Canadian Educated Applicants - Mature/Experienced

Degree Requirement

a) 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 Board, or

b) educational qualifications from a post-secondary educational institution in Canada or another country that are deemed by the Board to be substantively equivalent to the requirements in (a)*, or

c) educational qualifications that are in part equivalent to a four-year degree in kinesiology* in addition to successful completion of an examination, and work experience, acceptable to the BCAK.

*Educational (Degree) Equivalency is at the discretion of and determined by the BCAK during the review process and takes into consideration; academic coursework, course grades, clinical work experience, additional non-formal practice education, certifications and other relevant information.

Academic course and grade requirements for membership are based on Units 1 to 3 of the BCAK's Essential Competencies of Practice. The required core courses cannot be be used to also meet the elective course requirements.

Core Course Requirement

Satisfactory completion of the seven (7) specified core courses listed below with a mark of 60% or greater/higher. A mark less than 60%, or a D grade, is not accepted for core courses.

• Human Anatomy
• Human Physiology
• Human Motor Control & Learning
• Biomechanics of Human Movement
• Exercise Physiology
• Advanced Exercise Prescription
• Research Methods

The core courses must include the specified course content and cannot be used twice to meet the elective course requirements.

and

Elective Course Requirement

Completion of a minimum of sixteen (16) additional elective courses in kinesiology, which meet the following grade and category requirements.

1. Elective course grade requirements - A passing grade is required for all 16 elective courses, with 14 of the 16 elective courses having a grade not less 60%. A maximum of 2 course grades between 55% and 59% (D) grades will be accepted towards the total 16 elective courses.
2. Categories:

• Special Populations, Disease Processes and Health Conditions - minimum one (1) course
• Professional Practice, Assessment and Interventions - minimum seven (7) courses
• Kinesiology Theory - Physiologic Processes and General Health - minimum five (5) courses
• Foundational Sciences - a maximum of three (3) courses can be applied to meet the minimum sixteen (16) electives, if the minimum is not achieved through the other combined categories. No minimum category requirement.

Full details on the elective categories and subtopics can be found here.

Attention BC University/College Applicants

If you have graduated from a BC Post-Secondary Institution, or you are currently enrolled in a program at a BC institution and would like to self-assess your current courses for acceptability, you can review the categorized list of core and electives courses for BC post-Secondary institutions to determine which course requirements have been satisfied and what additional coursework may be required. (Click here for the BC Universities/Colleges course tables).

Disclaimer: the courses listed are from the university calendars as of the release date of the table. If you have completed a course (or courses) that are not listed, please send the course syllabi for those courses which are not listed for BCAK review.

Submit the following documentation - mature/experienced applicants.

1 - Proof of Degree Completion

Application process for each kinesiology-related degree you have completed:

Submit a legible quality image (JPG or PDF) of each kinesiology related degree certificate(s) in the proper orientation showing all signatures and seals. Note: If your application has already been submitted, submit additional kinesiology-related degree documents directly to the BCAK by email (office@bcak.bc.ca).

2 - Proof of Program Completion - Official transcripts for all relevant degree programs and courses

Request your official transcript(s) from the post-secondary institution(s) and have them by the institution directly to the BCAK by email or postal mail. Refer to the Contact Us page for email and mailing addresses.

NOTE 1: Applicants may submit original sealed copies of official transcripts by postal mail provided they have not been opened and the University seal has not been tampered with. Unsealed transcripts received will not be accepted.

NOTE 2: Applicants who have completed multiple degrees or attended multiple post-secondary institutions are required to submit official transcripts from each institution where kinesiology related coursework was completed.

3 - Proof of Course Content

Provide course outlines/descriptions/syllabi for all available courses. This can be completed by

• Uploading official Post-Secondary Course Outlines to your application account, or
• Suppling PDF course descriptions (or a list of links to those descriptions) obtained through your educational institution's website, or
• Unofficial course descriptions prepared by the applicant*

NOTE 1: Official outlines and institutional descriptions are given more weight than applicant-written descriptions.
NOTE 2: Submit course outlines for the 7 core and other kinesiology related elective courses. (do not submit course outlines for topics not relevant to the academic course requirements).

NOTE 3: Course descriptions are required for all directed studies/seminar/special topics courses or a semester abroad was completed. These should be uploaded during the application process.

