Individual Membership

New, Renewal and Lapsed membership

To become a new or continue to be a member of the Society for Disability Studies, please complete the individual or organizational membership form and submit it via mail or e-mail to the SDS Executive offices. You can make payment via check or

Membership Levels

Please note that membership fees have been increased a modest amount as of February 1, 2016. .

Benefits of membership are below the membership application form.

There are no fees for joining SDS for the rest of 2016. Payments as of today will be for the 2017 calendar year. Please return membership form. You will receive a verification email of your membership.

Lifetime Membership

For a one-time contribution of $1,500.00, or two consecutive payments of $750.00 life-time members can enjoy all the SDS membership benefits for the remainder of their lives.

Professional Membership

This membership level is available for individuals who are working full-time, conducting academic research, artists, activists, or other interested individuals. $150.00

Student and Low-income Membership

This membership category is for students enrolled at a college or university in the U.S. or abroad OR for members who are unable to pay the full cost of the appropriate category. $40.00

No one is denied membership in SDS due to an inability to pay an established membership fee. If none of the above listed fees are feasible for you, SDS will work out an alternative payment option for you.

Membership Application form

After you complete the form, please submit the online form or copy and mail to:

SDS Executive Office
PO Box 5570
Eureka, CA 95502

Membership Benefits

• a tremendous opportunity to network with artists, activists, and scholars from across the U.S. and around the world who are working on disability issues;
• access to the electronic listserv means access to job, grant, and award opportunities, calls for papers for upcoming conferences, information about exhibits, public lectures, book readings and other events in your area, as well as up-to-date information about the upcoming SDS conference;
• member-rates to the annual SDS conference.

Here are just some of the initiatives your dollars support:

• an optimally inclusive annual conference and membership dues structure;
• DSQ, the premiere open-access, HTML-accessible, peer-reviewed journal in disability studies;
• the Chris Bell Memorial Scholarship and general scholarships to support attendance at the annual SDS conference;
• awards & prizes to recognize outstanding contributions to disability studies:
  • President’s Award for Outstanding Contribution through art and/or activism
  • Senior Scholar Award
  • Irving K. Zola Prize for Emerging Scholarship in Disability Studies
  • Tanis Doe and other prizes to recognize outstanding contributions to the annual poster session
  • Tyler Rigg annual award for best article published in DSQ
  • the Affiliated Scholar Program;