Helpful Details | Understanding NWSA Memberships
The National Women's Studies Association (NWSA) offers two types of memberships: individual and institutional memberships. Our institutional members are for departments, organizations, academic programs, as well as Women's, Gender, and Equity Centers. The NWSA includes all active institutional members to our Program and Administration Committee (PAD), which is a member driven space comprised of department and program chairs as well as administrators. The Association supports institutional members by opening and facilitating communication among fellow chairs, directors, and educators in Women's Gender, and Sexuality (WGSS) studies - especially through open forums and threads in our PAD Community Hub; co-curating opportunities for professional development (such as our Chair and Directors Meeting and annual Pre-Conference workshops), organizing, and resource sharing; complimentary access to our Job Board; and complimentary memberships for three students and designated department/program chair.
Individual memberships are tailored for individuals - a quite literal definition, we know. Individual members range from artists, activists, academic administrators, educators across the k-12 sphere to postsecondary institutions, independent scholars, multi-hyphenates, retirees, students of all grade levels, and feminist disruptors who occupy many spaces. Individual memberships grant access to our NWSA Member Community Hub (where members collaborate, share resources, organize, and interact in meaningful ways), are eligible for our annual Book Prizes and Awards, participate in committees, and can connect with peers in our myriad Constituency Group spaces - among many other opportunities.
All members receive free or discounted registration for our events - including our Annual Conference - and are eligible to vote and participate in our elections, as well as governance decisions (such as changing our bylaws, introducing new policies, etc.)! Our memberships runs on a calendar year period (expiring 12/31) with memberships purchases in October (10/01) of each year rolling into the following year. Sign up for auto-renewal to never miss a membership payment!
I've Been a Member in Previous Years, How Do I Access My Account?
In the spring of 2024, the National Women's Studies Association launched our new website and member platform - welcome! Drawing on critical feedback and requests from members, we developed an interactive member community to facilitate as much connection and collaboration as possible. This includes the design of community hubs for Constituency Groups, Committees, and Task Forces (these digital spaces are similar to a Blackboard, Canvas, or Moodle for those of you that are in the classroom space) as well as increased privacy for our members. Our team was able to migrate memberships that were active as of April 2024. If you, or your institution did not renew by this timeframe, you will need to create a new member profile.
Our Membership Process
Our membership activation process involves two steps: firstly, you will complete your member profile. We ask robust questions in order to develop a more accurate understanding of who our members are and how to best support them in our programming. Secondly, our National Office team authenticates all accounts requesting membership. We do this to ensure - as much as possible- that no harmful accounts, such as anti-DEI/anti-feminist organizations, gain access to our Membership Hub and directory. Once authenticated, members are prompted to pay their membership dues - which is determined on a sliding scale based on income or status as a student, retiree, or designation as a department, program, organization, etc.. You can view these dues below. The National Office authenticates accounts within 48 business hours; our National Office is anchored by a two-person staff and we appreciate your patience.
As a gentle reminder, the National Women's Studies Association regrets that it cannot refund or transfer membership payments.