About Membership

NAFSA serves its members, their institutions and organizations, and others engaged in international education and exchange and global workforce development. As a NAFSA member, you'll receive strategies, guidelines and new approaches to: leading change, applying international/intercultural research to curriculum and service planning, recruiting highly qualified international students, and marketing your institution and its programs. NAFSA memberships are intended to be a professional benefit for a designated individual who receives the benefits of that membership.

• Membership Categories
• Dues
• Institutionally Sponsored Memberships are Designated By the Institution For Professional Usage By an Individual International Educator
• Transferring Institutionally Sponsored Membership
• Updating of Member Profile
• Publicizing Membership/Use of NAFSA's Name and Logo
• Global Partnership Program

Membership Categories

NAFSA's membership year is from July 1 to June 30 of the following year. There is a $20 one-time processing fee for new members.

Additional $60 overseas airmail fee for individuals residing outside the U.S., Mexico, or Canada without an APO/AFO address. Please allow 6 weeks for delivery of NAFSA materials.

Regular Membership - $350
Representatives of accredited or recognized schools, colleges, universities, and/or training or research facilities
Individuals involved personally or professionally in the field of international education and exchange
Representatives of organizations primarily involved in implementing or administering international education and exchange, employing paid staff, not affiliated with an academic institution

Associate Membership - $117
Members who desire continued affiliation with NAFSA after retirement.
Full-time students enrolled in postsecondary institutions (verification of status must accompany application and renewals).
U.S. Department of State-sponsored or facilitated representatives of overseas educational advising centers.
Community volunteers not salaried for their work in international education (verification of status must accompany application and renewals).

Life Membership
This category is available only to individuals who have been honored by NAFSA in the year of their retirement with the title of Life Member.

Dues

Membership dues are a part of the annual budget approved each December by the Board of Directors and are posted on the Web site and on the membership application.

Dues must be paid in full at the time a member joins or renews membership.

Membership invoices are mailed in July and payable upon receipt. Membership benefits are continued during the renewal period as a courtesy.

Institutionally Sponsored Memberships are Designated By the Institution For Professional Usage By an Individual International Educator

Most NAFSA professional memberships are institutionally sponsored. When a membership in NAFSA is a professional membership that is sponsored and paid for by an academic institution that institution owns the membership and may designate which individual employed at that institution receives the professional benefits of the membership. Membership is then assigned to that designated individual and may not be shared among several people at the institution. The institution may reassign the membership to another employee at its discretion as guided by the procedures for transferring institutionally sponsored memberships listed below.

Transferring Institutionally Sponsored Membership

The benefits of membership are intended to be a professional benefit for the designated member of record, and they cannot be temporarily transferred to another individual.
For benefits to transfer, the entire professional membership itself must be transferred.

From July through February, an institution that paid for an individual's membership may request that the membership be transferred to another individual who works at the same institution.

Beginning March 1, and through the final quarter of the membership year, membership may not be transferred. The only exception occurs when an institutional representative ceases employment at the institution that paid for the membership; in such cases, the institution's request for a transfer will typically be approved.

All requests for membership transfer must be made in writing and should be directed to data[at]nafsa.org.

Updating of Member Profile

NAFSA communicates with members using the mailing address and e-mail address provided by each member. It is the responsibility of each member to update his or her profile when information changes. To do so, a member may log on to the NAFSA Web site and click on "Membership Profile" on the My NAFSA page.

Publicizing Membership/Use of NAFSA's Name and Logo

Members may publicize their membership, provided they make clear that individuals, and not organizations, are NAFSA members. Members may not imply that NAFSA has reviewed or endorsed their programs or activities, or that NAFSA membership confers any endorsement. Use of the NAFSA logo is prohibited. NAFSA Global Partners are provided with a special logo indicating their participation in the Global Partnership Program.

Global Partnership Program

All universities, corporations, and businesses who share NAFSA's mission and would like to have access to unique discounted marketing opportunities are invited to join NAFSA's Global Partnership Program.  Your organization will be listed as a current Global Partner and receive discounts including memberships based on the level in which you join, but staff within your organization can still hold individual NAFSA memberships.