SIG (COP or COI)
- Sustaining: any/all chapters or SIGs (COP or COI) free
Follow the links below to search for a specific community page, or to view resources and information for community leaders.
Chapters
STC professional chapters are located around the globe for those who enjoy the benefits of local programming and networking with a diverse focus.
Student Chapters
STC student chapters are located at colleges and universities, primarily in North America.
Special Interest Groups
Special Interest Groups (SIGs) are composed of STC members with common experiences and interests who share their knowledge with each other and with other STC members.
For the 2021 membership season, STC has reorganized its Special Interest Groups (SIGs) into two categories: Communities of Practice (COPs) and Communities of Interest (COIs). Members have always enjoyed being a part of our SIGs and being able to network and share knowledge across the globe with other tech comm professionals with common experiences and interests in specific topics. We have aligned our SIGs into two operational models to better reflect the offerings that the SIGs provide to their members. SIGs that are Communities of Interest (COIs) will provide a channel for open communication and discussion, as well as other social media platforms. Our SIGs that are Communities of Practice (COPs) will provide a more in-depth experience for its membership that will include the same benefits as SIG COIs as well as a robust website presence and educational and additional networking opportunities. Dues will remain $10 for SIG COIs, and dues for SIG COPs will be $15, which allows STC to better support COP programming for its members.
- Academic (COI)
- Accessibility (COI)
- Agile (COI)
- Application Program Interface (COI)
- Consulting & Independent Contracting (COI)
- Health & Medicine (COI)
- Instructional Design & Learning (COP)
- Solo Technical Communicator (formerly Lone Writer) (COI)
- Policies & Procedures (COP)
- Technical Editing (COP)
- Usability & User Experience (COI)
- Women in TechComm (COI)
Slack
Want to connect to a SIG? Join STC's Slack Workspace! Each SIG has a channel that you can join and receive information from the group, as well as communicate with other members of the community. For access information and Slack tips, visit the Slack tab at the top of the page or click here: Slack | Society for Technical Communication (stc.org)