4-Proof of Good Moral Character

1- Request a Criminal Record Check (CRC) clearance letter from the BC Criminal Record Review Program (CRRP)

See How to Complete a Criminal Record Check

NOTE 1: BCAK does not accept CRC clearance letters from other jurisdictions or local police departments.

and

2 - A Declaration on Past Criminal Conviction and Regulatory Discipline - Complete, sign, scan and upload the document when submitting your application documents, or return the signed form by email

See Declaration on Past Criminal Convictions and Regulatory Discipline

5-Letters Required

Submit a Letter of Intent detailing the following

• Your reasons for seeking membership with BCAK and why it is important to you.
• The area(s) (see: Areas of Practice) in which you intend to practice, including details relating to your knowledge and skills outlined in the BCAK's Essential Competencies of Practice.
• Note: Letter(s) to be written in your own words (use of Artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as large language models (LLMs) to prepare the content are not accepted, with the exception of spelling and punctuation correction software commonly found in commercially available word processing programs).

Submit Professional Reference Letters

• Up to two (2) professional reference letters from persons you have known you for more than 1 year, but are not related to you, who can attest to your professional abilities, knowledge and interpersonal skills related to kinesiology practice.

Submit Employment Reference Letter(s)

• A minimum of one reference letter from an employer attesting to your professionalism, clinical knowledge/competency and communication skills is required.

Submit Volunteer/Mentorship Reference Letter

• If part of your work experience/history includes volunteer (unpaid) hours of work, and/or work where you provided unpaid mentorship, please provide a letter of reference for that unpaid work.

6 - Continuing Professional Development (CPD ) since Graduation

Requirement

Applicants must provide evidence of completion of 100 CPD credit hours over the previous 5 years (20 CPD credits per year) based on the BCAK CPD table. The requirement includes the additional requirement that fourty (40) of the one hundred (100) credits must be directly related to the intended area of practiced indicated in the letter of intent provided by you.

• If a Master's or Ph.D. degree in Kinesiology have been completed within the past 5 years, following completion of the undergraduate kinesiology degree, the educational coursework can be applied to meet the continuing education requirements provided the courses are not used to meet the primary academic requirements.
• Proof of CPD must be in the form of course receipts or certificates of achievement issued by the course/education provider(s) and include the date the coursework was completed, the number of contact hours and the course details.
• CPD activities must be within the scope of kinesiology practice.
• Proof should be submitted online through the application portal during the online application process. If not supplied at time of application, you will be informed of the requirement upon completion of the review and subsequently whether the materials satisfy the requirement.

Requirements

1) Type of Experience

Kinesiology practice experience must be within the scope of practice as defined by the BCAK and should support your competencies and ability to perform tasks typically related to professional practice. For additional information please refer to: Professional Membership Work Experience Criteria.

Note: the work experience must be in the role of a kinesiologist and must include working with a variety of populations (both healthy and unhealthy).

2) Volume/Hours of Experience

• a minimum of 1500 work hours in the field of kinesiology in the past 2 years, with 300 of those hours in Canada ( the 300 hours can be as an employee or intern under the direct supervision of another BCAK practicing or non-practicing member (who must have a minimum of 2 years full time experience), or
• a minimum of 5000 work hours in the field of kinesiology in the past 5 years, with 300 of those hours in Canada in the past 2 years (the 300 hours can be as an employee or intern under the direct supervision of another BCAK practicing or non-practicing member(who must have a minimum of 2 years full time experience) ).

3) Proof of Experience/Employment (Paid and/or unpaid)

• A notarized work history/experience declaration list must be submitted by the applicant,
• All experience entries, including hours completed, must be verifiable through employment, service, payroll, or letter of reference (applies to volunteer work only) by BCAK,
• Tax records may be considered for work completed as an independent contractor, in the absence of other verifiable proof,
• Volunteer work cannot account for more than 300 hours of the total required work experience,
• The BCAK at its sole discretion will determine whether the work experience meets its requirements.

Experience must be submitted on the following form and be notarized by a lawyer or notary public licensed to practice in the province of BC.

Contact the office for the Record of Work Experience form that must be completed and notarized as part of your application package.

Applicants who apply more than 5 years after graduation and who do not satisfy the work experience requirements must write and pass the BCAK's Core Course Composite Exam, or complete the core courses at a Post-secondary institution recognized by the BCAK.

• Prior to being accepted to write the exam, applicants must meet all the General Requirements previously indicated.

Examination details, policies, procedures and booking information are available on the Exam Information page.