Applications are now open until December 31st 2025 for new Individual and Junior Members of the IAU, using this Application Form.
If you are new to IAU, please 'create a new account' to begin the application process. As a Junior Member, you can log in to start the application process.
Those admitted to membership (by the IAU Executive Committee) will be affiliated with at least one of the IAU’s nine Divisions:
IAU Individual Membership
Eligible candidates for IAU Individual Membership are professional scientists conducting research that is directly related to astronomy.
IAU Junior Membership
Eligible candidates for IAU Junior Membership are those in the initial phase of a research career with the prospect of becoming a professional researcher in astronomy. For this round of applications, candidates should have completed their PhD studies in any field of astronomy between 2020 and 2025. Admission as a Junior Member will be for a maximum period of six years.
Junior Members can join Commissions and Working Groups according to the same rules as Individual Members. Junior Members can take up any role in any Working Group and can hold office in the Organising Committee of any Commission. However, Junior Members cannot take roles as Commission President or Vice President, except in Commissions specifically established for Junior Members.
We remind current Junior Members who joined the IAU in 2020 that junior membership is temporary and that they should apply as Individual Members in this call.
Following the December 31st 2025 deadline, applications will first be reviewed by the IAU National Committee for Astronomy (NCA) or Adhering Organisation (AO) (whichever applies) of the National Member in which the applicant works, or the relevant Division President (where there is no NCA or AO).
The lists of proposed candidates will subsequently be reviewed by the IAU Membership Committee which will submit a final list to the Executive Committee for approval during its meeting in April 2026.