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Our Members

The Club has approximately 3,500 members worldwide. We represent every continent and have members in more than 60 countries, comprising 34 chapters around the globe.

The Club’s members include leaders in polar exploration, diving, aerospace exploration, archaeology, zoology, physics, oceanography, astronomy, ecology, geology, paleontology, conservation mountaineering, and speleology. The Club counts among its members the giants of twentieth-century exploration; its present and future members are poised to leave humankind a similar legacy of discovery and achievement in the twenty-first century.

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Membership

About Membership

Who is Considered for Membership?

The Explorers Club differentiates exploration for field science from exploratory travel for tourism. While both activities are valuable, our members and those qualified for membership are persons who carry out or assist in field science expeditions to study unknown or little known destinations or phenomena in order to gain knowledge for humankind.

Who we are looking for

You need not have climbed Everest, dived to the deepest point in the ocean, or discovered a new dinosaur. But we are looking for individuals who have gotten their hands dirty and their feet wet working in the field as participants in one or more documented scientific expeditions.

Tourism, by comparison, is enjoyed primarily for pleasure or self-education. Therefore, extensive travel photography, participation in educational tours, or similar pursuits in remote parts of the world do not alone qualify one to become a member.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

In an increasingly heterogeneous and multicultural 21st Century society, the Explorers Club recognizes the benefits of expanding its membership to include qualified explorers from across a range of diversities, including race, culture, gender, age, sexual orientation, geography, and socio-economic level, as well as explorers with disabilities.

The ultimate objectives of our DEI initiative are to acknowledge the diversity among explorers and to profit from the wider range of insight and perspectives that a more diverse membership will provide. By enlisting and supporting explorers from different backgrounds and points of view, these DEI efforts will augment the Club’s mission to promote exploration “by all means possible.”

Friends of the Explorers Club

We do have a category, Friend of The Explorers Club, for people who, though not qualified for membership, would like to associate with the club and support its goals. We hope that, as they meet members and experience the culture of exploration, these Friends might take the initiative to participate in expeditions, so that they may be moved into the ranks of full membership. Anyone supporting our mission can be a member at some level.

Membership Classifications

Fellows

Fellows

have made documented contributions to scientific knowledge through field expeditions. Such accomplishments are often evidenced by regular scientific publication, but may also be documented in books, popular media, or broadcast media.

Members

Members

have evidenced a sustained interest and participation in some aspect of field exploration and have contributed in broad terms to the cause of exploration and the furthering of scientific knowledge (for example by participating in expeditions).

Term Membership

Term Membership

is open to full-time graduate students and teaching instructors that meet the same standards/qualifications that exist for regular Members. The maximum duration of Term Member status is five years (irrespective of age). Initiation fee is waived for Term Members applying for regular Member/Fellow status prior to expiration of the five-year term.

Friends

Friends

of the Club are individuals who wish to associate with The Explorers Club and support its mission. These individuals are crucial to the Club’s outreach as they create an extended network of awareness and support.

Student Members

Student Members

are full-time students, between the ages of 16 and 30, who are enrolled in accredited institutions and are interested in pursuing exploration or field science as a future career or avocation.

Dues How much are dues?

Dues are dependent upon the category of membership to which you are elected and your geographic location.

Members who live in New York pay a higher rate than our members in Katmandu, because of their greater access to club facilities and activities. Scroll down for a full breakdown of dues prices for each Membership Category.

Membership Classification Abbreviation
InitiationiThis is a one-time fee paid on initiation into the Club.
 DUES
Fellow Resident FR $620 $620
Fellow National FN $390 $390
Fellow International FI $0 $230
Member Resident MR $860 $860
Member National MN $500 $500
Member International MI $0 $390
Life Fellow LF N/A 20x current rate
Life Member LM N/A 20x current rate
Friend/Associate Resident FcR/AR $782 $1565
Friend/Associate National FcN/AN $540 $540
Friend/Associate International FcI/AI $0 $390
Student SM $0 $80
Term Member TM $0 $120

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For more information on membership eligibility and the application process, please contact us

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