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Graduate Membership

Graduate membership of the society is the starting point to your career as a psychologist and is a prerequisite for many of our accredited post-graduate and Doctoral programmes.

As a graduate member you will receive:

  • the title 'MBPsS' after your name
  • a subscription to The Psychologist (print and digital)
  • free online access to the society's archive of academic journals
  • discounts on conferences and events
  • ...as well as a variety of other benefits.
View the full range of benefits available to Graduate Members

To join as a Graduate Member, you'll need to have achieved at least a 2:2 and passed the empirical project in an undergraduate degree accredited by the society, or to have completed an accredited conversion course.

You will need the following to start the application:

  • Copies of your academic transcripts (list of subjects + grades) to upload.

  • If you are a non-member you will need to pay a non-refundable £27 application assessment fee

Subscription fees

Once your application has been assessed, you will then need to make a further payment for the current year’s membership subscription (as below) before we can admit you into membership.  

  • If you are a current postgraduate student or enrolled on a society qualification the fee is £36

    Please note: between 01 July- 31 December 2021, we are waiving the application fee (£27) for new joiners applying for Graduate membership if they are enrolled on a postgraduate course of study.  New applicants during this period will also only be required to pay ½ of the Graduate membership fee. To take advantage of this offer please use the discount code PSYPAGAPP21 when submitting your application online.

  • If you graduated within the last five years from the qualification (giving eligibility for Graduate Membership) the fee is £67

  • standard Graduate Membership fee is £134

Once you’ve submitted your application it will be processed by the Membership Team.

The society’s subscription year runs from January to December and future subscription payments are due in January regardless of when you first joined. A full year’s subscription is always required upon admission to membership.

If you join between January and June you will be charged the yearly rate which will all be allocated to this year’s subscription.

If you join between July and September: you will be charged the yearly rate but half the payment will be carried forward reducing the amount due from you for the following year.

Payment

There are a number of ways you can pay your subscription

  • Online card payment (preferred)

  • Set up a direct debit (UK bank accounts only)

  • Bank transfer

  • by phone (automated payment line)

Start your membership application

Non-UK applicants are considered to be those who gained their degree at an institution outside of the UK.

To become a Graduate Member, the society will consider:

  • whether you hold a degree from a recognised university or comparable institution
  • if it is of an equivalent standard to a British bachelors degree at a minimum of lower 2nd class honours level, having also passed an empirical project
  • whether your degree includes at least 50 per cent psychology
  • if your qualifications cover the core areas of the GBC in sufficient breadth and depth

Following a Memorandum of Cooperation between the BPS and the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI), those eligible for Graduate Membership of the PSI after having gained an academic award accredited by the PSI are also eligible for the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) of the British Psychological Society.

You will need the following to start the application:

  • Address details
  • Qualification details (complete/current as applicable)
  • Copies of your academic transcripts (list of subjects + grades) to upload - official translations if originals not in English

Non-members need to pay a non-refundable £27 application assessment fee. 

Your application will be assigned to a colleague from our Membership Team who will be responsible for its processing.

Once your application has been assessed, you will then need to make a further payment for the current year’s membership subscription before we can admit you into membership.

Start your membership application

In certain circumstances individuals who do not meet the conventional criteria for Graduate Membership may instead be eligible for special consideration for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC).

As a general guide we will look to see that the qualifications you hold (you will need to have both an undergraduate and postgraduate) cover the core areas of psychology in sufficient breadth and depth as would be expected of a society-accredited undergraduate degree in psychology.

The core areas we look to be covered are:

  • cognitive psychology
  • psychobiology
  • developmental psychology
  • social psychology
  • individual differences
  • conceptual and historical issues
  • research

If you feel your qualifications will cover the broad areas of psychology in sufficient breadth and depth, you can apply for the Graduate Membership by submitting full transcripts (list of modules and grades awarded for each) of all of your qualifications for assessment.

Eligibility for our membership grades is primarily based on society-accredited academic qualifications and experience, or their non-UK equivalent.

Each membership grade has differing eligibility requirements; for further info please consult the relevant pages for each membership grade.

Please be aware that the information on each membership grade page provides a general guide to eligibility, it is not exhaustive.

You will need to provide copies (we don’t require originals) of your psychology qualifications.

Transcripts (the list of subjects and grades) are required for all undergraduate, conversion and non-UK qualifications.

