Purdue University is home to hundreds of recognized student organizations. However, there are always opportunities for students who have a common interest to join together in a student organization. We welcome new student organizations to submit their registrations for approval each year between August 1 and the last day of February.

The basic requirements for Recognized Student Organizations are:

• Student organization names may not start with the words “Purdue” or “Purdue University”.
  • Purdue Squirrel Club should instead be something like “Squirrel Club of Purdue”, “Squirrel Club at Purdue”, or “Squirrel Club – Purdue Chapter”
• A minimum of 5 student members belonging to the organization.
  • There must be at least two officers (President and Treasurer) among these members.
  • Students beginning a student organization must have completed at least 12 credit hours at Purdue University – West Lafayette.
• A full-time, Purdue University – West Lafayette faculty/staff member to serve as Primary Advisor.
  • Advisors should be willing to sign and return our Advisor Agreement Form on an annual basis.
• A complete, written, signed constitution.
  • For guidance about what you should include in your constitution, check out our Constitution Template. 
• Complete a mandatory New Student Organization Training with the Student Activities and Organizations Office.
  • Upcoming training opportunities can be found here. 
• Complete the online Student Organization Registration in BoilerLink.

Groups are not officially a Recognized Student Organization until they receive final approval from the Student Activities and Organizations Office. If you have any questions about this process or need assistance with any of these steps, contact Student Activities and Organizations at sao@purdue.edu or 765-494-1231.

Expectations for all Organizations

Additional information regarding student organization regulations, guidelines, and policies.

• https://www.purdue.edu/studentregulations/student_organizations/forming.html
• https://www.boilerlink.purdue.edu/actioncenter/organization/saocampuslife/documents

Recruitment and Welcoming New Members

Every organization should make commitments to the following steps of the following process, in order to be successful:

• Recruiting new members.
• Orienting new members.
• Running an effective new member meeting.

Help with this structure and process is available from your advisor and from the Student Activities and Organizations staff through consultation appointments or group trainings.. Remember, too, these new members, in a year, will be involved in recruiting other members, so proper planning at this stage will benefit the organization in the near future.

Sponsoring Events as an Organization

For you as an organization member, an organization may spend a lot of time creating and implementing events. These events will create a campus-wide image for the organization on campus. Every organization should make sure their events are in line with the purpose of the organization, as written in the constitution. Centering a group on the constitution is always a great way to focus in on the specific purpose and types of events an organization should sponsor.