Student Membership


(*PLEASE NOTE* - To register as a Student Member, you must select the "Graduate Student", "Resident", or "Fellow" option as a specialty in your account creation.)

The WPATH Student Initiative (WSI) provides opportunities for graduate students to become active in the work of WPATH, a multidisciplinary professional association which works on behalf of transgender people around the world. Student members serve as liaisons to committees and to the Board of Directors. Members of the Student Initiative have access to a mentoring program and a database of training programs. The WSI also works to support student research by awarding small research grants and fostering opportunities for students to present their research at WPATH and other transgender-related conferences across the world.

What WPATH does for Students

Student members of WPATH are afforded numerous benefits to enrich their career development and opportunities to influence the field of transgender health.

  • Discounted registration fees to WPATH events
  • Access to the WSI Mentoring Program which facilitates connection to more senior members of WPATH
  • Online access to the quarterly International Journal of Transgenderism and the membership database and the Standards of Care
  • Eligibility for student achievement awards and small research grant awards
  • Opportunities to make professional connections and impact the field of transgender health by participating on WPATH committees
  • Opportunities to present your work and participate in graduate student meetings at WPATH Biennial Symposia and other transgender conferences around the world
  • Connecting to professionals and other students around the world via WPATH Google Groups


Requirements for Student Membership:

Student members are individuals enrolled in a graduate program who, upon graduation, would be eligible for professional membership in the association. Areas of study include law, medicine, social work, counseling, psychology, speech and language therapy, public health, family studies, psychotherapy, marriage and family therapy, women/gender/queer studies, sexology, sociology, anthropology, linguistics, pharmacology and other academic and applied disciplines that contribute, or have the potential to contribute, to the wellbeing of transgender individuals and to the field of transgender health.

Student membership is available at $35 (US) per year and requires proof of current enrollment as a graduate student through by uploading one of the following documents:

  • Photocopy of your dated student ID (with current date)
  • Photocopy or printout of your class registration
  • Photocopy or printout of your class schedule
  • Photocopy or printout of your school bill
  • Photocopy of your CV
  • Printout (with displayed URL) of your institution’s publicly accessible web page or web directory that proves your student status
  • Letter from a professor or academic advisor
  • Letter from Residency Coordinator or Program Director 

To join, please complete the WPATH Membership Application.

Co-Chairs/BOD Liaisons:

Penelope Strauss, MPH

Co-Chair of the WPATH Student Initiative

Representative to the WPATH Board of Directors


Penelope is a PhD student based in Perth, Australia. Her research is focused on the mental health of gender diverse young people and the barriers faced in accessing medical and mental health services.

 

Alex Laungani, MD 

Full Member Co-Chair of the WPATH Student Initiative

Alex is a Plastic Surgeon trained in Belgium, currently in the process of re-training in the USA in order to be able to work in North America. He is currently based at Mayo Clinic, Rochester Minnesota. His research focuses mainly on technical aspects and outcomes of gender-affirming surgical procedures. 

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