How to Apply

1) Practicing Membership - Is for qualified professionals who work with clients in clinical, gym and other client-based settings. (Professional Practice Liability Insurance is mandatory)

To apply you must:

• Have received a four-year degree in kinesiology from a post-secondary educational institution in Canada where the degree and institution meet the standard set by the BCAK and
• Be employed or wish to be employed or practice in British Columbia as a kinesiologist, and
• Be of good moral character and uphold the BCAK's Professional Standards, and
• Meet the work experience and continuing professional development standards set by the BCAK.

2) Non-Practicing Membership - Is for qualified professionals who work in healthcare management or other roles where the kinesiologist does not provide direct client care services. (Professional Practice Liability Insurance is not required or available through the BCAK member group insurance program)

To apply you must:

• Have received a four-year degree in kinesiology from a post-secondary educational institution in Canada where the degree and institution meet the standard set by the BCAK, and
• Not be employed or engaged in the clinical practice of kinesiology in British Columbia, and you meet the requirements of Practicing membership, but you do not wish to become a Practicing Member,
• Be of good moral character and uphold the BCAK's Professional Standards, and
• Meet the work experience and continuing professional development standards set by the BCAK.

Non-Practicing and Practicing membership applicants complete the same application process and must meet the same academic requirements.

To view the membership application requirements applicable to you, select the option below which applies to you.

I completed all of my kinesiology education (coursework/degrees) at Post-Secondary institutions in Canada, and

• I am applying within five (5) years after graduation Click here

If you are a current BCAK Academic-student member and have graduated or will soon be graduating (within 2 months) and want to become a Practicing member, a new and separate application process must be completed. This process requires a new user account. using a different email address from your student account. If you wish to use your current email account for your practicing membership, please call or email the office for details.

• I am applying five (5) or more years after graduation Click here

I completed some or all of my kinesiology education (coursework/degrees) at Post-Secondary institutions outside of Canada, and

• I am applying within five (5) years after graduation Click here

• I am applying five (5) or more years after graduation Click here

3) Academic Membership

Is for

(1) students enrolled in a full time Kinesiology undergraduate or graduate degree program, which is recognized by the BCAK, or

(2) Post-Secondary Kinesiology department faculty and staff working BC, which is recognized by the BCAK.

Notes:

• Academic members must be of good moral character, abide by the BCAK's Code of Ethics and not be working in a professional (practicing or non-practicing) capacity as a kinesiologist, other than in their capacity as University Faculty/Staff or if a student, are enrolled in a course practicum or Co-op work program.
• If you are a student and within 60 days of graduation we recommend you begin your Professional "Practicing" membership application. Call the office if you wish to discuss your options further.
• Academic-student membership is designed for students in the final 2 years of their bachelor's degree program - membership will provide access to job postings and other benefits to help get you started in your career.

To review the requirements for academic membership, select the option below which applies to you.

• I am a full time Kinesiology student at a BC Post-Secondary Educational Institution, but will not be graduating within 60 days Click Here
• I am employed (Faculty/staff) in a Kinesiology department at a BC Post-Secondary Institution Click here

Is for corporations, businesses or organizations who support the profession of kinesiology. This can include employers, continuing education service providers and other types of organizations.

Requirements

• Corporate affiliates must have a corporate email address, business address, valid business license and delegate a primary contact person.

Benefits

• Viewing access to the BCAK Job Postings Page.
• One free, annual job posting or course advertisement (e-blast) and discounted rates for subsequent advertisements.
• The option of receiving newsletters and e-blasts that deliver current information related to Kinesiology practice in British Columbia (contact the office after purchase of corporate affiliation for the form to register for association communications).

For information and additional information on establishing a corporate affiliation, please contact the BCAK at office@bcak.bc.ca.

(Note: Corporate affiliates are not members of the BCAK and are not entitled to the statutory benefits of membership under the Societies Act of BC)

Create a BCAK user account through the BCAK's website. Ensure the information you provide is accurate, as it will be used to contact you and verify your identity should you have questions. Once a user account is created, follow the links on the welcome page to begin your application.

Tips for creating a user account

• Name - enter your 'full legal name', as it appears on your government issued identification or transcripts. This ensures support documents received by the BCAK for your application are correctly allocated. There is the option to enter a 'preferred' first name if you use something other than your legal name on a day to day basis. (Do not capitalize every letter in your name.)
• Contact information - ensure all contact information entered is accurate and kept up to date. Mismatched or incorrect information can result in processing delays and longer response times. You are responsible for maintaining current contact information. You can complete this quickly and easily through your online account - after logging into your account through the BCAK website, select 'Edit Info" under the 'My Account' tab, and make the necessary changes. Tip - Use a personal email address that you check regularly, and not an email address provided by your employer or Post-Secondary institution you are attending/or attended for school. School and corporate accounts are controlled by the institution/employer, are not personal and can be closed by the organization after completing your education or terminating your employment.
• BCAK communication - The BCAK will communicate with you primarily by e-mail. If your email address is not correct or you no longer have access to the email on record, you will not receive important communications from the BCAK.

