Become a Member

How to Apply
Application and Membership Fees
Internationally Trained Applicants
College of Applied Biology Applicants - Labour Mobility

 

Membership Categories

Professional Biologist and Biologist in Training
Registered Technologist in Biology and Biological Technologist in Training
Registered Biologist and Registered Biologist in Training
Temporary Withdrawn and Associated Biologist
Student Biologist
Honorary Member

Registered Technologist in Biology (R.T. Biol.) and Biological Technologist in Training (B.T.T.)

 

The Biological Technologist in Training (B.T.T.) category designates individuals who fully meet the academic requirements for membership as a Registered Technologist, but do not have sufficient experience (i.e., two years) in the practice of biology. This membership category will be non regulated until such time as the Professional Biologist Regulation is amended. At that time, the BTT will be regulated and will have full title protection.

The Registered Technologist in Biology (R.T. Biol.) category designates individuals who fully meet the academic requirements and have sufficient experience (i.e., two years) in the practice of biology for registration as a Technologist. This membership category is non regulated until such time as the Professional Biologist Regulation is amended, or the incoming Professional Governance Act allows for it. At that time, the R.T.Biol. may be regulated and have full title protection, sign-off by technologists and authentication privileges may be pursued at that time.

Another source of essential information is the Registration Committee Handbook, which can be downloaded Here. This document has been updated as of July 2023.

 

Academic Requirements (for B.T.T. and R.T. Biol.)

  • Generally, a two-year degree/diploma (60 course credits) awarded by a Canadian post-secondary institution comprised of approximately a minimum of 900 hours of formal lecture or seminar time instruction (lab time is not included in total hours).
  • Must include at least eight biology/ecology courses, applied science courses, and at least one communications and one statistics course.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

To meet the academic requirement, you must complete a four-year (120 course credits) degree awarded by a Canadian post-secondary institution comprised of approximately 1800 hours of formal lecture or seminar time instruction (time in labs or lab courses are not counted in the total hours).The degree must have at least 25 science courses of which 15 are biology courses - a minimum of 4 of the bio courses must be at the senior level (i.e., third or fourth-year), in order to be approved.

Please view the BIT and P. Biol. academic requirements here.
Please visit step 5 of our How to Apply page for the answer to this question.
At this time, there is no requirement to be a B.T.T. prior to application as a R.T. Biol.
If you are in good standing (annual registration fees paid) with the ASPB, you do not need to resubmit your transcripts when reclassifying for education previously evaluated. Please email the ASPB at [email protected] and request that your previous transcripts are re-uploaded to your new application.

If you are submitting newly attained education or your M.Sc. or Ph.D. towards your experience for P. Biol., you must submit conferred transcripts.
The ASPB does not pre-screen applicants. You must create an account in order to apply to the ASPB and pay applicable application fees before your application will be officially assessed by the Registration Committee.
NAIT
-Biological Sciences
-Renewable Resources
-Lab and Research

Lethbridge College
-Fish and Wildlife
-Renewable Resource Management

Lakeland College at Vermillion
-Environmental Sciences Diploma
-Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation Major
-Conservation and Restoration Ecology (CARE)
There is no labor mobility agreement for techs or in training categories. As a P. Biol. or a RPBio, the New West Partnership Trade Agreement (NWPTA) allows for a recognition of eligibility for registration; it is not a transfer of registration. Registering in each organization creates two separate registrations – one in the ASPB and one in BC CAB - and each registration has separate fees paid to separate regulators.

Please click here for more information about the Labor Mobility Agreement and process for registration.
Please view our Become a Member and How to Apply pages for the answer to this question.
Application fees, including reclassification applications, are non-refundable and non-transferrable. Membership fees and late renewal fees are non-refundable and non-transferable. More information regarding fees can be found here.

