The Chartered Membership exam is one of two essential elements you must complete to become a Member of the Institution, the other is the Professional Review interview.
You can attempt the exam before or after your interview - whichever option suits you best.
Bookings for the exam taking place on 15 July is now open!
Complete your Chartered Membership application online before the exam booking deadline to begin the process. The membership application is done only once for each grade you are applying for. If you have already submitted this, simply click on the 'book now' button to take you straight to the exam booking page.
Once processed, you will be sent an email with details of how to register for your exam online. Here you will be able to choose your preferred venue and make your payment to confirm your place. A fee is applicable for each exam attempt.
Once booked, you will be able to view your details in the exams area of the My Account section. Two weeks before the exam you will receive additional venue information (if applicable) and a few final reminders. This information is sent to you by email, so please ensure your contact details are up to date in your account.
The exam assesses the validity of your training and experience. Our examiners need to be satisfied that you have:
- An understanding of structural engineering principles
- An ability to initiate and communicate structural design
- An ability to provide effective, viable and sustainable solutions to a structural design problem
The exam is seven hours in duration with a break in the middle.
The Institution’s membership exams challenge candidates to design sustainable structures and critically evaluate the client brief to suggest ways to reduce material usage.
Read more about how the exam has changed in 2024
You must choose one question from a choice of five. All questions have two sections and both parts of the question must be satisfactorily answered to achieve a pass:
Section 1 (50% of total mark) requires you to prepare a design appraisal with appropriate sketches indicating two distinct, viable and sustainable solutions for the proposed structure, including the foundations. You are required to indicate the functional framing, load transfer, serviceability and stability aspects of each scheme. You must then appraise the schemes, identify the preferred solution and give reasons for your choice including sustainability as a key criterion. Finally, you will write a professional communication to the client suggesting ways to change the brief to reduce the amount of material used in the structure.
Section 2 (50% of total mark) requires you to provide sufficient design calculations to establish the form and size of all the principal structural elements, including the foundations. You will also include approximate A1-A3 carbon calculations for the principal elements. You must prepare general arrangement drawings and, finally, a detailed method statement for the safe construction of the works.
Guidance documents have been produced to give more information on the exam and should be downloaded and used as part of your preparation.
Download guidance documents
Tuesday 21 January 2025
Tuesday 15 July 2025