Membership

 

Grades of Membership

Choosing your supporters

Where to find your supporter

The first choice for anyone locating a supporter is their immediate surroundings. If you are working for a scientific or engineering company or department it is likely that others in your organisation will already be members of a professional body.

Many members do not use their designatory letters (such as "MInstP") after their names, so it helps if you actively tell people you are looking for someone with the appropriate membership.

Human resources departments sometimes keep records of who among the staff in your organisation holds professional membership so they may also be able to advise you.

Your supporter does not have to work for the same company as you - they could be clients, customers or collaborators. If you keep business cards have a look through them and see who has relevant letters after their name. This person will need to have known you for at least 2 years and be able to comment on your work.

If you have not been successful so far there are several options open to you.

Current members of the Institute, wherever in the world you are based, who are looking to upgrade their membership will have access to the Internet Register of Member, IROM. This can be found at http://members.iop.org, where you should log in and select My Member Searches on the left. Click here to do this now.

If you are not currently in membership you will not be able to access this information.

If after trying the suggestions listed you still cannot find a suitable supporter you will now need to choose someone who is not suitably qualified but who is familiar with your work. We aim to understand all our applicant's different circumstances so to help us understand your choice you will need to explain it in a short covering letter, which should accompany your application.

Suitable people without the necessary qualifications could be people such as:

  • Your head of department or director.
  • A person who is a senior member of another professional body (such as the IET)

 

If you are still having trouble locating a supporter please contact the membership department for advice.

Member

For this application you require only one supporter. This is a person you choose who can verify the information you have submitted to us. When choosing your supporter it will help to consider the following:

  • Your supporter should be a Member or Fellow of the Institute of Physics.
  • They must not be related to you.
  • They must have known you for at least one year.

 

If you cannot locate a suitable supporter you can substitute an alternative person, but you must explain your choice in a covering letter.

Fellow

Applications for Fellow need two supporters who you can choose for yourself. Please consider the following when choosing your supporters:

  • Both supporters should be fellows of the Institute of Physics.
  • Occasionally the panel will accept applications from people who have only one IOP Fellow supporting them. In this case the second supporter should be a Fellow of a suitable professional body and the reason for your choice should be explained in a covering letter.
  • One supporter should be outside your workplace. The panel request this to ensure independence of opinion.
  • Both supporters should have known you (or know of you) for at least two years.

 

Chartered Physicist

Applications for CPhys need two supporters who you can choose for yourself. Please consider the following options when choosing your supporters:

  • Both supporters should be Members or Fellows of the Institute of Physics and be Chartered Physicists.
  • One supporter should be outside your workplace. The panel request this to ensure independence of opinion.
  • Both supporters should have known you (or now of you) for at least one year.
  • Remember that you must not be related to either of your supporters.

 

Occasionally the panel will accept applications from people who have only one IOP Member supporting them. In the second case the supporter should be chartered through a suitable professional body and the reason for your choice should be explained in a covering letter.

Chartered Engineer

Applications for CEng need two supporters who you can choose for yourself. Please consider the following when choosing your supporters.

  • Both Supporters must be Chartered Engineers although they do not have to be chartered through or by members of the Institute of Physics.
  • One supporter should be outside your workplace. The panel request this to ensure independence of opinion.
  • Both supporters should have known you (or know of you) for at least one year.
  • Remember that you must not be related to either of your supporters.

 

Chartered Scientist

Applications for CSci need two supporters who you can choose for yourself. Please consider the following when choosing your supporters.

  • Both supporters should be Members or Fellows of the Institute of Physics and should be Chartered.
  • One supporter should be outside your workplace. The panel request this to ensure independence of opinion.
  • Both supporters should have known you (or know of you) for at least one year.
  • Remember that you must not be related to either of your supporters.

 

Occasionally the panel will accept applications from people who have only one IOP Member supporting them. In the second case the supporter should be chartered through a suitable professional body and the reason for your choice should be explained in a covering letter.

Teachers

We welcome teachers into our membership and understand that often you might be the only physicist working in your location. For this reason we will readily accept your head teacher or head of science as a supporter for your application, whether they are a member of a professional body or not.

Contact Details

Please send your questions to: Membership Department, Institute of Physics, 76 Portland Place, London, W1B 1NT, United Kingdom.

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Artwork | Image by Fred Swist