Becoming part of the family, PsyPAG integrates into the BPS

The PsyPAG community is bright, supportive, and thriving and we are proud to have been national organisation for all psychology postgraduates based at UK Institutions.

For well over thirty years, PsyPAG has offered support, advice, events, publications and a network of likeminded individuals for postgrad students across the country.

As well as professional relationships, PsyPAG has created genuine friendships over the years and is a unique and special group, and we are confident and determined that this feeling will remain when PsyPAG becomes officially integrated as a member group within the BPS.

PsyPAG has been solely funded by the BPS Research Board and we have always worked closely with the society, building connections with the member networks and championing the voice of postgrads within the BPS.

By becoming an official BPS group we are positive that this will give us even more influence and help shape different aspects of the BPS and build stronger links with the member networks and the undergraduate student group too.

This has been a decision long in the making, with a number of options presented to the BPS Board of Trustees with the input and engagement of the PsyPAG committee along the way to make sure the decisions reached were right for PsyPAG and its community.

By being within the BPS we will be able to access greater support for running events, and we hope to grow the PsyPAG annual conference and build on the number events we offer.

These will offer great opportunities to network and build connections, and we are especially looking forward to some in-person events soon!

The PsyPAG Quarterly will continue and we will look to develop this to offer more opportunities for members of the community to contribute.

As part of the BPS outputs, PsyPAG Quarterly articles will also have DOI numbers so postgraduates can be properly credited for their contributions. The PsyPAG bursaries and awards will also continue.

Our committee will also work closely to develop our communications with the community, currently we use the JISC mailing list to communicate and share opportunities / support each other.

As well as our growing social media channels, it is expected we will move to a regular newsletter to communicate with our members, which members will need to opt-in to receive in their BPS accounts. So please do ensure you 'opt-in' to all relevant comms when we make the transition over to BPS-land!

From the launch of this integration in our AGM in July, to be a member of PsyPAG you will need to be a BPS member, which brings a range of additional benefits in itself.

These include access to the BPS welfare fund, the monthly magazine, the Psychologist, subsidised Article Publication Charges to the 11 journals, subsidised and free events, and various discount opportunities.

If you're already a BPS member, your PsyPAG membership will transfer automatically and you don't need to do a thing.

Of course, we know that for some members the move to the BPS might not be so seamless as you might not currently be a BPS member.

To keep the cost of this as low as possible, we have negotiated a special offer for those PsyPAG members who are not currently members of the BPS.

If you join the society before the end of the year the application fee is waived and it will cost you just £18.

We are excited about the future of PsyPAG and think that this will represent a positive step forward for PsyPAG and the postgraduate community.

We look forward to welcoming you on board and speaking to you all very soon in the very near future.

- Maddi Pownall, PsyPAG Chair

- Jenny Terry, incoming Chair