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Overseas Membership Information

Graduate Membership

The Society does not accredit any overseas qualifications, so all applications from individuals with qualifications gained overseas are assessed individually to determine eligibility for Graduate Membership. At the same time, the Society will assess eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC). If you wish to beome a Chartered Member you must establish the GBC.

For Graduate Membership the Society will consider the following:

1. Whether you hold a degree from a recognised university or comparable institution; and
2. Whether your degree is of equivalent standard to a British Bachelors degree; and
3. Whether your degree is at least fifty percent Psychology. This means that Psychology courses must comprise at least half of the studies which contributed to the award of your degree;

To also be eligible for GBC your qualification(s) must cover the core psychology areas at the equivalent level of Society's Qualifying Examination (which is British Bachelor Honours standard).

Check your degree

Please note that some older undergraduate courses from the Republic of Ireland and Hong Kong were previously accredited by the Society and are considered as UK qualifications. If you think this may apply to you we suggest you check the status of your degree:

• British Psychological Society accredited courses

Application form

• Application form: Graduate Membership and Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership

Chartered Membership

The title of Chartered Membership is the benchmark of professional recognition for psychologists. It reflects the highest standards of knowledge and expertise.

The Society has developed a system of assessing the eligibility for Chartered Membership of those psychologists trained outside the UK, whether or not they also need to be registered with the Health Professions Council (HPC).

The entry standard for Chartered Membership is UK Doctoral level or equivalent. Eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC), information above, is still a pre-requisite for Chartered Membership. For Chartered Membership the Society will consider the following:

1. That you hold qualifications which make you eligible for Graduate membership with the GBC (criteria above)
2. That you hold an additional postgraduate (at least UK Masters equivalent) qualification in psychology
3. That you have relevant supervised training and experience equivalent to UK Doctoral level

The following Flowchart provides an overview of the process.

Application Forms

• Chartered Membership

• Chartered Membership teaching
  

Health Professions Council (HPC)

If you wish to have your qualifications and experience recognised so that you may work as a psychologist in the UK using one of the protected titles (Clinical Psychologist, Counselling Psychologist, Educational Psychologist, Forensic Psychologist, Health Psychologist, Occupational Psychologist, Sport & Exercise Psychologist; Practitioner Psychologist or Registered Psychologist), you will need to apply to the Health Professions Council (HPC) which is the regulatory body for psychologists in the UK.

EuroPsy

The European Certificate in Psychology (EuroPsy) is a benchmark standard of education and training across Europe. If you have achieved registration as a EuroPsy Registered Psychologist, this is likely to be compelling evidence that you have met the Society’s standard for Chartered Membership, assuming all other criteria are met.

Contact us

If you have any queries please contact the Membership Team (e-mail: applications@bps.org.uk; telephone +44 (0)116 252 9591).