advancing the study of unidentified anomalous phenomena through interdisciplinary dialogue
Our mission
The Society for UAP Studies promotes academic research on unidentified anomalous phenomena through critical and open dialogue among the various scholarly disciplines that can contribute to an understanding of these complex phenomena.
The Society acknowledges and values the efforts of scholars who, over the years, have challenged the taboo surrounding these phenomena and worked towards their examination within the broader academic community. Our aim is to build upon their work and expand its scope.
We build on the work of the research groups that have in recent years paved the way for the acceptance of these phenomena as a subject of sustained academic, and especially scientific, investigation.
We hope to contribute to the momentum they have created by promoting scientific investigation of the many perplexing physical and psychological aspects of these phenomena. We also hope to promote a renewed interest in them among the many disciplines of the humanities and social sciences.
Considering the absence of a formally recognized academic field or discipline dedicated to “UAP Studies,” one of our key objectives is to foster and sustain the meta-theoretical dialogue necessary to establish UAP Studies as a clearly defined academic field of inquiry.
We believe that the humanities play a crucial role in deepening our understanding of the nature of the reality UAP may present (a subject that has sparked intense and often contentious debate since the earliest modern investigations of UAP) and of the significance of that reality for individuals and societies. We also believe that they can open a space of critical distance in the study of these phenomena.
By promoting dialogue and collaboration among the natural sciences, the social sciences and the humanities, we can hope to contribute meaningfully to an understanding of UAP and, at the same time, arrive at a clear definition of UAP Studies as an academic field.
Many of the advances that shaped human knowledge, including the emergence of science itself, came about where humanistic and scientific pursuits kept close company.
In this spirit we come together as a learned society for the advancement of knowledge of self, society and the natural world through a sustained engagement with UAP as a topic of serious scholarly interest.
Our goals
01
Promote knowledge exchange
03
Foster collaboration and networking, domestic and international
05
Advocate for the field
07
Enhance diversity, inclusion and equity in the field
02
Contribute to the development of analytical and evaluative methodologies and best practices in UAP studies
04
Support professional development
06
Encourage ethical conduct and integrity
08
Contribute to education, public engagement and outreach
Beyond these goals, the Society is working to establish Society satellites around the world.
Our commitment
Scholarship first. Conclusions only where the evidence carries them.
The Society values the intellectual contributions of scholars to the emerging field of UAP Studies. Its professionalisation depends on that work, and on the community we are building here at the Society.
No matter how UAP are ultimately best approached, as a matter of physical scientific, experiential, social or cultural inquiry, the one commitment that binds us as a community here at SUAPS is the commitment to objectivity in scholarship, which means a study of these phenomena that is critical and self-reflective and at the same time open and undogmatic, including when considering how UAP may (or may not) challenge existing intellectual or scholarly frameworks.
This is the standard we hold ourselves to, and it guides us as a learned society, far beyond the current news cycle or round of popular or governmental interest in this subject.