Start a Club

If you are interested in leading a student club or organization at the Institute, everything you need to know about the process is included on this page. If you have any additional questions, please contact the Office of Student Services.

Before filling out the Student Club Application, please read through the guidelines, criteria, and rules for establishing a club below.

How to Start a New Club

The following steps are mandatory for all new clubs at the start of the spring semester and for ALL clubs at the start of the fall semester:

1. Review the club membership guidelines and student club criteria (below) and identify a club president and vice president (club officers).
2.  Sign up for at least one fall club promotion opportunity:
   • Sign up by September 17 to participate in the in-person club fair on September 19 from 12:00-2pm Pacific on-campus.
   • If a new club will not participate in the club fair, and is planning on meeting online, a video is required to be submitted to student.services@middlebury.edu by September 17th.  This video will be shared on MICommunity and via email for recruiting purposes.
3. Recruit at least 10 interested current students; clubs may have staff, faculty or alumni members, but the requirement is for 10 students. 
4. By September 23: submit a club application using the Club Proposal / Application form (must login to google drive with your @middlebury.edu login).
5. September 26: Both registered club leaders and ANY NEW CLUB LEADER for continuing clubs must participate in mandatory club leader training session and review the club leader handbook. Training will be offered online at 12:30-1:30pm Pacific.
6. Club leaders will be notified by email with confirmation of club status by September 27th.
7. The final, official club list will be released by October 1.

To continue a club from Spring 24  to Fall 24:

1. Sign up by September 17 to participate in the in-person club fair on September 19 from 12:00-2pm Pacific on-campus to recruit new members.
2. Any new club leaders must attend club leader training on September 26. (see above)

Club Intro Video Guidelines and Support 

Please send your club videos to student.services@middlebury.edu. Videos will be uploaded to a viewing space accessible to the student body. Check out these 12 tips to make your video more professional. 

Video guidelines:

• Use any video recording platform you like - Zoom can be great if you want to speak over slides or other visuals, your phone or computer if you want to speak directly to the camera, or utilize a program like iMovie or Windows Video Editor if you want to put a header/footer on the video or incorporate music. We recommend reading through the 12 tips linked above so your video is professional, cheerful and clean.
• 2-5 minutes in length
• Introduce your club mission and purpose

Other content you can consider:

• Introduce your club leaders, including faculty members and/or alumni your club currently works with or plans to work with
• Share ideas you have for activities and events this semester
• Share any expectations you have of members - what will the time commitment be to engage with the club?
• Pitch your club concept to a prospective member: what are the benefits of getting involved? 
• Interview past/previous members, or ask for a testimonial to highlight

Criteria for Club Approval

• Mission and activities must adhere to the overall mission of the Institute.
• Club must maintain at least 10 active, currently-enrolled student members.
• Organizational structure must consist of at least two officer positions—one president and one vice president (or other titles as preferred by the club). Faculty advisors are optional, but may support greater club continuity.
• The president and vice president of each club must complete mandatory Club Leader Training in order to learn how to operate as a club, how funds are allocated to clubs, how to manage club budgets, event planning rules, and more. Completion of this training by the specific deadline is required for final club approval status.
• Clubs must fit into one or more of the following categories:
  • Academic
  • Affinity
  • Awareness and Issue-Based
  • Culture and Language
  • International and National Organizations
  • Sports and Recreation
• Club meetings must be approved through the club event request system. The meetings should be advertised and open to the Institute community.

Membership Guidelines

• Student clubs are defined as organizations whose membership is made up of Middlebury Institute students and whose activities are open to Institute students—irrespective of their academic divisions. Membership in student clubs may also include Institute staff, faculty, and alumni. However, staff, faculty, or alumni cannot be in a leadership role.
• Student club leaders must be registered Institute students and must have paid the current academic year’s student activity fee.
• Student clubs must have an active membership of at least 10 students.
• All clubs must have a president and a vice president that are identified to Student Services prior to the club application window. The two students in these roles must actively hold their positions throughout the entire semester. No leadership changes are permitted after the mandatory training deadline passes.
• Clubs are not required to have a faculty, alumni or staff adviser. However, if a club chooses to do so, the name of the club advisor must be provided to the Office of Student Services at the beginning of the term.

Additional Rules and Guidelines

• Clubs will be approved at the beginning of the fall and spring terms, after mandatory Club Leader Training is completed.
• Club applications will be reviewed and approved by the Director of Student Life & Engagement.
• Clubs that have existed and followed the rules in previous semesters will receive priority screening for approval as long as they have met the requirements and have submitted the application by the due date.