1. What are the membership benefits of joining SPS?
Singapore Psychological Society is a professional society with aims to its aim the advancement of psychology as a science and as a profession in Singapore. View Member benefits
2. What is the difference between SPS Full membership and SRP membership?
The Singapore Registry of Psychologists is an official directory of Registered Psychologists within the Singapore Psychological Society.
SPS seeks to ensure the service quality of Registered Psychologists through the SRP, a regulatory system that promotes transparency, accountability and professionalism for the services provided.
Please view http://www.singaporepsychologicalsociety.org/register.cfm for more details.
One of the requirements of SRP membership is that the applicant has to be a Full member of SPS. The SRP is not a licensing board. Being an SRP member does not give license to practice as a psychologist but shows that the member has reached a certain standard of training and experience and is qualified to practice.
Only Full and SRP members, that meet the requirements to practice as a psychologist are
allowed the acryonm of MSPS (Member of Singapore Psychological Society).
3. How do I know whether I qualify for which category of membership?
Please view http://www.singaporepsychologicalsociety.org/membership.cfm
For the different membership categories as well as the requirements.
4. What is work experience in psychological field? Is counseling counted?
Work in a psychological field would be that the work encompasses the practice of psychology – be it research in a psychology related field or specific direct work with certain population groups.
Please note that counselling is a separate field from counselling Psychology. For counselling psychology, besides needing to show that psychological tools or methods are being used in the field of work, being supervised by a counselling psychologist is an essential.
5. I lack a Proposer and Seconder for my membership application. What should I do?
Look at the Full member directory on our website or contact your (local) university’s psychological department. You may even have friends or colleagues who are already Full members of Singapore Psychological Society.
Or alternatively, you may want to attend one of our social events or talks held by SPS and meet our committee and members.
6. What are certified true copies of academic transcripts? Who can certify them for me?
Certified true copies are photocopies of the actual transcripts that have been certified as true by a recognized individual of standing in society or the institution that awarded the transcript/ certificate.
Preferably the institute that awarded the transcript should certify the copies as true. Other examples of accepted persons/ institutions to certify the transcripts are lawyers, notary public and embassies.
7. How do I go about upgrading my Membership category?
To upgrade your membership, you will need to fill out the form for that category of membership you are applying for to update information.
The application form can be found here:
http://www.singaporepsychologicalsociety.org/membership.cfm
In addition, you should include a short letter/ note, to indicate that you
wish to upgrade your current <insert category> membership to <insert category> membership.
For those upgrading from Associate to Full membership, please include details on the nature of the work you did, which should be in the psychological field.
You will not need to pay the one-time processing fee again, but just the yearly membership fee if you are upgrading your membership.
10. How long does it take for my membership application to be approved?
It takes on average 2 to 3 months to process membership applications, once received, assuming that all papers are in order and the application is submitted complete.
Your application will be first reviewed by the membership subcommittee. After review, the application will then be recommended for approval to the next Council meeting.
Those with overseas qualifications may require a longer processing time.
11. I have a change in Name/ contact no./ address/ academic qualifications/ workplace/ etc…
Please email us at enquiries@singaporepsychologicalsociety.org
With the said changes. Please include your full name, membership category as well as IC no. For those with changes in academic qualifications or name, please provide certified true copies of the supporting documents to us.
Career/ study FAQ
1. Is there any difference between an arts degree in psychology and a social sciences degree in psychology?
There is no difference in the degrees. The title would depend on which faculty the psychology department is located in that particular university. To view the differences, looking at the individual modules provided by the courses would be a more accurate measure.
Advice to students looking at studying psychology overseas is to only take up courses that are accredited by the recognized psychological society of that country.
2. How do I know whether my overseas/ distant learning/ offshore programme degree is recognized/ eligible for membership?
Only overseas university courses that are accredited by recognized established psychological societies of that particular country are recognized by SPS. Australian Psychological Society (APS), British Psychological society (BPS) and American Psychological Association (APA) are such societies.
Hence for example, a degree programme offered by an Australian university that is accredited by the Australian Psychological Society will be recognized.
If you are still unsure whether your course of study is recognized for SPS membership, please email enquiries@singaporepsychologicalsociety.org with the details of your course.
- Title of the course
- Length of study, type (distance learning/ on-site/ full-time / part-time)
- The awarding university
- Any accredition by overseas psychological societies or collaboration with established overseas universities.
Please note that for student membership, we only accept minimum degree or degree-equilivant courses of study.
3. Does SPS accredit of local educational institutions?
SPS does not accredit any of the local degrees yet. However, currently we recognize the degree and post-grad studies provided by the major educational institutions in Singapore. Such as National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Institute of Management and Singapore Management University.
Membership Fees
How do I go about paying for my annual membership fees?
You may pay by internet banking. You may use any Internet Banking Account with any bank. For more details, please contact us.
What if I do not have an Internet Banking Account, can I pay by cash?
Please do not submit cash by post. SPS is managed by volunteer psychologists and does not have a premise.
Please contact us to discuss suitable alternatives.
How do can I check whether I have paid my membership fees this year?
You may email enquiries@singaporepsychologicalsociety.org to enquire.
I have lapsed in payment of my annual fees. Has my SPS membership lapsed?
Those who have lasped dues for maximum 2 consecutive years and would like to reinstate their membership will have to pay for the dues of the period of lapsed membership as well as the current year’s dues.
Members who have lapsed dues for more than 2 years will have their names taken off the membership register. Such lapsed members will have to reapply for membership and provide all supporting and updated documents required. It will be taken as a new membership application, and only requires payment of that year’s membership fee and processing fee.
What is ‘local’ and ‘overseas’ member as indicated in the fees?
‘Overseas’ refers to members whom are residing overseas, the additional cost is to cover postage of mails and updates that SPS sends to members. It does not have anything to do with whether the member is a Singaporean or non-Singaporean. For those residing overseas, this additional postage cost has to be included in the yearly membership fees.
:: Return to Top |
