Become a member

Student membership

Usually for those between the age of 16-18, studying for A-levels or equivalent or those studying an undergraduate course in Earth science or a related subject.

If you have a keen interest in geology and intend to go on and take a degree in geology or a related subject, or you are already studying an undergraduate course in Earth science or a related subject, you can apply for student membership.

You can remain a student member for up to one year after graduation.

Postgraduate membership

As a postgraduate student you are eligible to become a 'postgraduate member', which is full Fellowship of the Geological Society at a discounted rate for postgraduate students studying a PhD or Masters. You are eligibile if your first degree is in Earth Sciences or a related subject. Visit the benefits page to learn more about the benefits of becoming a Fellow. 

Fellowship

To be elected as a Fellow you must be aged 18 or over and possess a degree or equivalent qualification in Earth sciences or a related subject.

If you do not possess a qualifying degree, you may be able to apply if you have relevant experience, which should include two of the following: 

• A non-honors level degree from a university or institution of higher education
• Employment in geology, or within a profession where geology is a core discipline
• Active membership of a geological group or society
• Employment as a secondary school teacher involved in teaching geology
• Active involvement in advancing the science or application of geology, such as author of papers published in scientific journals, contributions to published maps or reports, or through the discovery and description of new geology such as a new fossil or mineral species

Friend membership

The Friends of the Geological Society membership is open to anyone with an interest in the Earth sciences.

In addition to non-professional Earth scientists, we also welcome those who hold an Earth science degree (or related), but who have either never worked as an Earth scientist or have not worked in that capacity (and not been a Fellow of this Society) for at least 2 years.

Apply to become a member by selecting your membership category.

You will receive a confirmation email and details about how to set up your MyGSL account. 

All members must be 'elected' at an Ordinary General Meeting (OGM), which are held five times during the year, but you will still be able to start accessing your benefits before the election date. Details about how to get the most out of your membership benefits can be found within the 'Maximise your membership' area.

If you have any issues accessing your member benefits, please don't hesitate to contact the membership team at membership@geolsoc.org.uk 

Membership applications are usually processed within two weeks, following which email confirmation is sent to the applicant. All members must be elected by Council, which meets five times during the year. However, you may access member benefits from the date the application is processed.

The following table list closing dates for applications to be received and processed, and the corresponding election dates:

Want more information on membership, payment options, fees and more? Please contact membership@geolsoc.org.uk or call +44 (0)20 7432 0981

The Geological Society of London, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0BG

The Geological Society of London is listed on H M Revenue and Custom’s ‘List 3’. This shows those bodies for which members may be able to claim tax relief on subscriptions.

If you pay an annual membership fee to the Geological Society of London out of your own pocket, you are a UK taxpayer and you meet the conditions set out in the Declaration form, you may be able to get tax relief for these costs.

Please download the tax relief form to supply the required details to the tax office.

When you have completed and signed it, please send the form to your tax office. Do not send it to the Geological Society. Your employer should be able to tell you the address of your tax office if you do not know it.

Membership terms and conditions for the access and use of electronic services

1. Fellows are provided with login details (username and password) with which they may access restricted sections of the Society’s website, as well as GSL subscribed journals chosen from the Lyell Collection. Additional Geological Society of London journals in the collection can be added to membership for a small additional fee.
2. Login details are provided solely for the personal use of Fellows (ie to assist in their own learning, research or work). Login details may not be shared with, or provided to, any other person for any purpose, nor may material accessed or downloaded by any Fellow be shared with, or provided to, any other person.  
3. Fellows are permitted to make reasonable use of electronic content hosted on the Lyell Collection. “Reasonable use” is considered to be up to 75 article downloads per month, but should in no case exceed 100 article downloads per month.  
4. The Society actively monitors usage and will contact Fellows whose download rates appear excessive. If excessive downloads continue the Society reserves the right to re-set Fellows’ login details or, in extreme cases, bar access to electronic services altogether.  
5. From 2010 all Fellows’ journal subscriptions derived as a benefit of Society membership are online-only. Additional print copies may be available on payment of a surcharge provided membership registration or renewal is complete by 1st January of the relevant journal subscription year. There is no guarantee that late requests for print subscriptions (ie those received after 1st January) can be honoured.  
6. Fellows who wish to retain a copy of record of their journal(s) of choice should download and save PDFs of relevant journal articles for safe keeping, or secure print copies as described in 5, above.  
7. The Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society (PYGS) and the Scottish Journal of Geology (SJG) are not GSL journals. Once you have joined another membership organisation you will be provided with a separate username and password to access the relevant content, by that organisation. Please contact the relevant membership secretary if you do not have your membership number. Fellows can access content of the relevant journal by using Pay-per-view Access, purchasing a non-member subscription or by joining:
   • The Yorkshire Geological Society for PYGS
   • The Geological Society of Glasgow or Edinburgh Geological Society for SJG (and also Transactions of these two societies)

Membership terms and conditions for the access and use of Library services

1. Fellows can borrow maps from the Geological Society Library but must note that if a map is within its period of copyright protection, the laws of the United Kingdom currently forbid any copying or scanning of maps without permission of the copyright holder.

The Code of Conduct applies to all members of the Society. Some other professional bodies refer instead to a Code of Ethics or a Code of Professional Ethics.

Members of the Geological Society found to be in breach of the Code of Publishing Ethics will also be in breach of the Society’s Code of Conduct.