For any documents not in English translations are required.

Non-members will need to pay a non-refundable £27 application assessment fee. This fee enables us to assess your eligibility for membership.

If your application is eligible for Graduate membership we will request the relevant society subscription fee - this payment will need to be received in order for us to admit you to membership.

The standard fee is £134.

For those who have graduated within the last five years from the qualification (giving eligibility for Graduate membership) the fee is £67.

For those studying a postgraduate course or enrolled on a society qualification the fee is £36.

Please remember to enter your course’s details on the application otherwise we won’t know you’re studying and will request one of the higher fees.

If you also choose to join one or more of our Member Networks we will request their fees too.

The application process outlines the fee for each network.

Typically, applications will be acknowledged within 3 working days of receipt, although this may be slightly longer during busy periods.

You should have a final decision of your application within 15 working days.

The society has a special case route whereby we can assess the eligibility for Graduate membership of those with qualifications not accredited by the BPS.

These are most likely to be UK qualifications but may also be a combination of non-UK and UK qualifications.

You will need to have a Bachelors level qualification plus a postgraduate qualification to at least a Masters level – both with significant psychology content.

As a general guide we will look to see that the qualifications you hold cover, at a standard not less than lower second class honours level, the core areas of psychology in sufficient breadth and depth as would be expected of a society-accredited undergraduate degree in psychology.

For information the core areas we look to be covered are:

  • cognitive psychology
  • psychobiology
  • developmental psychology
  • social psychology
  • individual differences
  • conceptual and historical issues
  • research

If you would like us to assess your eligibility you can apply for Graduate membership where you’ll need to upload copies of transcripts for the qualifications you hold containing psychological study.

We can only provide confirmation that you have the GBC if you’re a current Graduate member of the society.

If you’re not a member, to obtain confirmation of GBC from the society you’ll need to apply for Graduate membership so we can assess your qualification(s) and determine eligibility.

We don’t automatically accredit international qualifications; each one is assessed on an individual basis.

You will need to apply for Graduate membership and attach a copy of your official academic transcript (translated into English where appropriate) and the relevant payment.

To be eligible for Graduate Membership and the GBC we will assess that your qualification(s) meet all of the following:

  1. From a recognised university institution

    The society uses the World Higher Education Database (WHED) as a reference for identifying a recognised university institution

  2. At least 50% psychology

    Psychology modules/subjects must comprise at least half of those required for the qualification to be awarded.

  3. Equivalent to at least a British Bachelors Second Class Honours Degree

    The society follows guidance from UK NARIC when assessing the standard of qualifications. UK NARIC provides comparability information for international qualifications with those in the UK.

  4. Cover, with the required breadth and depth, the following eight core areas:

    - psychobiology
    - cognitive psychology
    - social psychology
    - developmental psychology
    - individual differences
    - conceptual and historical issues in psychology
    - research
    - coverage of a specialist/applied area

If you started your degree from 2006 onwards and have obtained a third Class, unfortunately you would not be eligible for the GBC and would need to find and undertake a conversion course.

Members can find information, and download an application form from our Member Networks page.

If you’re applying for Graduate membership and would like to join one, or more, of the Member Networks you can add these as part of the application process, each network carries an additional fee.

If you’re applying for Chartered membership the application form enables you to join Member Networks at the relevant grade.

Current Student members can complete the Graduate membership application process online – you will not be charged the £27 application fee.

Graduate members looking to upgrade should complete the relevant Chartered membership application form.

Student membership is only available to those studying a society-accredited undergraduate degree or conversion course.

Instead you can apply to join at one of our Subscriber grades.

If you’re looking to register as a psychologist in the UK, the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) are the body responsible for statutory regulation therefore you would need to apply to join their register if you wish to practice using one of their specialist titles, e.g. Clinical Psychologist, Counselling Psychologist.

The society doesn’t set employment criteria, this would be down to the individual employer and the requirements of the role advertised.

You may also find that society membership provides a useful platform to familiarise yourself with the practice of psychology in the UK as we offer a number of benefits and services within each of our membership grades.

We operate a no refund policy.

However, we allow direct debit payers the option to cancel and receive a refund of their fees after having made their payment up until 31 March each year.

From the 1 April there will be no refunds to direct debit payers, members will instead be advised to maintain their subscription for the remainder of the year and to cancel at the end of December.

All application processing fees are non-refundable.

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