Test Guidance for Applicants

An essential part of the Chartership application is for you to select the general area of geosciences/science for which you are claiming competency. This specialism is then assessed against the required criteria at interview. Please select from the dropdown list in the application form, or contact chartership@geolsoc.org.uk if you need further advice about how best to align your skills.

Fellowship of the Geological Society encompasses a very broad range of geoscience, including a wide cross-section of geoscience themes, specialist groups and areas of expertise. The primary areas of expertise are shown in the list below.

• Academic Research and Teaching
• Contaminated Land
• Engineering Geology and Geotechnics
• Geoenvironment and Waste Management
• Geophysics
• Ground/Site Investigations
• Hydrogeology
• IT and Data Management
• Mining, Quarrying and Mineral Exploration
• Natural Hazards
• Oil and Gas
• and many others

Please note you are applying to become Chartered as a Geologist or Scientist but only for the specialism in which you practise and are competent (as nominated in your application form) and not geoscience or science as a whole. Should you start working outside your area of competence you will need to be supervised by a competent person or gain competency in that area through additional training. Because you must demonstrate competency in any of each specialism nominated in your application, the Society recommends recording a maximum of two specialisms.

Although the interview may focus strongly on meeting competency in the designated specialism (criteria I, ii and vii for CGeol, and criteria A and D for CSci), the other professional competencies are equally important and must be addressed within your application. These will also be discussed and assessed in the interview.

Looking for tailored Chartership guidance for your sector or industry? 

See our helpful resources section for more information.

You need one Supporter who is a Chartered Geologist or Chartered Scientist, matching your application. Other professional qualifications may be accepted, but must be agreed in advance with the Chartership Officer.

Your Supporter should have current, first-hand knowledge of your professional experience over the last three years.

If your Supporter does not meet both criteria, you will also need to provide a CGeol/CSci Mentor so that both criteria are covered. Although the Society does not hold a formal list of Mentors, our LinkedIn Mentors Group will help you to make contacts who can support you. Regional Groups are also a great place to seek out a Supporter for your application as well as providing opportunities for CPD through their events.

Things to consider

Remember that validation as a Chartered Geologist or Chartered Scientist is based on your geological or scientific competencies, and not on your ability to do your job.

Your Supporter should be more than just a referee. They should be able to advise you on the preparation and focus of your application. Therefore, involve your Supporter early and discuss your application with them.

Your Supporter's statement will address each of the competency criteria, and you should ensure they have seen the entire application prior to submission.

Most of us benefit from having someone with whom we can discuss our aims, plans and problems. A mentor can offer:

• A different perspective
• Challenges based on experience
• Encouragement
• Help getting motivated when going through a tough patch
• Help with setting goals and defining how to achieve them

Fellows who have used a mentor in the past have found that the relationship has:

• Enhanced their training and career development
• Significantly influenced their attitudes and professional outlook
• Guided them round major procedural obstacles and pitfalls
• Improved their results by challenging their assumptions
• Enhanced their likelihood of a successful Chartership Application

How to acquire a Mentor

• Seek mentoring advice from a senior work colleague. If your employer already has a GSL Accredited Training Plan, they will have a mentor assigned to work with employees
• Join a Geological Society Regional Group as well as the Early Career Network and seek help from other CGeol and CSci members; as well as opportunities for CPD through their events
• Join the Chartership Mentor Group on LinkedIn and seek help from existing members

Our Talk and Q&A sessions outline the benefits of Chartership, the required competencies and the application process. There is also a chance to ask questions about your application.

These events are interactive and are therefore not recorded.

From time to time, our Regional Groups offer a Chartership event, which is usually held in-person with an option to attend online. Contact your Regional Group for further details on these events.

If your organisation has several staff looking to work towards Chartership in the next 12-18 months please contact us regarding the possibility of an online Chartership Q&A event at chartership@geolsoc.org.uk.

Chartership Mentor Group on LinkedIn - find a mentor, ask questions, and to get advice on the Chartership process and your application.

Early Career Network - for those in the first 10 years of their career

Regional Group - for support and advice

The online form includes applicant details, competency area selection, education record and employment/experience history.

In the Competency Overview section, address each criterion in turn to describe how you fulfil the requirements (maximum 3,000 characters for each). Please cross-reference to the Professional Report and Supporting Documents. To learn more about the competency requirements for both CGeol and CSci refer to the guidance notes and regulations.

We recommend you work offline whilst drafting these sections, before updating the online form.

The Professional Report should detail your professional development and focus on the relevant Chartership competency criteria being applied for. You should describe how and when you gained the necessary experience and skills to demonstrate you have the competencies needed to become Chartered. Think of this as an expanded CV which shows how you have developed the different competencies over time as you have gained professional experience.

You should cross-reference this against both the competency criteria, as well as the Supporting Documents in order to back up your evidence. Each part of the professional report should be signed off by the relevant person to confirm your statements. It is your responsibility to explain what is involved to those who are not familiar with the process.

Please note the Professional Report should not exceed 2,000 words. The Assessors will not review beyond this limit.

For those pursuing the 20+ years route to Chartership, you can submit a 'career account' instead of a professional report.

Professional reports for standard Chartership applicants and career accounts for 20+ years Chartership applicants can be found on the Chartership resources page under 'What to include in your application'.

You will need to upload your completed professional report or career account into the online application form.

A record of CPD (Continuing Professional Development) activities for at least the last three years must be included with your application in the CPD section of the application.

