How Do I Join BSS? And What Are the Benefits of Membership?

 The GSA is composed of four sections: Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSS), Biological Sciences (BS), Health Sciences (HS), and Social Research, Policy, and Practice (SRPP).

With your membership in the GSA, you are entitled to membership in one of these four sections. Your section will be your "home" within the GSA. There, you will find colleagues with similar backgrounds and interests.

Each section also organizes its own program for the Annual Meeting. If your interests lie in areas related to the behavioral and social sciences, you will likely find our posters, paper sessions, and colloquia most stimulating. Our program covers areas such as:

Attitudes About Aging
Caregiving and Social Support
Cognition
Cross-Cultural or Cross-National Studies
Death, Dying, and Bereavement
Demographic and Social Change
Legal and Ethical Issues
Family and Intergenerational Relations
Gender
Life-Course and Developmental Change
Long-Term Care
Mental Health
Minority and Ethnic Aging
Physical Health and Functioning
Politics and Economics of Aging
Spirituality and Religion
Successful Aging
Work and Retirement

Here’s what some of our members have to say about the benefits of membership in BSS and the GSA:

"A major reason I joined GSA and the BSS section was the strength of its inter-disciplinary focus and concern about applied research that was theoretically based…important distinctions that were not well recognized in sociology and social work, the two disciplines I represent." – Baila Miller, Case Western Reserve University, Member Since 1985

"GSA and BSS are invaluable to me. At annual meeting, I interact with policy makers, biological scientists, and social service providers as well as the top researchers in the social sciences. It allows me, as a research psychologist, to see the bigger picture. I firmly believe that no single discipline can understand the aging process. Multiple perspectives are essential." – Laura L. Carstensen, Stanford University, Member Since 1978

"My career has been greatly influenced and enhanced by my membership in GSA and the BSS section. I first joined BSS/GSA in 1989 as a student. When I was considering doctoral programs – I was able to obtain information from the schools I had an interest in, and, even had informal interviews during the annual meeting. In addition, the opportunities to get involved in GSA governance and service have been invaluable to me and allowed me to meet many of the scholars I most admired. If that weren’t enough, I learned about a job opening at one annual meeting – applied, interviewed and was hired – all because I bumped into an acquaintance at a GSA reception. Thanks GSA!" – Beth Dugan, Wake Forest University, Member Since 1989

"I consider the GSA and the BSS to be the premier professional organization representing my primary discipline, gerontology. I especially appreciate the fact that GSA incorporates into its conferences and publications the the multidisciplinary perspective that is essential in this field. The annual meetings are a professional highlight of each year, where I obtain research updates both in my specialty and in other areas, hold reunions with colleagues, and meet new ones. I have used many conferences as opportunities for working sessions and consultation on current and future research plans and writing projects." -- Rosemary Blieszner, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Member Since 1976

Click here to become a member of the GSA and the BSS Section.