Information for all areas of the Academic Assessment to ensure a seamless journey on all the requirements to complete your submission and achieve professional membership with RICS.
The RICS Academic submission is split into the following key areas:
Academic Assessment Candidate Guide – All Academic Assessment candidates must use and download the following candidate guide.
For your Summary of Experience, you need to write a brief statement about each of your mandatory and technical competencies to the levels required for the Academic Assessment.
You must reach the required level in a logical progression and in successive stages.
Academic Assessment Guide – Page Reference: 3
The individual competencies provide examples of the work you may record against each competency.
To provide context to the levels of writing, typically, you would provide a summary of your work experience. For some competencies, one of your examples may be sufficient; for other competencies, you may need to provide multiple examples – you are aiming to demonstrate to the assessment panel what experience you have gained to meet that competency.
Level 1 – Knowledge and Understanding:
It's important to show, and you will be required to explain, how you have gained the knowledge and understanding for that competency. This would include what learning and or training you have done and when, including on-the-job training and experience.
You should include some brief detail, if necessary, to ensure that the assessor can be confident the education/ training is relevant to the competency. You can also link this to your CPD record.
When writing, consider:
Level 2 – Application of Knowledge:
It's important that you focus on your specific experience in the competency area and provide one or two examples to support your summaries. You are looking to show that you have been able to put your knowledge and understanding into practice.
You should include or refer to projects you have been personally involved in. Describe your own role, explain how your involvement demonstrates your practical competence, and provide specific examples that may include processes used or adopted.
When writing, consider:
Level 3 – Depth and synthesis of technical knowledge and implementation:
You must focus on your academic experience of providing reasoned advice, that align with the specific requirements of the competency in terms of more complex experience.
Your summaries should be able to explain the professional advice you have given to clients, students and peers. It should demonstrate that you are working with minimum supervision. Make sure the examples provided describe the nature of the advice, the options you considered and the outcome. The advice should be predominantly your individual responsibility rather than collective.
When writing, consider:
Review the Academic Application Guide and Pathway guidance for more details and types of specific examples to collate your experience. Additionally, your submissions must be reviewed by your counsellor to support the examples written, context and suitability for the Academic Assessment.
Can’t find the Mandatory Competencies in your chosen pathway guide? Download RICS requirements and Competencies guide.
If the competency you select is a level 2 competency, you should ensure you write the summary to cover 1, and if the competency you select is a level 3 competency, you should ensure you write the summary covering levels 1, 2 and 3.
It's important when writing your statements for your Summary of Experience that this is based on your own body of work and not someone else's or a fictitious hypothetical situation.
Word Count
RICS will calculate the maximum 1500 word count for the mandatory competencies and a minimum of 3,000 to maximum 4000 word count for the technical competencies using Microsoft Word. Only the content you add under the column titled Summary of Experience will be included in the word count. This will include and reference to a source or citation.
The word count does not include Titles, names of competencies and level as they appear in the first two columns of the template.
Aim to us a range of 95 to 100% of the allowable word count, without exceeding the limit, this will help you to demonstrate your knowledge and experience showing you have taken the time to craft a well-rounded submission.
On the academic assessment you must provide only four pieces of evidence to demonstrate your activities as an academic. You must select at least one from each of the three lists:
Academic Assessment Guide – Page Reference: 4, 6 - Examples of Activities
Important Information
Your four selected pieces of evidence will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the mandatory, core and optional competencies of your chosen pathway in the context of teaching and research, as well as of professional practice, research ethics and professional ethics.
Employment History
All candidates must show their full employment history relevant to their pathway and surveying profession. The purpose is to document your career progression and key responsibilities to demonstrate how your work has contributed to achieving the required competencies.
Minimum years required
Please visit our page Recording CPD Activities for Candidates for more details.
To apply for your Academic Assessment, you need to send your application form and Assessment submission within the submission window to the relevant email address for your region –
ukiassessmentdelivery@rics.org
americasassessmentdelivery@rics.org
aemeaassessmentdelivery@rics.org
apacassessmentdelivery@rics.org
Visit our page Assessment dates and process for the submission and assessment windows for your region.
