Contribute to a professional society dedicated to using social science knowledge to improve lives and communities worldwide. SfAA membership connects you with a broad, practical, and welcoming community of applied social scientists working across practice, academia, and often bridging these divides.

Community

SfAA offers a professional home for people who use anthropology and the social sciences to address real-world problems. Members connect through Annual Meetings, committees, Topical Interest Groups, SfAA Global, and other spaces for collaboration, mentorship, and exchange.

Whether you are a student, practitioner, faculty member, researcher, or community partner, SfAA provides opportunities to build relationships, share work, contribute to SfAA, and help shape the future of applied anthropology. These interactions foster collaboration and help address shared challenges, strengthening both individual careers and the field as a whole. Join us and become part of a dynamic, supportive professional network.

Skills and Careers Programming

SfAA supports members at every career stage through programming that strengthens practical skills, professional networks, and career pathways. Members can take part in webinars, Annual Meeting sessions and workshops, career-focused conversations, job postings, career fairs, and opportunities to learn from applied professionals working in diverse settings.

These programs help members translate anthropological training into practice, stay current on emerging issues, and connect with others using social science in public, private, nonprofit, and academic contexts.

Annual Meetings

Each spring, SfAA hosts a dynamic Annual Meeting that brings together applied social scientists for presentations, workshops, networking, and in-depth exchange. Members receive discounted registration fees and access to a lively forum for sharing ideas, methods, and practical solutions.

Visit our Annual Meeting page for the latest updates.

Publications, Media, and Archives

Members receive digital access to Human Organization and Practicing Anthropology, both published quarterly. Members are also exempt from publication charges for accepted manuscripts.

• Human Organization is the journal of the Society for Applied Anthropology and publishes research on the application of social science to practical problems.
• Practicing Anthropology is a career-focused publication for anthropologists and social scientists working in applied settings, including outside academia.
• Dispatches from Applied Anthropology is SfAA’s public-facing digital magazine, featuring timely, plain-language stories, commentary, profiles, visual essays, and SfAA news that show how applied and practicing anthropology makes a difference in the world.
• SfAA Podcast
• Oral History Project

Awards

SfAA supports and celebrates excellence across the full range of applied anthropology through distinguished awards, general awards, student paper and poster awards, internships, leadership support, book proposal recognition, and travel awards.

These awards recognize lifetime achievement, public anthropology, service to the SfAA, student research, community-focused collaboration, international engagement, human rights work, tourism and heritage scholarship, disaster studies, and other significant contributions to applied social science.