Why SRCD?
We are the premier interdisciplinary society representing thousands of developmental scientists around the world. SRCD supports a diverse and international array of researchers, instructors, practitioners, and policymakers who are committed to advancing child development research. When you become an SRCD member, you can benefit from this incredible network, grow your career and skills, and find your professional home.
Join today to take advantage of the exclusive resources and opportunities available only to SRCD members.
This fall, learn why so many developmentalists find their home at SRCD
Expand and Strengthen Your Professional Network
With thousands of members across the spectrum of experience, expertise, and interests, you will find a community that aligns with your interests and goals. Some of the most prominent scholars and promising new voices in the discipline are SRCD members. When you join us, you have opportunities to find new partnerships, mentors, and connections.
- Join one of SRCD’s 15 committees or 5 caucuses
- Network with peers and leading experts at the SRCD Biennial Meeting, the premiere event for the discipline
- Participate in a mentorship program as a mentor or mentee
- Connect your work with policymakers in the Child Policy Hub
- Interact with other members online through the SRCD Commons platform
Develop Your Professional Skills
SRCD regularly offers member-exclusive opportunities to grow your skills in a variety of formats and time commitments.
- Attend a webinar hosted by SRCD committees
- Attend cutting-edge sessions and professional development workshops at the SRCD Biennial Meeting
- Apply to our highly coveted career-advancing programs, including the U.S. Policy Fellowship, the Early Career Interdisciplinary Scholars Fellowship, and the Towards 2044 mentorship program
- Get access to asynchronous, multi-part training courses on topics you care about – SRCD polls members regularly to determine what courses to add to this growing set of e-courses
- Learn and influence evidence-based policy in the NEW Child Policy Hub:
- Child Policy Toolkit – Access resources and tools to build your policy capacity
- Child Policy Briefs - Read, share, and submit ideas for policy briefs on issues of interest to developmental scientists and policymakers
- Child Policy Trainings – Develop policy skills through in-person and virtual courses
- Child Policy Connect – Share your expertise with and respond to questions from policymakers
Get Exclusive Access to Resources and Funding Opportunities
- Access premier child development publications:
- Apply for grants and awards to elevate your work:
- Annual awards to support your research
- Biennial awards, including travel awards
- Be considered for a federal nomination to prominent boards (such as the National Science Foundation) and studies (like the National Academies’ consensus studies)
Have Your Voice Be Heard at the Highest Levels of Government
SRCD advocates to the U.S. federal government on your behalf to protect and elevate the developmental sciences. We work in coalition with other scientific societies to ensure your voice is heard. Become a member and influence our policy priorities on:
- Federal funding for the NIH, NICHD, IES, DoJ and other pivotal agencies – SRCD members are encouraged to come to our annual “Hill days” in Washington, D.C. to share why scientific funding is a crucial investment
- Regulations and programs impacting how scientific work is conducted and prioritized at a federal level
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion in federal grant-making and workforce development
What Members Are Saying
“My favorite part of SRCD membership is knowing that you are part of an organization that is a pillar in the field and seen as a purveyor of science. I appreciate that I am connected with a globally diverse array of scholars. ... [T]he Black Caucus [is] an aspect of SRCD that is one of my favorites... Finally, I like that if there is an issue that requires evidence-informed responses, I can come to a brilliant group and get answers, referrals, insights, and consultation, all for free!"
Dr. Iheoma Iruka, SRCD member since 2004
“I joined SRCD as a graduate student and it’s been my academic home since… I “grew up” in SRCD. I met other graduate students who are now leaders in the field. I was exposed to many of the folks who are profiled by the SRCD’s History Project. As I matured, I was involved in SRCD’s Black Caucus and several other committees in which I got to know colleagues who are now friends... I continue to look forward to the Biennial meeting to learn about cutting edge developmental science, see old friends, and to make new ones.”
Dr. Michael Cunningham, SRCD member since 1991
“[The SRCD U.S. Policy] fellowship has been an absolute gift for my career. I have discovered exactly where I want to be. I am forever grateful to SRCD for accepting me into this fellowship and awarding me with this opportunity that profoundly influenced the direction of my professional career.”
Dr. Tanya Tavassolie, SRCD member since 2014
“SRCD plays a vital role in advocating on behalf of its members... For example, SRCD recently provided feedback on a proposed reorganization of the National Institutes of Health, which… if enacted, would impact many members of SRCD. But it is unclear whether SRCD members would have known that this change was being proposed without the efforts of the Society's policy staff. Thanks to those staff members, SRCD was able to publish a response outlining how the proposed changes would jeopardize scientific progress in fields from maternal health to early education.”
Dr. Steven J. Holochwost, SRCD member since 2008
Explore More Benefits by Your Career Stage
Whether you are an undergraduate student or a leading scholar, SRCD membership can help you take your career to the next level. See what member benefits are most valued at each career stage:
Students and Early Career
- Mentorship and career development programs:
- Finding your voice and network:
- Student and Early Career Council – a way to have a voice in all that SRCD does
- Student and Early Career representatives for each of SRCD’s committees, including the Governing Council
- Five caucuses
- Resources and funding to further your career:
- Victoria S. Levin Award for Early Career Success in Young Children’s Mental Health Research
- SECC Dissertation Research Funding Awards
- Small Grants Program for Early Career Scholars
- Biennial Awards: Early Career Research Contributions, Outstanding Doctoral Dissertations, and Biennial Travel Awards
- Policy skill development:
- Child Policy Hub
- Be a reviewer on SRCD’s Child Policy Briefs publications, alongside leading figures in the field
- Have your voice be heard in Congress and in U.S. federal agencies, as SRCD advocates for you on federal science policy and funding
Professional
- Give back to the next generation: serve as a mentor
- Finding your network and demonstrating national service for your tenure applications:
- Fifteen SRCD committees
- Five caucuses
- Apply your work with policymakers in Child Policy Connect
- Present your work and find collaborators:
- SRCD Biennial
- Child development publications
- Gain new skills:
- Have your voice be heard in Congress and in U.S. federal agencies, as SRCD advocates for you on federal science policy and funding
Low- and Middle-Income Countries Member
- International events such as our 2024 Anti-Racism Summit in Panama City, Panama (and be part of the organizing committees for future events, to have a say in where we go next!)
- Committees and caucuses:
- Fifteen SRCD committees, including the International Affairs Committee
- Five caucuses
- Skill development and networking:
- Child Policy Hub
- Attend webinars scheduled at internationally-convenient times and available on-demand, including those in areas with international issues
- The premiere meeting for the discipline, the SRCD Biennial
- Noted publications
- Give back to the next generation: serve as a mentor
Emeritus
- Be considered for a federal nomination to distinguished positions and committees (such as the National Science Foundation boards and National Academies’ consensus studies)
- Apply your life’s work and make an impact on policy through the Child Policy Hub
- Give back to the next generation: serve as a mentor
- Stay connected with peers
- Fifteen SRCD committees
- Five caucuses
- SRCD Biennial
- Skill development and networking:
- Child development publications
- Have your voice be heard in Congress and in U.S. federal, as SRCD advocates for you on federal science policy and funding
Questions about your membership? Email us at membership@srcd.org!