In the United Kingdom, a Chartered Engineer is an Engineer registered with
the Engineering Council. Contemporary Chartered Engineers are degree-qualified
and have gained professional competencies through training and
monitored professional practice experience. This is a peer reviewed
process. The formation process of a Chartered Engineer generally consists of
obtaining an accredited Master of Engineering degree, or BEng plus MSc or
City and Guilds Post Graduate Diploma in an engineering discipline, and a minimum
of four years of professional post graduate experience. The title Chartered
Engineer is protected by civil law and is a terminal qualification in
engineering. The Engineering Council regulates professional engineering
titles in the UK. With more than 180,000 registrants from many countries,
designation as a Chartered Engineer is one of the most recognisable
international engineering qualifications.
Qualifications required for registration According to the Engineering Council,
Chartered Engineers "are characterised by their ability to develop appropriate
solutions to engineering problems, using new or existing technologies, through
innovation, creativity and change. They might develop and apply new
technologies, promote advanced designs and design methods, introduce new and
more efficient production techniques, marketing and construction concepts,
pioneer new engineering services and management methods. Chartered Engineers
are variously engaged in technical and commercial leadership and possess
interpersonal skills." CEng requirements
Designation as a PE in the U.S. or PEng in Canada is a licence to practice based
upon core qualification elements of technical practice and education. CEng
is an international qualification brand and a benchmark. To receive designation
as a CEng, it is required in addition to engineering education on MEng level or
equivalent UKSPEC training and experience to also demonstrate
significant technical and commercial leadership and management competencies.
For registration as a CEng, candidates must demonstrate that they are
professionally competent through education, training and professional
practice. Although many current Chartered Engineers have Higher National
Certificates and Diplomas, honours degrees in engineering, science or
mathematics, since 1997 it has been necessary to demonstrate further
learning most commonly by completion of a four or five-year or five or six-year
integrated MEng degree, or by gaining an appropriate master's degree following
completion of a three or four-year or four or five-year honours baccalaureate
degree in engineering or a cognate subject. The details of these
engineering degrees are available on the Engineering Council website.
Candidates are also required to demonstrate an appropriate level of
professional competence to practice. This is accomplished through evidence
gained from years of professional development, and by a professional
review, interview and technical presentation in front of a professional
board. The candidate's competence is further assessed during the final stage
of assessment, conducted by two Chartered Engineers and a chairperson. A
full description of the requirements for registration appears at the Engineering
Council's website. Overall, it takes a minimum of eight years — but most often
at least 10 years — of university education and postgraduate training to
achieve the Chartered Engineer qualification. Chartered Engineers are
recognised in Europe as regulated professions, by the Directive 2005/36.
Designatory lettering Chartered Engineers are entitled to use
the suffix 'CEng' after names as a means of emphasising their status with the
Engineering Council. They can also make use of a logo, which is intended
primarily for use in correspondence and on business cards. This is restricted to
use by Engineering Council registrants only, through approval by the patent
office for its registration as a certification mark. This is written
after honours, decorations and academic/university, but before letters
denoting membership of professional engineering institutions. When a
Chartered Engineer has more than one institution membership conferring
designatory letters, the institution through which the holder is registered
as a Chartered Engineer appears immediately after CEng, with other
memberships following in order of the institution's foundation dates.
International equivalence The level of competence required for
registration as a Chartered Engineer in the U.K. is comparable to many
continental European countries that require masters-level education for
registration as a professional Engineer. Since the Engineering Council moved to
undergraduate masters-level and postgraduate Master of Science
qualifications required for registration, there have been
inconsistencies in the Washington Accord agreement on the recognition of academic
qualifications. MEng degrees in Canada for example take 1–2 years to complete
on top of a 4-year Bachelor of Engineering degree for a total of 5–6
years versus 4–5 years in the UK. Chartered Engineers are entitled to
register through the European Federation of National Engineering Associations as
a European Engineer and use the pre-nominal of EUR ING.
Bodies qualified to register Chartered Engineers
The body that maintains the UK's register of Chartered Engineers is the
Engineering Council. Authority to register Chartered Engineers is
delegated to licensed member institutions:
Institute of Acoustics Royal Aeronautical Society
Institution of Agricultural Engineers British Computer Society
Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers
Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation
Institute of Cast Metals Engineers Institution of Chemical Engineers
Institution of Civil Engineers Energy Institute
Institution of Engineering and Technology
Institution of Engineering Designers Society of Environmental Engineers
Institute of Explosive Engineers Institution of Fire Engineers
Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers
Institute of Healthcare Engineering and Estate Management
Institution of Lighting Professionals Institute of Marine Engineering, Science
and Technology Institute of Materials, Minerals and
Mining Institute of Measurement and Control
Institution of Mechanical Engineers Royal Institution of Naval Architects
British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing
Institution of Nuclear Engineers Society of Operations Engineers
Institute of Physics Institute of Physics and Engineering in
Medicine Institution of Railway Signal Engineers
Institution of Royal Engineers Institution of Structural Engineers
Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management
Institution of Water Officers The Welding Institute
Institution of Engineers Chartered Institution of CIVIL
ENGINEERING SURVEYORS -CICES Some of these institutions also register
Incorporated Engineers and Engineering Technicians. There are other Engineering
Council UK licensed member institutions that register Incorporated Engineers and
Engineering Technicians, but do not register Chartered Engineers.
See also Chartered Environmentalist
SQEP Chartered Chemist
Chartered IT Professional Chartered Physicist
Chartered Scientist Master of Engineering
Master of Science in Engineering References
External links A. & C. Black Staff.. Titles and Forms
of Address, 21st edition. A. & C. Black. ISBN 0-7136-6265-4
Engineering Council UK. ECUK Institution Details. Retrieved 13 July 2007
Engineering Council UK. FEANI Registration and the EurIng Title.
Retrieved 13 July 2007 Engineering Council UK. Register
Sections. Retrieved 13 July 2007 Institution of Engineering and
Technology. Use of designatory letters. Retrieved 13 July 2007
Institution of Engineering and Technology. The Chartered Engineer
Qualification. Retrieved 16 March 2015 Engineering and Technology Board
Engineering Council UK SCENTA