APA student leadership positions

Additional positions are occasionally available on ad hoc committees, taskforces, and other groups.

Length of service and appointment process vary. When positions become available, they will be announced broadly to the public, including via APA listservs for students.

American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS)

APAGS chair

Seeks to build a better future for psychology by serving as a united voice to enrich the experiences of, and advocate for, graduate students; position is a 3-year commitment

APAGS members-at-large

Actively support current APAGS initiatives and advance the current APAGS and APA strategic plans by participating broadly in activities related to areas such as science/research, practice, education, and diversity/inclusion; position requires a 2-year commitment

Advocacy Coordinating Team (ACT) Subcommittee

Empowers students to bring their voices to bear on the important issues affecting the discipline and the public through a focus on science, education, practice, and advocacy; chair position available every other year and subcommittee member positions available every year

APAGS Convention Subcommittee

Plans the APAGS program and activities for the annual APA Convention in conjunction with APAGS office staff, and is funded to travel to convention during their term; vice-chair position available every year (will serve as chair the following year), and subcommittee member positions available every year

Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity (CSOGD) Subcommittee

Provides education, advocacy, and personal and professional development opportunities to ensure the successful graduate experience of LGBTQ+ and allied students; chair position available every other year and subcommittee member positions are available every year

Committee for the Advancement of Racial and Ethnic Diversity (CARED) Subcommittee

Promotes psychology programs that are representative of the nation’s ethnic diversity and foster culturally relevant and adaptive science and practice in psychology; chair position is available every other year and subcommittee member positions are available every year

Science Subcommittee

Administers two grants each year, is actively involved in the development of the Translational Issues in Psychological Science journal, and represents the perspectives and concerns of graduate students in psychological science; vice-chair position is available every year (will serve as chair the following year), and subcommittee member positions are available every year

American Psychological Association (APA)

Advocacy Coordinating Committee opens in new window

Evaluates and recommends biennial advocacy priorities for both the discipline of psychology and the professions of psychologists in scientific, educational, public interest, health service practice and applied practice settings; one seat is available every 3 years via the APA boards and committees nomination process

Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest (BAPPI)

Encourages the generation and application of psychological knowledge on issues important to human well-being, including psychological contributions to solutions to the fundamental problems of human justice and that which promote equitable and just treatment of all segments of society; one seat is available every 3 years via the APA boards and committees nomination process

Board of Convention Affairs

Recommends policies and procedures to be followed in planning the annual APA Convention, coordinates the programs of divisions and other organized groups within the association, and arranges for programs of general interest; one seat is available every 3 years via the APA boards and committees nomination process

Board of Educational Affairs (BEA)

Recommends the educational policy to the APA’s Board of Directors and the Council of Representatives and works with the Education Directorate’s executive director on ongoing planning and operations related to education and training; one seat is available every 3 years via the APA boards and committees nomination process.

Board of Professional Affairs (BPA)

Recommends and implements APA policy, standards, and guidelines, maintains relationships with other professional organizations and groups, proposes ways to enhance the profession, and fosters the application of psychological knowledge to promote public welfare; one seat is available every 3 years via the APA boards and committees nomination process

Board of Scientific Affairs (BSA)

Encourages, develops, and promotes psychology as a science, including sponsoring convention programming, advising on relationships with other scientific organizations, proposing and refining APA policies, and providing guidance on issues related to research funding and policies; one seat is available every 3 years via the APA boards and committees nomination process

Committee for the Advancement of General Applied Psychology

Aims to explore a more specific representation of applied psychology within APA’s elected and appointed leadership structure by focusing on the use, application, and advancement of psychological and behavioral science in contexts beyond the laboratory and delivery of individual healthcare services; one seat is available every 3 years via the APA boards and committees nomination process

Committee on Global Psychology

Aims to increase contact between psychologists in the U.S. and their colleagues across the globe, including sharing ideas and information, encouraging an international perspective in the teaching of psychology, and monitoring the protection of the rights of psychologists; one seat is available every 3 years via the APA boards and committees nomination process

Membership Board

Oversees membership recruitment and retention activities for the association; one seat is available every 3 years via the APA boards and committees nomination process

Policy and Planning Board

Recommends changes in existing policy, including extensions or restrictions of the functions of the association, its divisions, or state/provincial territorial psychological associations as are consonant with the purposes of the association; one seat is available every 3 years via the APA boards and committees nomination process

Board of Professional Affairs (BPA)

Committee on Professional Practice and Standards

Develops and recommends standards and guidelines for providers of psychological services, as well as monitors, evaluates, and develops information regarding the scientific and professional aspects of psychological services; one seat is available every 3 years via the APA boards and committees nomination process

Committee on Rural Health (CRH)

Ensures that the behavioral health care needs of rural and frontier Americans are met by advocating for equitable access to high-quality psychological and behavioral health care for rural communities; one seat is available every 3 years via the APA boards and committees nomination process

Board of Scientific Affairs (BSA)

Committee on Animal Research and Ethics

Safeguards responsible research with animals, other than humans, and establishes and maintains cooperative relations with organizations sharing common interests; one seat is available every 3 years via the APA boards and committees nomination process

Committee on Human Research (CHR)

Facilitates the conduct of and training in scientifically and ethically responsible research involving humans, as well as examines issues related to the ethics of and regulatory requirements for research involving humans; one seat is available every 3 years via the APA boards and committees nomination process

Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest (BAPPI)

Committee on Aging (CONA)

Aims to advance psychology as a science and profession and as a means of promoting human welfare by ensuring that older adults, especially the growing numbers of older women and minorities, receive the attention of the association; one seat is available every 3 years via the APA boards and committees nomination process

Committee on Children, Youth, and Families

Ensures that children, youth, and families receive the full attention of APA and functions as a catalyst, interacting with and making recommendations to APA’s governing structure, membership, and relevant divisions and other groups; one seat is available every 3 years via the APA boards and committees nomination process

Committee on Disability Issues in Psychology

Promotes the psychological welfare of people with disabilities, including the development and implementation of psychological service delivery models, raising awareness of disability issues in psychological research, and the inclusion of disabilities and disability issues in education and training; one seat is available every 3 years via the APA boards and committees nomination process

Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs

Promotes the scientific understanding of the roles of culture and ethnicity in psychology, fostes the development of culturally sensitive models for delivery of psychological services, and facilitates cultural diversity in the preparation of psychologists; one seat is available every 3 years via the APA boards and committees nomination process

Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity

Evaluates how issues and concerns of sexual orientation and gender diverse psychologists can best be dealt with, including encouraging objective and unbiased research, examining the consequences of inaccurate information and stereotypes, developing educational materials, and making recommendations for supporting LGBTQ individuals’ human rights; one seat is available every 3 years via the APA boards and committees nomination process

Committee on Socioeconomic Status

Aims to advance psychology as a science and a profession and as a means of promoting health, education and human welfare by ensuring that issues of socioeconomic status receive the full attention of the association; one seat is available every 3 years via the APA boards and committees nomination process

Committee on Women in Psychology

Advances psychology as a science, profession, and means of promoting health, education and human welfare by ensuring that women in all their diversity achieve equality within the psychological community and in the larger society, nationally and globally; one seat is available every 3 years via the APA boards and committees nomination process

Board of Educational Affairs (BEA)

Commission on Accreditation opens in new window

Evaluates doctoral, internship and postdoctoral residency programs in professional psychology, in accordance with published criteria and procedures; one seat is available every year via a nominations process first through APAGS, which creates a slate of nominees, and then through BEA, which makes the final recommendation