Become a member of the ISAE

Membership to ISAE is open to anyone with an academic interest in agriculture, veterinary medicine, zoology, and other animal sciences. To become a member of the ISAE, you need to have scientific qualifications (or other qualifications satisfactory to ISAE Council) in animal behaviour or associated disciplines (e.g., veterinary science, biology, behavioural ecology). This requirement ensures that the ISAE remains an independent scientific society with a basis in ethology. 

New applicants are requested to fill in the application form below, which includes the contact details of a proposer and seconder, both professionally involved in animal behaviour science or its application, one of which should be a current ISAE member. For guidance on proposer and seconder information, please ask your regional secretary. Applicants are also requested to write a maximum 10-line statement on who they are and why they wish to join.

Applications for membership are put before ISAE Council on a monthly basis. Once membership has been approved, you will receive an email with a link to pay your dues. Payment should then be made as soon as possible.

The current annual membership dues are £35 for regular members or a reduced rate of £15 for students or retirees. Please note that to qualify for student rate, applicants and members have to submit proof of student status to the Membership Secretary each year they apply for the discounted rate. The subscription year runs from June to May. Dues can be paid by credit card, money order, or by cheque. Payment may be made either annually or for a three-year term. A three-year term will be charged at three times the initial annual rate; no refund will be made if the member’s circumstances change during the term.

ISAE also offers Corporate Membership, which entitles an approved organisation to receive information normally distributed to members and to send two representatives to ISAE meetings under the same terms as ordinary members. Corporate Member representatives have no power to vote and cannot hold a position on Council. Corporate Membership does not entitle organisations to reduced-rate subscriptions to Applied Animal Behaviour Science. The Corporate Membership fee is currently £100 per year.

In exceptional cases, ISAE Council may sponsor membership fees for academics in countries or from institutes who cannot afford the normal membership rate. The Membership Secretary () can inform you about terms & conditions.

Group Payments

If multiple members from the same institution would like to pay as a group, ISAE is able to accept group payments through the webshop or via bank transfer.

If group payments are made through the webshop, please send an email to the  (isaemembership@hotmail.co.uk) with a list of members that are being paid for and the member that is making the total payment so accurate updates can be made to the membership database.

In order to invoice your institution for group payments via bank transfer, we need the following information:

1. A list with all the members included in the payment

2. The type of membership requested for each member (full or reduced rate)

3. A list of members requesting access to AABS and the type of access (hard copy or online)

Once we receive this information we will be able to send you an invoice with the total amount owed. When making a bank transfer, please clearly state the institution name (or the name of the administrator the invoice is sent to) to avoid confusion and delays in processing payments.

Some tips to ensure your application goes smoothly!

The ISAE membership year runs from 1 June to 31 May. We understand that when applying for membership, applicants like to hear the outcome as quickly as possible, especially if joining to take advantage of reduced member fees for conferences or for Applied Animal Behaviour Science.

To make the application process run as smoothly as possible here are some tips to speed things up:

• Your proposer and seconder should be people that you know and can confirm your professional interest in ethology. They will be contacted and asked if they support your application. At least one of them should be a current member of ISAE.
• Your personal statement should be approximately 10 sentences long and detail your past and ongoing professional interest in Ethology. Click here to see an example.
• Signing the ISAE membership application is your acceptance to abide by the ISAE's Code of Conduct and your statement of understanding that if you do not, this may result in termination of your membership with no possibility of reinstatement
• In order to become a member of ISAE, your application needs to be approved by the ISAE Council, and we then need to receive your membership payment. You will be contacted by the ISAE Membership Secretary once your application is approved, and then given 3 months to pay. After this period, if you haven't paid your membership dues, you will need to re-apply.
• We do not have a reduced membership fee for part of a year. Applicants who are approved and pay prior to 1 December pay for the current membership year (e.g. between now and 1 December 2021 pays for the membership year between 1 June 2021 and 31 May 2022). Applicants who pay between 1 December and 31 May receive complimentary membership for the current year, and the fee covers the following membership year (e.g. payment from 1 December 2021 to 31 May 2022 covers the remainder of the 2021-2022 membership year as well as the 2022-2023 membership year). 
• The dues schedule does not apply to AABS subscriptions. Payment at any stage within a membership year only covers access for that year. Back copies can be provided for hard copy subscriptions, but for online access the payment only covers up to 31 May.

Application for new ISAE membership