Benefits of British Psychology Society (BPS) Membership

 

The BPS provides the following information about the benefits of membership:

 

The British Psychological Society:

Your professional organisation

The British Psychological Society exists to promote psychology and to develop psychologists working in a range of pure and applied settings. As a psychology student or trainee, you are taking important steps towards your future career, and the Society is here to provide you with a welcoming professional home.

If you are not already a member, you might be interested to know that:

  • By achieving the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership of the Society (GBC), you are offering potential employers and providers of postgraduate training programmes a clear indication of the breadth and depth of your knowledge of psychology, and a valuable set of subject-specific and transferable skills. Completing a first qualification in psychology that is accredited against the requirements for GBC will enable you to apply to the Society for Graduate Membership.
  • Completing Society-accredited postgraduate training programmes (at Masters and/or Doctoral levels) gives you a route for progressing to Chartered Psychologist status, and to specialist post-qualification training.
  • The Society is the Learned and Professional Society for all psychologists, and works to promote psychology and support its members’ interests, whatever their stage of career development.
  • The Society provides the following benefits, amongst other things, for its members:
    • Graduate Membership (MBPsS)
    • Chartered Status (CPsychol)
    • Chartered Scientist (CSci)
    • Opportunities to join and engage with relevant member networks
    • A range of Qualifications approved by the Health Professions Council as conferring eligibility to apply for registration
    • Ethical guidance
    • A range of discussion fora and networks
    • A wide range of guidance documents, including guidelines on professional practice
    • Continuing Professional Development opportunities via the Learning Centre
    • Opportunities to get involved in Society activities (for example, programme accreditation)
    • Opportunity to progress to Associate Fellow (ABPsS) and Fellow (FBPsS) of the Society
    • Research Digest: A useful research tool for keeping up to date with news about the latest psychological research as it is published in the BPS’s Research Digest. This is an award-winning blog and RSS feed which you can sign up to free of charge. Its aim is to be accessible; providing accurate reports on those studies that make an important contribution towards psychology, that are timely, novel, thought-provoking and relevant to real life
    • Discounted journals, as well as other member network publications.
  • If you wish to practise independently as a psychologist, using one of the titles protected by law, you will need to register with the Health Professions Council upon completion of an approved training programme. The Health Professions Council exists to protect the public by ensuring the fitness to practice of those on its registers. It does not play a role in facilitating the development or promotion of the professions that it regulates; that is the role of the British Psychological Society.
  • By being a member of your professional body, you are connecting with colleagues worldwide to ensure that together we can invest in resources to improve public understanding of our profession, by representing our profession in a variety of domains such as policy-making, education and training commissioning, workforce development and regulation, and impact on public policy.
  • The Society regards Chartered Psychologist status as the gold standard. Only Society members who are Chartered Psychologists can use CPsychol or the Chartered Psychologist logo.
  • It pays to belong to a professional organisation – the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) states that the estimated lifetime economic benefit associated with holding professional qualifications and membership of a professional institute stands at £152,000 (An Economic Impact Assessment of the CCPMO: Final Report to the Consultative Committee for Professional Management Organisations, CMI, December 2008).
  • We trust that you will find the Society a welcoming organisation, and a place that you will be proud to call your professional home. We look forward to supporting you during your further studies and your career, and trust you will find membership of the Society rewarding and fulfilling.
 

To find out the membership options and benefits available to you, contact our membership team at membership@bps.org.uk, call 0116 252 9911, or see www.bps.org.uk/membership.

 

Student membership of the British Psychological Society

As students on a BPS-accredited award, you are eligible for Student Membership of the Society. As a Student Member you get:

  • Automatic membership of the Society’s Student Member Group (SMG)
  • The Psychologist magazine every month, with the chance to write for ‘New Voices’ and win free membership
  • PsychTalk, a newsletter written by students
  • Exclusive discounts to books, journals and events
  • The chance to transfer to graduate membership free of charge after completing your undergraduate degree or conversion course
  • Recognition of belonging to a professional body, with the chance to join divisions and other groups
  • Access to a range of high street discounts and offers.
 

For details of fees and how to apply for Student membership, please click here.

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