Become a member

We’re a diverse and friendly organisation with a community buzz. We welcome anyone with an interest in International Studies and Politics. Whether you’re an academic, policy maker, journalist, school teacher, student, NGO or charity employee, BISA membership offers something for you.

You can find more information about us and what we do on our About BISA page.

Join BISA today
  1. Benefits
  2. Costs
  3. How to join
  4. Renew or rejoin
  5. The small print

Benefits

As a member you’ll have access to a range of benefits and opportunities.

This includes online access to our journals, the ability to join and collaborate with our specialist working groups or Postgraduate Network, exclusive member discounts, eligibility to apply for funding and awards, inclusion in our quarterly book round up, and professional networking at our conference and events including the BISA members' Shepherd books partnership.

Member discounts include up to 40% off with Cambridge University Press, and up to 39% discount on tickets for our annual conference.

Costs

We have four types of membership and rates are based on status (individual, institution or school). We also offer further discounts based on income and location.

1. Full membership - £118 a year

  • 17% discount if you earn between £40 and £60k per annum (£97.00)
  • Over 30% discount for those earning less that £40K per annum (£79.00) 
  • Over 50% discount for unwaged individuals, early-career researchers (within 5 years of the award of a PhD), retired members or scholars living, working or studying in the global south per annum (£55.00). Find out which countries are eligible.
  • £500 for a lifetime retirement membership

2. Student membership - £38 a year

3. Corporate, charity or NGO membership (not available to university departments)

Become part of the discussions shaping international affairs. Our corporate and NGO/charity memberships are designed to help your business/organisation and inform your colleagues about the leading International Studies debates. Join some of the world’s leading scholars by participating in regular events and independent research on a wide variety of topics. The benefits of this membership vary from those available to individuals:

  • Your named nominees (up to five) can attend our face-to-face events, including the annual conference, completely free. The only exceptions are closed events aimed at a select group of people e.g. Heads of Department. All BISA virtual events are free and open to all
  • Opportunity to host two joint events with BISA each year. Please get in touch with Juliet.Dryden@bisa.ac.uk with an idea for your events
  • Your named nominees can join our working groups
  • Your named nominees will receive a monthly newsletter and monthly events email so they can make the most of their membership
  • Your named nominees will receive access to our two journals - Review of International Studies and European Journal of International Security via their BISA accounts
  • Your named nominees will receive discount codes for our book series and other CUP titles
  • Public acknowledgment as an Institutional member.

4. School Membership - FREE

School membership is open to any school offering GCSE or A levels in Politics, Economics, History, Geography and related subjects.

For School Membership please email office@bisa.ac.uk as this category can't be purchased through our membership portal yet.

How to join

Joining us is easy. Just complete the registration form and pay your membership fee. Join now.

Renew or rejoin

We encourage you to pay for your membership by direct debit so you never have to worry about it lapsing. However, if you’re paying using another method, we’ll contact you automatically before your renewal date with everything you need to know. You can find out your membership details and renewal date by logging in to our membership area. There you can also update your details if they change.

If you’re rejoining us after a period away then firstly, welcome back! We only store lapsed member details for a limited time so you may need to create a new member account. Head to our membership area to see if your account is still active. If you have any problems or queries please contact our office: office@bisa.ac.uk

The small print

By joining BISA you agree to adhere to both our membership terms and conditions and our Code of Conduct.

Our membership terms and conditions also tell you what you do If you change your mind about becoming a member.

Schools, institutions and organisations covering the cost of membership can request an invoice, which we will endeavour to generate within 72 hours. Payment of invoices must be made within 30 days, and we retain the right to revoke membership if fees are not received within this period.

Join now