ResearchGate is a professional network dedicated to active scientists and researchers. We ask that you sign up with your institutional email address so that we can easily verify your involvement in current research. You can always change your email address after sign-up.
To start connecting and collaborating with researchers around the world:
- Go to www.researchgate.net
- Click Join for free
- Select which type of researcher you are
- Enter your name, institutional email address, and choose a password
- To finish creating your account, you will need to click the link in the activation email you receive.
My institutional email address isn't recognized. Can I still sign up?
If you have an institutional email address that our system doesn’t recognize, you can contact us to submit a request to add your institution. Please provide your institution’s ROR ID (see Research Organization Registry) and any other relevant information that helps us confirm its active involvement in research. Please understand that ultimately it’s our call whether or not to add an institution.
I don't have an institutional email address. Can I still sign up?
We strongly encourage the use of institutional email addresses for verification. Only in rare circumstances will we consider requests for accounts from individuals who don’t have an institutional email but are actively engaged in research within a specialized field.
If you believe you meet this criteria, you can contact us to request an account. Please provide the following information:
- Your full name.
- A detailed description of your current institutional affiliation(s) and specific field of research, including any supporting links (e.g., to a university department page, research group, or recognized commercial R&D entity).
- Clear evidence of recent and relevant peer-reviewed scientific or academic publications in your professional field, or evidence of recent and relevant research activity in commercial R&D within your professional field. This must show your active, specialized involvement.
- A scanned copy of your current student or academic ID, or PhD enrollment certificate.
We will not accept CVs, lengthy documents, or submissions from hobbyists, retired researchers, or individuals researching outside their established professional expertise.
Please understand that submitting a request for an account does not guarantee acceptance, and all decisions are entirely at our discretion. Due to the high volume of requests, we cannot guarantee that you will be informed of the outcome of your submission.
Why haven't I received the activation email?
If you haven’t received your activation email within 24 hours you can try the following:
- Make sure the email did not end up in your junk mail folder
- Check all of your email folders (some email clients have an automatic filtering option where emails can be sent to different types of folders and are easily hidden)
- Add ResearchGate to your address book (find out how here)
- Contact your email administrator to ensure all emails from @researchgate.net and @researchgatemail.net can be received (for more information see Managing your email settings)
Once you’ve tried all of the above options, you can request another activation email here. Please fill in your email address, and click Submit. You should receive a new activation email within 5 minutes. If you have requested the activation email multiple times, please note only the latest link will be active. If you've tried all of these options and still haven't received the email, please contact us.
What can I do if the link in my activation email doesn't work?
Links in emails can often be blocked by the security settings of your email client, such as Outlook or Apple Mail. Normally, there is an option at the top of the email to allow links or pictures from the sender address. If there isn't, there is most likely a security setting that must be changed in your email client.
We also suggest that you add ResearchGate to your address book to prevent this from happening in the future. You can find out how to do this here.
As a workaround, you can also forward the activation email to any other email account you own which is not experiencing this issue, and click on the link there.
What should I do if I entered the wrong email address during signup?
If you signed up with an incorrect email address, please sign up again with the correct email. We cannot change the email address associated with your signup. You may need to clear your cookies in order to sign up again.
Can I access ResearchGate content without an account?
We strongly believe that scientific results should be accessible to everyone. That's why you're still welcome to browse ResearchGate and discover content such as publications, jobs, and discussions if you aren't a researcher without being registered. Just go to Publications, Jobs, or Questions.