Phase 2 · Settle your academic base
Academic assessment
How an unaccredited or overseas qualification is assessed individually, and what to prepare.
Who this is for:Candidates at any stage
Where a qualification is not accredited, or was awarded outside the UK and is not covered by a recognition arrangement, IStructE can assess it individually against the requirement for a stated grade.
What is actually being assessed
What you studied — not what your certificate is called.
That makes the transcript the important document, not the degree certificate. Module titles, credit weightings, the level of study, and the balance between engineering science, structural analysis, design and the wider professional content are what an assessor works from.
It is worth being honest with yourself about the shape of your degree here. A civil engineering degree with one structures module in the final year is a different proposition from a structural engineering degree, and the assessment will notice.
When this is not the right route
If you hold no academic qualifications at all, an individual assessment has nothing to assess. That situation is what the Technical Report Route exists for.
If you are already registered with another Engineering Council licensed institution, or professionally qualified under a recognition agreement, ask about recognition before paying for an assessment.
Preparing an academic assessment
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Questions to ask yourself
Can I still get my transcript?
Institutions merge, close and change systems. Requesting it years later is much harder than requesting it now, even if you do not need it yet.
Have I studied anything since that would count?
Postgraduate modules and structured employer programmes can be relevant, and candidates routinely forget to mention them.
Am I applying for the right grade?
An assessment is against a stated level. Getting that wrong means doing it twice.
Related pages and tools
- Academic requirementsWhat the academic requirement is for, the four ways of satisfying it, and why this is the part to settle before anything else.
- Checking your degreeWhat accreditation actually means, why it is course-and-year specific, and how to establish your own position.
- Further learningClosing the gap between an accredited qualification and the level required, without treating it as a formality.
- Recognition routesIf you are already registered or professionally qualified elsewhere, you may join the process at a different point.