Membership Benefits

The membership year runs from January to December, with member benefits back-dated to the start of the calendar year. Members who join in the middle of the year receive back-issues of their selected journal(s) for the membership year, and access to archives of Network, the newsletter of the BSA.

Benefits include:

BSA Community - The BSA provides opportunities to meet and collaborate with others who share your interest in establishing invaluable networking and career opportunities. Through conferences and events, a wide range of specialist and study groups, publications and a postgraduate network, the Association enables scholarship and contact between sociologists to flourish.
Members Area of the BSA website. This area includes:
- Free access to SAGE Sociology FullText Collection - free access to the full searchable text of 40 journals published by SAGE and participating societies, encompassing over 45,900 articles and up to 55 years of backfiles.
- Exclusive access to full-text electronic archives of both BSA journals, Sociology and Work, Employment & Society via SAGE Journals Online.
- Latest edition of Network in .pdf format, or peruse earlier editions in our archives.
- Sociologist Bites Journalist: Learning to Love the Media by Ivor Gaber. An invaluable guide to working with the media - one of the most important routes of taking your research findings to a non-academic audience.
- Writing and Publishing Booklet - an introduction of how to get your work published.
- Sociology Funding/Grant Opportunities - a comprehensive listing of funding available within the social sciences arena.
- CV Noticeboard - a forum to advertise your CV to prospective employers.
- Sociology Courses - a useful listing of UK institutions offering sociology courses.
- Searchable Register of Members’ Research Interests.
- Manage Your Account – Edit your member profile details.
Three issues per year of the BSA's informative newsletter, Network.
The BSA, in conjunction with SAGE Publications, publishes two internationally renowned journals, Sociology and Work, Employment & Society. Members select which of these journals they receive free as part of their membership. Members can also subscribe to a second journal at a members only price of £41 (a 50% discount from the £82 non-member rate).
Subscribe to BSA’s Cultural Sociology journal. Order direct from SAGE Publications at the member discounted rate of £15 (£41 to nonmembers).
Sociological Research Online – the BSA belongs to a consortium that publishes this quarterly electronic journal. Articles published in the journal are peerreviewed by a distinguished Editorial Board and qualify for inclusion in the UK Research Assessment Exercise.
Journal discounts – receive 30% discount on all SAGE books and journals, and 50% discount on selected related journals. Visit SAGE Publications.
BSA members are entitled to discounted registration rates at BSA events, including the BSA Annual Conference, which attracts approximately 400 delegates each year.
The BSA Support Fund - low-income members can benefit from financial assistance towards research related expenses and attendance at conferences and study group events. The BSA Support Fund allocates a number of places for UK Concessionary members to cover the cost of registration for the Annual Conference.
Only BSA members are eligible to be nominated for the annual Philip Abrams Memorial Book Prize for the best first and sole authored book within the discipline of Sociology. The winner is presented with a cash prize of £1,000 and one year’s free subscription to The Sociological Review.
The Phil Strong Memorial Prize (anticipated cash prize of £1000) was established to support postgraduate research in medical sociology. The winner is announced at the BSA Medical Sociology Group Annual Conference.
The Sociology of Health and Illness (SHI) Book Prize of £1,000 is awarded annually to the author(s) or editor(s) of the book making the most significant contribution to the subdiscipline of medical sociology/sociology of health and illness and having been published over the three years preceding the award year. The book prize is awarded at the BSA Medical Sociology Group Annual Conference.
The BSA operates a network of over 30 Specialist and Study Groups. Study Groups focus on major fields of research within the discipline, like Medical Sociology, Religion and Media Specialist Groups, such as the Sociologists Outside Academia Group, Early Career Forum and the Postgraduate Forum, bring together people who share common experiences and challenges in their academic and professional lives. Each group provides a professional and social network in which individuals with specialised research, teaching and professional interests can connect and develop their own events to supplement the Annual Conference.
A reduced annual subscription is available to BSA members to the Gourmet Society, find out more>>.
Income tax relief on your membership subscription. If you are a UK income tax payer, you can reclaim the income tax you have paid on your BSA membership subscription (i.e. between 20-40% of the subscription you have paid) dependent upon the rate of your income tax paid.
BSA reciprocal agreements members can attend partner organisations’ events at reduced rates. The BSA has reciprocal agreements with:
- South African Sociological Association

[1] Since 2004 the ASA conference fee for ASA members & non-members outside of the US has been equal.

[2] as C-SAP is not a member based organisation, our reciprocal agreement regards the mutual exchange of newsletters, website links and information only.

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