How to become an Associate Member of RICS (AssocRICS)

Professions commonly can take years of education and work experience to become fully qualified and Quantity Surveying is no different. It is generally considered that obtaining a chartership from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, known as RICS, is the pinnacle of the quantity surveying profession and opens doors to the highest wages and most sort after jobs.

Through completing the Assessment of Professional Competence or APC, you can become what RICS term an ‘associate’ (AssocRICS), which is the entry-level membership.  By satisfyingfurther obligations you can become a fully chartered member. In this blog we will focus on theassociate route with a follow up blog and video being produced in the coming weeks which will tackle the fully fledged chartered membership.

So first things first, you need to enrol with RICS to start the APC. You can enrol at any time to complete the APC, but you must meet one of the following criteria:

· 1 year of relevant experience and a relevant bachelor’s degree

· 2 years of relevant experience and a relevant higher/advanced/foundation qualification

· 4 years of relevant experience (no qualifications required).

The APC assessments consist of the following in order to become an associate:

• You must select your sector pathway as surveying is so broad. There are a total of 13 sectors to choose from.
• You must find a RICS member that is willing to support and guide you through your application process, they are called your counsellor.

Then comes the assessment process and requirements. It takes between 6 and 12 months to complete this process and all candidates must complete the following written submissions:

1. Summary of experience: a 3,000-word maximum report which shows and details your experience related to aspects of your chosen sector pathway.
2. Case Study: A 2,500-word case study which demonstrates your technical abilities on a recent project. The project should not be any older than 24 months.
3. CPD Record: A total of 48 hours of training must be undertaken during the 12 months.
4. Pass the RICS Ethics online exam.

It may be possible to apply for direct entry and bypass some of the assessment process to become an associate, but you would need, a proposer who is a chartered member or a fellow,a record of your Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and, be a member of a separate,recognised professional body.

We’ve supplied some useful links in the description of our YouTube video to start your journey into becoming an associate member of RICS.