Other Routes to Membership

Other routes to becoming an Associate (AMSB)

• Any applicant who has been awarded a biology based qualification equivalent to the QAA Framework for Higher Education Qualification (FHEQ) level 6.
• Any applicant who has been awarded a biology based qualification equivalent to the QAA FHEQ level 5 and has obtained at least 1 year of professional experience working full time in a biology related position.
• Any applicant who has been awarded a biology based qualification equivalent to the QAA FHEQ level 4 and has obtained at least 2 years’ professional experience working in a full time biology related position.
• Any applicant who has obtained a minimum of 3 years’ experience working in a full-time biology related position.
• Any applicant who has completed 2 years’ CPD awarding at least 50 credits per year through our CPD scheme.
• Any applicant who has completed a bioscience NVQ or SVQ at level 4 incorporating the application of biological science.
• Any applicant who has completed a Bachelor of Education with Science as the principal subject.

Other routes to becoming a Member (MSB)

• Any applicant that has been awarded a biology based qualification equivalent to the QAA FHEQ level 7 and obtained at least 2 years’ professional experience working full-time in a biology related position.
• Any applicant that has been awarded a biology based qualification equivalent to the QAA HFEQ level 6 and obtained at least 3 years’ professional experience working in a full-time biology related position.
• Any applicant that has been awarded a biology based qualification equivalent to the QAA HFEQ level 5 and obtained at least 4 years’ professional experience working in a full-time biology related position.
• Any applicant that has been awarded a biology based qualification equivalent to the QAA HFEQ level 4 and obtained at least 5 years’ professional experience working in a full-time biology related position.
• Any applicant that has obtained a minimum of 5 years’ experience working in a full-time biology related position and has completed 2 years’ CPD awarding at least 50 credits per year through our CPD scheme (one year of CPD can be claimed retrospectively).

Typical higher education qualifications within each level FHEQ level:

Level 8

Doctoral degrees (e.g., PhD/DPhil (including new-route PhD), EdD, DBA, DClinPsy)

Level 7

Master's degrees (e.g., MPhil, MLitt, MRes, MA, MSc) 
Integrated master's degrees (e.g., MEng, MChem, MPhys, MPharm) 
Postgraduate diplomas 
Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) 
Postgraduate certificates

Level 6

Bachelor's degrees with honours (e.g., BA/BSc Hons) 
Bachelor's degrees 
Professional Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) 
Graduate diplomas 
Graduate certificates

Level 5

Foundation Degrees (e.g., FdA, FdSc)
Diplomas of Higher Education (DipHE) 
Higher National Diplomas (HND)

Level 4

Higher National Certificates (HNC)
Certificates of Higher Education (CertHE)