Message from Matt Bruck, Managing Director, RICS Americas
Our Americas membership continues to grow rapidly.  Some of you have inquired about the 'new' routes to membership that enable this growth, noting that some new members in the Americas have joined RICS without going through the full APC diary and interview process. 

So I thought I would take a moment to explain the variety of ways in which someone might become a member. 

APC is only one route to RICS membership.  RICS has a long tradition of offering direct membership to the most distinguished leaders of the profession. 

Practitioners who demonstrate "exceptional standing or experience in the spheres of land, property or construction" to Governing Council or the appropriate World Regional Board may be elected without the requirement of the APC interview. 

Moreover, "where there is clear evidence that RICS will benefit from their election," the relevant Board may elect a candidate directly to Fellowship.  

The RICS Americas Board has followed these rules carefully in reviewing biographies and references for hundreds of proposed Eminent Professionals. 

Where appropriate, the Board has invited a select group of these candidates – drawn from the most senior management ranks of important firms, the top tiers of government and academia - to membership in this way. 

The RICS Americas Board has actively supported this approach in the belief that the addition of highly visible, distinguished practitioners to membership substantially enhances the credibility and visibility of RICS and all its members in the Americas. 

RICS also has a long tradition of recognizing that some peer associations around the world maintain comparably high standards for membership. 

In rare cases, RICS has determined that the effort a candidate has already made toward qualifying for a peer association membership may equal or exceed the effort required toward completion of the APC.  In these cases, RICS has granted membership on a reciprocal basis.  

RICS Americas does not have any reciprocal arrangements with any other associations at this point. 

RICS Americas does recognize that some other associations have high standards for membership, and will consider those credentials as some evidence of qualification for RICS membership, but there is no situation in which another membership, alone, qualifies a candidate for automatic RICS membership. 

Our Senior Professional Route, for example, allows candidates with relevant qualifications (indicated in some cases by other membership) and 10 years of relevant experience, as vetted by their peers, to waive the diary part of the APC process. 

They must still sit for the APC final interview and demonstrate the required competencies to a panel (made up of members from their own discipline) before admission to membership.  

As our membership evolves here in the Americas, our routes to membership will certainly evolve too – but membership standards here, and everywhere else in the world, are carefully defined and maintained by global committees of members, with support from staff. 

While practices may be modified slightly to suit the specific circumstances of a market, they will always ensure that any members admitted anywhere meet global standards. 

These standards are set by members who worked hard to earn their credentials, and any practices are audited regularly by global committees.  Thus standards seem quite secure.  

Please feel encouraged to contact me directly (e mbruck@rics.org) if I can answer any questions about our practices here.