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A great decision every time.

That is the Society of Decision Professionals' tagline, and it is closer to a job description than a slogan. SDP is the professional body for decision analysis — the discipline its members practise at Chevron, Shell and Eli Lilly. In 2026 it chartered its first student chapter. Ours. There is still only one.

Join for $25 a yearWhat's open to you today
First student chapter, everEstablished 2026University of Houston

Decision Quality

Six links. A decision is only as strong as the weakest one.

SDP breaks any decision into six elements and insists on the chain metaphor: the quality of the whole thing is capped by whichever element you neglected. Break a link and see what happens.

Pick a link to break.

Standing

One of one.

SDP has fourteen local chapters, all of them built for working professionals. The student route into the society runs through one campus, and it is this one. Whatever you do here counts as the precedent.

One of those fourteen is SDP Houston, which doubles as the society's Energy Interest Group. The people setting the national agenda for decision analysis in energy meet in your city.

Membership

The same society. Different number.

Student membership is not a trimmed-down tier. It is the professional membership at the price of a textbook you would not have finished.

Student$25per year, with a .edu addressBecome a member (opens in a new tab)
Regular professional$300per year, what your future colleagues pay

You are buying the same membership they are — the certification track, the reading list, the job board, the awards, the chapters.

Other tiers, for laterRegional $150Academic $200Partner organization $250

Certification

Nobody gives you an exam. People put their name on you.

Certification is free to members — a benefit of belonging rather than something SDP sells. Each level is earned by endorsement from people already at it, which is why the credential means anything at all.

The first rung is automatic.

Complete any SDP-approved course and you receive Associate certification plus an introductory year of membership. UT Austin's course is 15% off with the code SDPMEMBER.

Approved courses (opens in a new tab)
  1. Associate16 or more hours of training or practice — or one approved course.
  2. PractitionerEndorsed by two Lead Practitioners or Fellows, plus a client you worked for.
  3. Lead PractitionerOne Fellow, plus two Lead Practitioners or Fellows.
  4. FellowThree Fellows.

Free to members at every level. How certification works (opens in a new tab)

Open to you

Things you can use before you decide anything

None of this asks for a login or a payment. It is the fastest way to find out whether decision analysis is your kind of problem.

39 booksThe reading listCurated by practitioners. Start with one and you will know within a chapter. (opens in a new tab)HiringThe job boardRoles posted by the companies that employ SDP members. Read it as a map of where this leads. (opens in a new tab)Open to studentsEarly Career ExcellenceOne of SDP's national awards, and undergraduates are eligible for it. (opens in a new tab)

What SDP says it values

Relationships First

Take Ownership

Practice Excellence

Answer the Call

Already a member

Our community on SDP's site

Nine members, a discussion board, a 16-document library and an events calendar. All of it sits behind SDP's member login.

Twenty-five dollars covers the year, and the chain is the same one Chevron uses.

Join SDP as a student (opens in a new tab)Talk to the chapter first