In 2004, ICA created the "complimentary university membership scheme," which was intended to encourage a greater participation in ICA amongst scholars from "B" and "C" countries. For various reasons, take-up so far has been limited, so we have looked again at the scheme and simplified the application process. Here are some answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the scheme.
FAQ1: What does the complimentary membership include?
Answer: the faculty member who leads a successful application will be awarded a free membership to ICA for three years; her or his department will be able to send up to three faculty or student members to the ICA annual conference and pay for registration at the ICA members' rate.
FAQ2: Who gets the journals associated with ICA membership?
Answer: the faculty member who leads a successful application will be the named person to receive journals, but she or he is expected to share such resources amongst faculty and students, including accessing colleagues to 'soft' resources available from the ICA website.
FAQ3: Who is eligible to apply?
Answer: scholars in any university are eligible to apply, although those located in B- or C-Tier countries, as identified by the United Nations, will be given priority. The applicant scholar's department should be a media or communication department or have a strong focus on these areas. Any full-time faculty member can be the lead applicant.
FAQ4: How do I apply?
Answer: there is no formal application form, but the letter of application should include an indication of the benefits which will be gained by the department if the application is successful. The letter should be no longer than 2 pages (or around 750 words) and should not include attachments. The lead applicant must identify a full-time faculty member who will take on an active liaison role between ICA and the university: usually this will be the lead applicant her or himself.
FAQ5: OK, I'm interested. What next?
Answer: Scholars interested in applying to the scheme should send their letter of application to Michael Haley at ICA (mhaley@icahdq.org) by 30 June 2007. If successful, the complimentary membership will commence in October 2007 for three years.
FAQ6: What happens at the end of the period of complimentary membership?
Answer: When the complimentary membership period ends, an award-holder will be asked to write a short report on the impact that the membership has had on the research culture of her or his department and any collaborative developments which have emerged as a result of the relationship with ICA and its members.
FAQ7: If I've been successful once, can I reapply?
Answer: Successful applicants can reapply to the scheme at the end of their complimentary membership period, although new applicants will always be given priority.
FAQ8: How many complimentary memberships will be available each year?
Answer: The maximum is three per year: If there are more than three applications per year, the Internationalization Committee (which will also include at least one student board member), will consider all applications and select up to three to be awarded the complimentary membership.