Please use the Society's definitions of the various CPD categories. Your record must illustrate your aims and objectives for your professional development each year by using the Plan-Act-Reflect cycle.

The record may be produced using the Society's logbook, although a company scheme record or your own spreadsheet is acceptable provided it meets the above criteria. Note that all CPD must demonstrate learning. It is not intended to capture routine day-to-day professional practice activity. Minimum hours and more details about CPD can be found on the CPD webpage.

Remember, all Geological Society Training Courses can be logged as formal learning towards Chartership. Members can access preferential rates of up to 50% off Training Courses.

Please read the guidance notes and regulations before commencing your online application.

Further guidance about Supporting Documents, with suggestions from our experienced Chartership Assessors, is available by following the link below to the Chartership resources page.

For 20+ candidates please see the relevant guidance notes for details about Supporting Documents.

Supporter Statement

Please provide your Supporter details in the application form (including their Chartership designation). Once you have completed your application online you will receive a copy of your application along with instructions for your Supporter to complete the online Supporter's statement form. Please send this to your Supporter so that they can submit their statement directly to the Society.

You are able to include details for more than one Supporter if needed.

Please make sure that the Supporter has read your completed application. They should support you throughout the application process and review each part of your application before it is submitted.

It is your responsibility to ensure that the Supporter statement is sent to the Society as close to the submission date as possible.

The deadline for the supporter statement submission is 14 days after the application submission deadline.

Online validation interviews take place four times a year via, usually in March, May/June, September and November. Interview dates are confirmed once the Assessors have reviewed your application.

Remaining available slots are indicated at the top of the online application form and are updated as the deadline approaches. Submissions will be processed on a first-come-first-served basis, so please submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. If your application documents do not meet all the requirements as set out by the declarations made by you on your online form, we reserve the right to postpone your application to a later date.

Your completed application forms and all supporting documentation must be sent in full using our online Chartership Application Form on or before the corresponding application deadline date.

After your interview, you will be notified of the outcome by email, immediately after the Council meeting, which is the Election date.

Chartership Assessors will determine if you have the necessary geoscience/science knowledge and Chartership competencies for the area of expertise in which you work. They will look to see that you have demonstrated the use of these competencies in the design and execution of projects, including the collection of data and their use in the development of predictive models and problem solving.

When your Assessors have reviewed your application, we will let you know if your application is ready to progress to the validation interview. We will then contact you to arrange the time and date of your interview, which is usually completed online, and introduce you to your Assessors. Please do not book time off until we have confirmed that your interview will go ahead. If you think there might be a conflict of interest, contact the Chartership Officer promptly. The Chartership Officer will ensure that the conflict is resolved either by changing the interviewer(s) or through discussion.

Postponed applications

Having assessed your documentation, if the Assessors determine that it lacks sufficient evidence of your fulfilment of the Chartership competencies, they will request some additional information before agreeing to interview. In some cases, they may then formally postpone the interview and provide more detailed feedback on what is needed to improve your application in future. This may be because the existing documents do not sufficiently demonstrate the Chartership competency criteria, or because they consider that you need to gain further professional experience before achieving all the competencies needed for Chartered status. Such requests are sent by the Chartership Officer on behalf of the Assessors, so a prompt response will avoid any delays in moving forward to interview.

The feedback will be in the form of an 'Assessor Feedback Response Summary Sheet' which you will fill out together with your Assessor.

If your application is delayed in progressing to interview stage, this is likely to delay your assessment and subsequent Chartership election date, which are aligned with the Council meetings. However, it is done to ensure that your best case for Chartership is made and all feedback aims to be helpful and constructive.

Following the interview the Assessors will complete a post-interview report.

The report provides comments on your performance with respect to each of the Chartership competency criteria. For details of the criteria see the relevant guidance notes and regulations. The Assessors will use their experience and training as Chartership assessors, including their professional judgement, to determine whether you have adequately fulfilled the Chartership criteria. In their report, they will provide feedback for your continued future professional development.

The recommendation

The report will have one of three recommendations: 'Accept', 'Defer'; or (exceptionally) 'Accept subject to' further information.

Accept

If your application is recommended for acceptance you will be elected to CGeol or CSci at the next Council meeting. 

You will be informed of the outcome immediately after the Council meeting by email letter attachment from the Society's President. This will include feedback from the Chartership Officer that contains the comments and advice from the Assessors.

Defer

If the recommendation is to defer your application you will be informed of this immediately following the Council meeting.

Your application and the Assessors' reports will then be sent to two other Assessors for review. Once the review is completed you will receive a letter from the Chair of the Professional and Chartership Committee with the final decision. If the decision is upheld, the application will be deemed to have been unsuccessful on this occasion. The decision letter will contain an explanation of the Assessors' reasons for their recommendation, and advice on how you might take things forward to a further application.

This review will be completed as soon as possible but may take several weeks to be completed thoroughly and following due process.

It is very important that unsuccessful applicants discuss with their Supporter and/or Mentor the advice provided by the Assessors in order to take on board the feedback and maximise their chances of success in a further application.

Accept subject to

The 'Accept subject to' recommendation is made if the Assessors believe your application is missing some information that you already have and which would justify your acceptance. You will be informed of what is required and will need to produce the information within a short period of time (maximum 4 weeks following the interview).

Please note that this may delay your election date.

In all instances the Chartership Officer will be happy to discuss your application and the advice provided by the Assessors.