IStructE · Resources
Which route applies to me?
Prompts that turn your situation into the questions you should be asking IStructE — not an eligibility decision.
Who this is for:Candidates at any stage
Nothing on this site can tell you which grade you are eligible for. What it can do is tell you what to ask, and what to settle first.
Why this is not a decision tool
Eligibility depends on your specific qualification, your specific experience and the Institution's assessment of both. Those are determinations only IStructE makes, and a website that produced an answer would be misleading you in a way that could cost you a year.
So this asks four questions and returns the things you should establish, in writing, before planning anything else.
The order that saves the most time
- 01Settle the academic question. It is the slowest step and everything else is planned around it. Ask IStructE, get it in writing, keep it.
- 02Confirm the grade you are seeking. The minimum standards are held per grade and they differ at one objective.
- 03Choose your IPD route deliberately, rather than drifting into the one your employer happens to offer.
- 04Then plan the portfolio, the interview and the examination around a date.
Candidates who reverse the first and last of those are the ones who discover a problem six weeks before an application deadline.
Which route applies to me?
A set of prompts, not a decision. Only IStructE determines your eligibility and your grade, and this tool deliberately produces questions to ask rather than an answer.
What to take to IStructE
- Settle the academic question first, in writing, with IStructE. It is the slowest part of the process and everything else is planned around it.
This tool does not determine your route, your grade or your eligibility, and nothing it says overrides what IStructE tells you.
Everything here is stored in this browser only. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is analysed, and clearing your browser data will delete it — so export anything you want to keep.
Where am I up to?
A stock-take across the whole process. It records what you say about your own preparation — it does not assess you and it cannot tell you whether to apply.
Academic
IPD
Objectives
Portfolio
Interview
Examination
Ticking every box here does not mean you are ready, and leaving some unticked does not mean you are not. Only IStructE decides whether an application proceeds, and only your reviewers decide whether you have met the Core Objectives. The portfolio must be ready at the point you apply — the limit is 300 pages.
Everything here is stored in this browser only. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is analysed, and clearing your browser data will delete it — so export anything you want to keep.
What to put in writing to IStructE
Which grade am I eligible to apply for, given my qualifications?
It determines the minimum standards you are assessed against and which examination you sit.
Does my qualification meet the academic requirement for that grade?
This is the slowest step in the whole process and everything else is planned around the answer.
If not, does further learning or the Technical Report Route apply to me?
The two suit different shortfalls, and only the Institution can say which fits yours.
Does my practice fit the Research and Development route?
It changes where your evidence comes from, so it is worth knowing years before you submit.
Related pages and tools
- How it worksThe Professional Review has two parts, and they assess different things. This is how the whole process fits together.
- Academic requirementsWhat the academic requirement is for, the four ways of satisfying it, and why this is the part to settle before anything else.
- The three routesIndividually managed, comparable accredited training records, or retrospectively collated — how to choose.
- Technical Report RouteAn alternative way to satisfy the academic requirement for candidates whose qualifications fall short — and why no limit for it is published here.