Getting started
How to join ARS
ARS membership is by application — we review every application personally. Here is exactly what happens from the moment you apply to the day your membership goes active.
3 min read
The steps
- 1
Create your account
Sign in with your email to open your member hub.
- 2
Complete the application
Tell us about yourself and why you want to join, and choose Standard or Fellowship.
- 3
We review it
A person reads every application. You will get an email with the outcome within 10 working days.
- 4
Activate
Once approved, pay your dues — or, for an approved fellowship, activate for free — and you are a member.
Standard or Fellowship?
Standard membership means you pay dues once approved — from R100 for a student year, with the full table in the dues guide below. Fellowship is a fee waiver for students and early-career researchers for whom the dues would be a barrier — you tell us a little about your circumstances and we consider it as part of your application.
No one is turned away over cost
If dues are a barrier, apply for a Fellowship. Access to the network should never come down to what you can afford.
After you apply
We come back to you within 10 working days. Your application status shows in your member hub the whole way through: under review, approved, or — if it is not the right fit yet — a note on why, so you can reapply. We email you at each step, so you never have to keep checking.
Not heard from us after 10 working days?
Check your spam folder first — decision emails sometimes land there. If it is genuinely not there, contact us and we will chase it up.