Phase 1 · Get your bearings
Incorporated-Member — IMIStructE
What Incorporated Membership represents, and the one place where its Core Objective standards differ from Chartered.
Who this is for:Incorporated-Member candidates ·Candidates at any stage
Incorporated Membership is a full professional grade with its own Professional Review — the same ten Core Objectives, the same portfolio discipline, the same two-part structure of interview and examination.
What is required
Institution of Structural Engineers
- IPD evidenced against the same ten Core Objectives, each to its minimum standard for Incorporated-Member.
- A portfolio of work on the same terms as the Chartered route.
- A two-page experience report and an IPD final report form for each objective.
- The Professional Review Interview, and the Incorporated-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.
From IPD Guidance — Incorporated-Member, Institution of Structural Engineers.
Where the standards differ from Chartered
Less than most people expect, and the difference is worth knowing precisely.
Reading the two current IPD guidance documents side by side, the minimum standards are identical for nine of the ten Core Objectives. The single difference is Core Objective 3, Concept Creation and Design:
- Incorporated-Member requires Experience — the subject performed independently or under supervision.
- Chartered Member requires Ability — performed without supervision, and competent to advise others.
That is the formal difference in the standards. It is not the whole difference between the grades — the examinations differ, and the depth expected in questioning differs — but it is what the two documents actually say, and it is more specific than the general impressions that circulate.
The two grades, side by side
| Incorporated-Member | Chartered Member | |
|---|---|---|
| Core Objectives | The same ten | The same ten |
| Concept and design | Experience | Ability |
| Every other objective | Identical standards | Identical standards |
| Portfolio | Same format and limits | Same format and limits |
| Interview | Same format | Same format |
| Examination | Incorporated-Membership Examination | Chartered Membership Examination |
| Progression | A supplementary examination route exists to Chartered | — |
Compiled by reading the current Incorporated-Member and Chartered Member IPD guidance side by side. Confirm your own position with IStructE.
Related pages and tools
- Chartered MemberWhat Chartered Membership requires, what the ten Core Objectives are assessed at, and what the title actually depends on.
- IM to CMThe progression route, what it adds, and the supplementary examination.
- Core ObjectivesWhat IStructE assesses, what Knowledge, Experience and Ability actually mean, and where the two grades differ.
- Incorporated examOne scheme rather than two, and a different balance of marks across calculations and drawings.
- The PRIWhat the interview is for, who conducts it, how long it lasts, and what it is your job to demonstrate.