Accreditation is our process of working with education providers to recognise programmes relevant to a career in surveying and that support routes to professional qualification. RICS-accreditation demonstrates a globally-recognised standard of surveying education.

We partner with education providers to accredit undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes.

Process

If a programme has been identified as suitable for accreditation, RICS will arrange a visit to the establishment by a panel consisting of RICS staff and professionals, to review the programme in further detail.

Requirements

All programmes applying for accreditation must meet the following criteria:

• Programme volume must be at least 3600 hours for a bachelor’s degree (credit equivalent) and 1200 hours for a postgraduate master’s degree or a Postgraduate Diploma. A post-graduate diploma accepting non-cognate students must be a minimum of 1800 hours’ total qualification time. 
• For universities using authoritatively validated European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), an undergraduate award must have at least 180 ECTS and a postgraduate award must have at least 60 ECTS.
• At least 1000 study hours for any accredited programme should be from at least the highest undergraduate level
• Confirmation that a programme is regulated in the country of delivery by the relevant education regulator/authority

Accreditation criteria

When calibrating a course for accreditation, the panel assess 10 areas:

1. Mapping to an RICS pathway
   Does the programme map to the mandatory and core competencies? Are RICS technical and professional standards delivered in the curriculum? Courses should be mapped against the competencies in at least one pathway, though students with an RICS-accredited degree can enrol for assessment through any pathway. You can view the pathway guides, which set out the competency requirements in detail, here.
2. Student experience
   Do students have access to a range of services such as placements, academic support and pastoral care? Are students encouraged to develop leadership and communication skills?
3. Internal quality assurance
   Does the education provider carry out regular reviews to ensure the relevance and validity of the programme?
4. Assessment procedures
   Does the education provider encourage students to work through complex and technical tasks by employing a variety of assessment methods?
5. Staff quality (academic)
   Are students taught by staff of high calibre, who are well-rounded academics and professionals?
6. Resources
   Do students have access to a range of resources such as libraries, subscriptions to databases, research facilities and networking opportunities?
7. Curriculum relevance to industry
   Is the education provider actively engaging with industry and practitioners? Is the curriculum informed by this engagement?
8. Collaboration with RICS
   Does the education provider promote RICS, our technical and professional standards, and International Standards in the curriculum?
9. Ethical standards
   Are RICS’ ethical standards embedded in the curriculum? All candidates are required to demonstrate knowledge and ability to apply the knowledge of our ethical standards.
10. Inclusion and diversity
    Does the education provider ensure that inclusion and diversity are embedded in the curriculum and in the ethos of the establishment? 

Does the programme map to the mandatory and core competencies? Are RICS technical and professional standards delivered in the curriculum? Courses should be mapped against the competencies in at least one pathway, though students with an RICS-accredited degree can enrol for assessment through any pathway. You can view the pathway guides, which set out the competency requirements in detail, here.

If you are an education provider and would like to find out more our accreditation processes, download our detailed global accreditation policy and processes manual.

Unsure? Contact our Education and Qualification Standards team