 

Experience and Good Character Requirements (R.T. Biol. only)

  • A R.T.Biol. must have two years of experience in the previous five years earned after graduation.
  • An applicant will provide the names of three referees who are knowledgeable about the applicant’s professional experience as a technologist and their character and reputation. At least one referee should be a P. Biol. If a P. Biol. is not available, a professional from another recognized professional organization will be acceptable (P. Eng., P. Chem., etc.). Preferred referees include the applicant’s current employer, previous employer or supervisor. Only two letters of reference will be accepted from a current employer.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

You can download the Practice of Biology experience document here and review examples here.

The Professional Biologists Regulation defines “practice of biology” as: 
-Inventorying, surveying, sampling, interpreting, reporting, evaluating and advising on activities related to biological sciences;
-Preparing, administering and implementing plans or programs for managing biological resources;
-Conducting research activities related to biological sciences; and
-Teaching biological sciences at a university, college or technical institute.

Experience in biology may also be evidenced by:
-Preparing, administering and implementing policies, plans or programs for managing biological resources;
-Assessing compliance with Acts, regulations, directives, standards and guidelines related to biological sciences and environmental support systems;
-The conservation, decommissioning, reclamation, remediation and improvement of the environment.

Applicants are welcome to identify other areas of biological experience not included above in their applications.

The key is to demonstrate that your work was BIOLOGICAL. Work such as soil and water sampling, or managing environmental programs that focus on emissions inventories is not considered biological, unless you can explain your tasks as they relate to the interaction with living organisms. Your work should also include a range of the activities. For example, only doing inventory work does not provide a sufficient breadth of practice. However, designing, undertaking and preparing reports related to the inventory work would demonstrate a wider range of experience. 

If your role includes only part-time practice of biology,  provide a quantification of the experience you have in the practice of biology at each position. For example, “…as a proportion of time, 30% of my full-time hours were dedicated to the practice of biology”, or provide the number of days, weeks or months of full-time equivalents.
Your application to become a P.Biol. or R. Biol. is not the same thing as a job application! You must complete the application form that can be downloaded when you apply. The application must be worded to show exactly what you did to obtain the experience and how that work meets the requirements specified in our regulations. Do not say you participated in a project, but be specific as to your role. Use verbs like: collected, developed, designed, directed, enforced, handled, improved, implemented, observed, presented, reported, solved, and trained.

Common problems encountered with applications are:

1. The length of time, and when, the experience was gained are not clear. Avoid this problem by providing information about when, and for how long, you were involved in the tasks that you are using to provide evidence of your experience.

2. The role of the applicant in a specific task is unclear. For instance, the Registration Committee does not know if applicants who say they were “involved in an environmental impact assessment” did biological work, provided field survey logistical support, or did the report word processing. Therefore, clearly and specifically explain your role in work of a biological nature (e.g., “I designed the fisheries survey program, conducted the field survey, and wrote the report” instead of “I was involved in a fisheries survey.”)

3. The biological nature of the task is unclear. This is particularly problematic with candidates who use Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments as evidence of biological practice. These tasks usually do not include a substantive component of biological practice. Clearly describe how biological practice was involved. This must go beyond comparing analytical results to established standards.
Your references should be familiar with your work in the field of biological sciences. At least one of them must be a member of a regulated professional association (P.Eng., P.Chem.,), with a strong preference for a P.Biol. One of your references should be from your current or past supervisor, and at least one reference must be from someone outside your current place of work.
The ASPB will send the reference a form which asks them for their contact information, their professional credentials (e.g., P.Biol., PAg, RPF) how long and in what capacity they have known you, their knowledge about your work, and any comments they wish to make about your character. When completed, the reference submits the form and it is sent electronically back to the ASPB office.
References are submitted through on the online application system. Each reference will receive an email with the link to submit, and reference request reminders are sent every two weeks until the reference is submitted. Please be aware, your references email addresses may have filtering software applied to it which may prevent the email from being delivered or filter the reference request email into spam or trash inboxes. They may need to consult with an IT department (or check their filters) for the email to be successfully delivered. Reference requests are sent from the email address [email protected].

 

How to Apply

For information on the application process and step-by-step instructions of how to apply, please click here.