Membership Categories

Note: APB membership is as per calendar year and is valid until December 31.

Accredited Membership: $85

An Accredited Member is defined as an individual who is a member in good standing of a Professional Accrediting Organization for biologists in Canada, specifically: College of Applied Biology (CAB) and The Alberta Society of Professional Biologists)”.

Accredited Members have voting rights on APB governance and policy.

Join as an Accredited Member using the online form or by downloading a printable 'Renewal' form and sending it to the APB office with payment.

Affiliate Membership: Student $25/General $85

The Affiliate Membership category is open to any person who has an interest in biology. No formal qualifications in biology are required. 

Affiliate members cannot vote on APB business or serve on the APB Board of Directors.However, they can enjoy other membership benefits offered by the Association as may be applicable, such as the mentorship program.

Membership requirements

1. Applicants must be at least 18 years of age.
2. Only an individual can apply for an APB membership.  An organization or company cannot become a member of the APB.
3. Affiliate membership applicants must sign a waiver, affirming that they will not represent themselves as a professional biologist or professional biology practitioner in any jurisdiction where legislation prohibits such representation, unless they have the required professional accreditation from an authorized accrediting organization, such as, in the case of the Province of British Columbia, the College of Applied Biology.

To join as an Affiliate Member download a printable 'Renewal' form and send it to the APB office with payment.

Fellow Membership: $75

The Directors may, upon written nomination by seven (7) or more regular members of the Association in good standing, approve the designation of an accredited member who is not a retired member, to Fellow in Association of Professional Biology, if the member has:  significant professional biology experience; exemplified the application of the purposes of the Association; and  made outstanding contributions to Biology.”

Emeritus (Retired) Membership:  Annual $50/Permanent $200

A member may request to become an emeritus if that member is 65 years of age or older; and as been a regular member of the Association for 25 or more continuous years (unless extenuating circumstances can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Directors) or was assigned the ‘Retired member’ status by a Professional Accrediting Organization for biologists in Canada (e.g., CAB or ASPB)

Emeritus members may join annually, or they may choose to purchase a long-term membership.  The ‘Emeritus-Permanent’ membership option allows retired members to do a one-time lump payment of $200 instead of renewing their membership every year.

To join as an Emeritus (Retired) Member download a printable 'Renewal' form and send it to the APB office with payment.

Life Membership and Honorary Membership

The Directors may, upon written nomination by five (5) or more regular members of the Association in good standing, approve the designation of a regular member to “Life Member” if the member has made an exemplary contribution to professional biology.

The difference between a Life Membership and an Honorary Membership is who would fit in this category. An honorary member might not be a biologist and could be a journalist, teacher, politician, or an author, for example. This category is for people who have done exceptional service to professional biology without having gone through the educational route or training that a biologist would normally follow.