Note: Password Reset and Two Factor Authentication (2FA) - Some Microsoft Outlook email users report delays in receiving auto generated (password reset and 2FA authentication) emails from the BCAK. BCAK's client management system sends these emails, however Microsoft's email system frequently filters, delay, or blocks autogenerated messages as spam. It is the your responsibility to ensure emails from the bcak.bc.ca domain are added to the safe sender list so that important emails are received. This applies to:

• @live.ca/.com
• @hotmail.ca/.com
• @outlook.ca/.com

Click here to CREATE a user account

Once you have created a user account on the website, you can initiate the application process.

Professional (Practicing and Non-Practicing) Applicants

• An application fee must be paid by all Practicing and Non-practicing applicants. This fee does not include the membership dues, which are paid if your application is approved.
• You must have completed a minimum four (4) year undergraduate degree in kinesiology - 2 year associate and 3 year undergraduate degrees do not qualify for Practicing or Non-practicing membership.
• Processing timelines for membership application tasks/steps are estimated below:
  • Applicant degree (diploma) submission - online through the application portal or by email to the BCAK. Time required, < 1 hour
  • Applicant itemizes and sends course descriptions or list of links to course descriptions (applies to those who have completed directed studies courses in BC or elsewhere in Canada and for all internationally educated applicants). Time required, > 1 hour (to be provided by applicant during the document upload process).
  • Request official transcripts from your post-Secondary educational institution(s) - these are to be sent by the institution directly to the BCAK - Delivery time, Postal mail - 10 to 20 business days, Email or Fax - 1 to 3 business days (Internationally educated applicants see below)
  • Request your criminal record check through the Criminal Records Review Program - Time required, typically less than one hour. Delivery time, Online - 7 to 30 business days after payment; Manually - ~45 business days after payment

Internationally Educated Professional Membership Applicants

• Foreign Credential Evaluation - ICES comprehensive evaluation, or WES Course-by-Course + ICAP evaluation - Delivery time, approximately 7 Weeks following receipt of all required documents by the review agency.
• English Language Proficiency Exam (required for those not educated in the English language - Completion time, 1 to 2 months, not including your required preparation time, which will vary.
• Work Experience and/or BCAK Core Course Composite exam - Invigilation centre examination booking ~ 2 weeks, not including your required study/preparation time.

Academic Membership and Corporate Affiliate applicants

• A user account must be set up and the required documents must be submitted for review. No application fee applies. Payment of the membership fee is required prior to activation of membership.

Review Process Timelines

Following BCAK's receipt of the required supporting documents, your application will enter the review phase. The time required for review of your application will vary depending on category of membership, whether you completed your education in Canada or Internationally (whole or in part) and how long ago your education was completed.

Practicing/Non-Practicing Applicants

• Approximately 30 days for those who graduated in BC within the last 2 years
• Approximately 60 days for those who graduated elsewhere in Canada within the last 2 years
• Approximately 60 days for those who graduated more than 2 years ago and less than 5 years ago from a kinesiology program in Canada
• Approximately 60-90 days for all remaining applicants.

Academic Applicants

• Approximately 10 to 15 days

Once your application review is completed, you will receive notification by email as to the outcome of your review.

• If your application is approved, you will have one (1) month to complete payment of the membership dues to activate your membership. After one (1) month has elapsed, you will need to contact the BCAK office as additional requirements may apply.
• If your application is not approved, you will be informed what requirements have not been satisfied during the review and provided general information towards achieving the outstanding requirements when possible. You will have one year from the date you are sent notice of your application review findings to meet any additional requirements specified, after this time you will be required to meet any new requirements implemented since you first applied if changes have occurred. Please see Applicant FAQ - My Grades in the required courses and/or elective courses do not meet the BCAK's requirements, what are my options?

Practicing and Non-Practicing Member Guiding Documents

As a condition of obtaining membership in the BCAK you agree to abide by the standards set by the BCAK. You are expected to have read and understand these standards and guides related to professional conduct and are competent to perform the acts defined in the Essential Competencies of Practice.

Members who breach these standards can be suspended or expelled from the BCAK in accordance with the society's bylaws depending on the severity of the breach. If you have questions on the terminology or expectations, please contact the BCAK office for clarification.

• Guiding Documents Page

Academic Member Guiding Documents

• Code of Ethics
• Good Moral Character Guidelines

• All memberships expire on December 31st of the year to which the membership applies. (Memberships do not run for 365 days from your date of membership purchase)
• To continue as a member in good standing, your membership must be renewed by December 31st for the following year.
• If you allow your membership to expire (lapse), you will be subject to additional fees if you want to renew your membership at a later date (late renewal or reinstatement).
• If you allow your membership to lapse for 3 or more years, you will need to initiate a new membership application and meet the current standards.

Related links

Reinstatement Policy

Membership Fees