APR national accreditation program is open to experienced practitioners who are members of CPRS. Successful candidates earn the APR (Accredited in Public Relations) designation.

The purpose of the accreditation process is to measure a member's experience and competence in the professional practice of public relations and to recognize this achievement. The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and CPRS have a reciprocal agreement recognizing each other's APR designation.

Candidates must satisfactorily complete a three-part accreditation examination and subscribe to the Code of Professional Standards before being designated as an Accredited Public Relations practitioner and authorized to use the "APR" designation.

WHO IS ELIGBLE?

To be eligible for accreditation, candidates must be members of the Canadian Public Relations Society and have been employed full time in public relations, with more than half of this time spent in public relations professional activities, for not less than five years.

BEFORE YOU APPLY

Before you begin the Accreditation Process, it is recommended a potential candidate:

1. View the APR handbook. The handbook describes in detail all the requirements for the accreditation process.
    
2. Review previous APR examination. Write the sample exam in three hours or less and have an accredited member 'grade' the exam using the examiner guidelines.
    
3. Browse the Evaluation Guidelines for Examiners
    
4. Review a previous APR work sample submissions by recent apr graduates.
    
5. The APR study, preparation and examination process takes almost one year to complete -- review the APR annual schedule.
    

It is recommended that you speak to the Accreditation Coordinator and CPRS (Toronto) Accredited Members who have recently attained their accreditation to understand the level of commitment, experience and knowledge required to pass the accreditation process.