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Phase 1 · Get your bearings

Chartered Member — MIStructE

What Chartered Membership requires, what the ten Core Objectives are assessed at, and what the title actually depends on.

Who this is for:Chartered Member candidates ·Candidates at any stage

Chartered Membership of the Institution of Structural Engineers is earned by satisfying both parts of the Professional Review: the interview and the examination.

The grades, and the route between two of themIncorporated Member and Chartered Member are separate grades, each with its own interview and examination. Associate is elected on passing the Chartered Member interview where the Associate academic requirement is met, without an examination. An Incorporated Member progressing to Chartered Membership sits the supplementary examination rather than the full Chartered paper.THREE GRADESIMIStructEIncorporated Member. Its own interview and itsown examination — a full grade, not a lesserChartered Membership.MIStructEChartered Member. The Professional ReviewInterview and the Chartered MembershipExamination.AIStructE CEngAssociate. Elected on passing the CharteredMember interview where the Associateacademic requirement is satisfied — theexamination rules do not apply.IM to CM progressionAn Incorporated Member moving to Chartered Membership sits the IM–CM supplementary examination — 80 marks over 3½ hours — rather than the full Charteredpaper.
Incorporated Member and Chartered Member are separate grades. The supplementary examination is the bridge between them.

What is required

Institution of Structural Engineers

  • IPD evidenced against the ten Core Objectives, each to its minimum standard.
  • A portfolio of work, submitted to both reviewers before the interview.
  • A two-page experience report and an IPD final report form for each of the ten objectives.
  • A supporter who is a Fellow or Member of the Institution, named at the initial application.
  • The Professional Review Interview, and the Chartered Membership Examination.
Core Objectives
10Compulsory, and all ten are assessed at the interview.
Portfolio maximum length
300pages, one PDFIncluding drawings, sketches and calculations. Exceeding it may mean your reviewers decline to interview you.
Experience report
2pagesYour roles and responsibilities over the course of your career.
Supporter
FIStructE or MIStructEA supporter confirms you are a fit and proper person to become a Member — not that you are qualified. They are named at the initial application and may be contacted.

From IPD Guidance — Chartered Member, Institution of Structural Engineers.

What the standards actually ask for

The ten Core Objectives are each set to a minimum standard of Knowledge, Experience or Ability. Those words have defined meanings, and they are not a scale of enthusiasm:

At Chartered Member level, four objectives are set at Ability: Communication, Concept Creation and Design, Analysis and Sizing, and Materials. Four are set at Experience, and two at Knowledge. The Core Objectives library sets out each one.

The practical consequence is that your evidence has to be worded to the right level. The guidance is direct about this: if an objective is set at Ability, do not describe your work using the language of experience or knowledge.

Fictional example

The same project, written at two levels

Fictional example — a multi-storey frame, structural engineer

Weaker

I have experience of concept design. I worked on the structural scheme for a six-storey office building, where the team developed a reinforced-concrete frame with a transfer structure at first floor.

Stronger

I produced the structural concept for a six-storey office. The architect's column-free ground floor forced a transfer at first floor, and I compared a transfer beam against a storey-deep truss. I sized both, found the truss removed the 1.4 m downstand that was compromising the plant zone, and recommended it. I set the stability strategy — a single core, with the floor plate acting as a diaphragm — and I advised the project architect on where the core could and could not move.

Why — The second version is written at Ability: work performed without supervision, with the candidate advising others. The first is written at Experience, and would not meet the Chartered standard for this objective — quite apart from being a description of what a team did.

Engineering Council registration

Chartered Membership and registration as a Chartered Engineer are related but separate. The Institution is licensed by the Engineering Council to assess and register engineers against UK-SPEC; it does so through its own Core Objectives. The academic requirement for CEng registration is set by the Engineering Council, which is why the academic base has to be settled before the rest of the process is worth planning.

Confirm your own position with IStructE — the academic requirement, and whether an assessment or an alternative route applies to you, are decisions only the Institution can make.

Related pages and tools

Read the official guidance