The IBMS assesses non-accredited qualifications against HCPC education standards to determine whether you will need to undertake supplementary education/top-up modules to meet HCPC standards of proficiency for biomedical scientists.

How you can apply

Before you apply, please read our guidance document and degree assessment FAQs.

For data protection purposes we have split the application into two distinct parts:
 

  • Part A
    should be a single PDF document containing your personal information (including proof of identification, degree certificate and academic transcript). The information you provide will remain within the IBMS database. Please see Part A of the application form for criteria and further details of what is required.
    Download Part A
  • Part B 
    should be a single PDF document containing the module content of your qualification(s) and the front cover page provided.

    This part is designed to be sent to external assessors or assessed internally, so module content must be visibly authenticated (printed on university headed paper or stamped by the university), presented in the order they appear in the corresponding academic transcript, orientated for easy viewing and clear.
    Download Part B 

    Please note: For reasons of confidentiality and data protection, personal information of the applicant is not made available to external assessors.

Only degrees completed within 10 years of application can be considered for a non-accredited degree assessment. Read further information on this decision here

You are advised to read both parts of the form and the accompanying guidance document carefully before making an application, we can only accept applications which adhere to the format stipulated. Any applications made which do not follow the required format will be returned.

Once completed, both parts of the application should be sent as two attachments to degreeassessment@ibms.org for a member of the team to process. If you cannot attach the documents to an email we suggest you use a secure online file sharing service such as WeTransfer.

Please note 
The degree assessment process can take a maximum of 12 weeks to fully complete, beginning from the time an application is confirmed that it contains all required information as part of the initial screening process.

Once the assessment process has been completed, you will receive a confirmation letter and a copy of the assessment review form indicating the areas of education you will need to cover in order to meet the HCPC’s academic requirements for registration.

To ensure a timely response to your documentation, please submit everything electronically to us via email to degreeassessment@ibms.org.

Arranging to take top-up modules

To arrange to take any required top-up modules, you must contact IBMS Accredited universities directly. 

Using the IBMS Accredited University Directory, you will find details for course tutors. When emailing them, please include a copy of our degree assessment outcome letter to see you, to check if their university offers top-up modules in the subjects required by your degree assessment.

Different universities will offer different modules structures and modes of study (full-time, part-time, online etc.) and you will need to identify the best university for your situation.

Please note
The universities set the prices for their top-up modules, the IBMS are not responsible for these. 

IBMS Certificate of Competence by Equivalence

The portfolio can be completed concurrently with the supplementary education once you have received your outcome letter provided by the IBMS, along with proof of your enrolment. However, your training officer will not be able to apply for your portfolio to be verified until you have completed all required top-up modules.

Upon completing supplementary education

When you have completed any recommended top-up modules, you will need a letter from the university stating the specific modules you have taken and confirming that these cover the required areas of supplementary education.

The letter will be used to evidence you have completed the necessary academic standards towards the IBMS Certificate of Competence by Equivalence and must be submitted to the IBMS, either with your application for the IBMS Registration Equivalence Portfolio, or by the time your training officer applies for your portfolio to be verified (a copy of this letter is usually included with an application for verification).