American Psychological Association Student Memberships

The American Psychological Association offers several different types of student memberships, each of which offers certain benefits of a full membership. Some of the common benefits include subscriptions to American Psychologist magazine, the Monitor on Psychology and a new magazine designed specifically for psychology graduate students called gradPsych. Other benefits of a student membership include access to special services such as significant discounts on all American Psychological Association products, including the APA's outstanding line of electronics.

For both undergraduate and graduate students, the APA offers a Student Affiliates of APA membership. Graduate students will also automatically become members of the American Psychology Association for Graduate Students (APAGS), which is a national organization for psychology grad students. For a small fee, undergraduate students are also eligible to become members of APAGS.

After joining the APA for a low annual rate, one of the benefits of student membership is the opportunity to network with other psychology students as well as established psychologists. Members have access to information about careers and education opportunities, plus a Web site that is dedicated to psychology students and their needs.  Another benefit is that student members qualify for group health insurance at competitive rates through the APA Insurance Trust.

High school students also benefit from APA memberships. There are no special requirements to join the APA high school student affiliate program. Any student who is studying psychology is eligible to join. High school membership allow interested students to learn about careers in psychology, to help determine if this is the right career path.

High school members receive a subscription to the APA Monitor on Psychology, which is the APA's new magazine. This allows students to read about current industry practices. Also included in the membership is a subscription to the American Psychologist, which is the APA's premier journal. Members have access to information about psychology education and employment opportunities, as well as low student rates for psychology books.

For a low registration fee, all student members will have an opportunity to attend the APA's Annual Convention, which is the largest gathering of professional psychologists and students in the United States.

There are additional discounts available with APA student affiliate memberships, such as Bank of America financial products, financing resources for education, discounts for computers and computer products, magazine and office supply discounts and numerous travel discounts. The APA provides member services such as insurance programs, student loan consolidation, financial services, education loans and many additional discounts. The APA also provides advocacy programs and information resources, while supporting the field of psychology in many other ways.

Other types of APA membership include Member, Teacher Affiliate, Associate, Fellows, and International Affiliate. By taking advantage of even a few of the many discounts offered through APA membership, students can quickly recover their low annual membership fees.

This article is made possible by Argosy University. Drawing upon our more than 30-year history of granting degrees in professional psychology, Argosy University has developed a curriculum that focuses on interpersonal skills and practical experience alongside academic learning. Because getting a degree is one thing. Succeeding, quite another.