Before you submit, use the Academic Assessment checklist to check you have everything you need to prevent this being returned, and your assessment deferred to the next submission window.
Now more than ever, professionalism matters.
You are required to successfully complete the RICS Professionalism module prior to the assessment. The module includes four e-learning modules and a test that all candidates must pass not longer than 12 months before submitting for final assessment to be eligible to submit for Assessment.
In the e-learning modules, you will learn about the five Rules of Conduct, which support positive change in the built and natural environments by promoting and enforcing the highest ethical standards in valuation, the development and management of land, real estate, construction, and infrastructure.
As a candidate, you must also pass the Ethics Test, a 20-question multiple-choice test that tests your understanding of what you are learning. Your understanding of professionalism, ethics, and practice will also be tested during the Final Assessment Interview.
Before the Final Assessment Interview
There will be a significant emphasis on the Rules of Conduct, professional practice and ethics in the interview, so you must familiarise yourself with the Rules. Please remember, you can be referred on this area alone.
It will be important to review the Professionalism module again prior to your interview.
Pages to review and understand:
When applying for assessment you are required to provide the details of three Chartered Surveyors.
Who can be a proposer or seconder?
MRICS or FRICS members who are willing to propose and recommend you, from personal knowledge and or careful enquiry, to be elected to RICS should you be successful at interview.
When nominating a member to act as your proposer or seconder, you should first reach out to the Member directly.
The RICS Team will contact your Proposer and Seconders to confirm that they are willing to act in that role and support you application for assessment.
Best practice: Do not nominate or request support from members you have not previously connected with, have advised a conflict of interest, or randomly selected from the member portal. Candidates may be in breach of misuse of nominated proposer and seconder request and referred to RICS Regulations.
All Academic Applicant Candidates
Academic Applicant Guide – Page Reference: 10, 11
The 60-minute professional interview is conducted by a panel of RICS members who have been trained and selected for this role. At least one will be a trained academic assessor. The assessors will take a holistic view of your training, final assessment submissions, presentation and interview.
Academic Final Assessment Interview (60 minutes)
Approximate timing and structure
Chairperson’s opening and introductions | 5 minutes |
Applicant's presentation on submission | 10 minutes |
Questions on the presentation | 15 minutes |
Discussion on the applicant’s submission in relation to pathway and competencies and your role in academia |
15 minutes |
Discussion on CPD, Rules of Conduct and Professional Practice | 10 minutes |
Chairperson close | 5 minutes |
Total | 60 minutes |
10 - Minute Presentation
You will make a ten-minute presentation to the assessment panel. You can use electronic devices and other presentation materials. It is recommended to use a PowerPoint or Keynote compatible with MS Teams.
About the interview and Questioning
The assessors will base the questioning on the law and practice of the country in which your interview is being held; however, some assessors will cover more than one geographical area and where possible this will be considered on the assessment panel.
The assessors will normally ask you about what you did and about why you took a particular approach. They will also ask about your understanding of the wider issues surrounding your presentation
During the Interview, questions will be asked to demonstrate that you:
They will evaluate your submission and decide whether you have met the requirements for your chosen pathway. The assessment is holistic, and the trained RICS Assessors will use their judgement, discretion and RICS guidance to reach a balance view based on all elements of the submission.
Additionally, the panel will determine whether you:
Under no circumstances must you record, or attempt to record, the video call or interview. Any knowledge or suspicion of your recording, or attempting to record, the video call or interview may result in the interview being terminated and we may refer the matter for further investigation that could result in disciplinary action being taken against you. In addition, your status as an RICS candidate may be impacted including potential removal from the assessment process pending the outcome of the investigation.
Results and outcome
APC Candidate Guide – Page Reference: 15
You will receive your results after 5 working days (7 calendar days).
Pass result: if the outcome is a pass, steps and instructions will be detailed via email for payment, election and fees to MRICS.
Referral result: If the outcome is a referral, you will be sent a referral report within 21 days of the result explaining why the assessors reached this decision.