Accreditation
 | Accreditation
Our degrees are accredited by the BCS (BCS - Chartered Institute for IT) and the IET (Institute of Engineering and Technology). This page will help you to understand what accreditation is and how "accreditation" benefits you. |  |
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What is "Accreditation"
The BCS and IET are licensed by the Engineering Council to award Chartered Engineer status (CEng) and more recently by the Science Council to award Chartered Scientist status (CSci). To do this they undertake a programme of visits to universities to review their courses and to see if they provide an appropriate foundation for new entrants to the IT profession.
If satisfied that the content and standards set by the courses are high enough they have the authority to award degrees "accredited " status. This usually lasts for about five years. If you are studying a degree that is "accredited" it means that it contributes either fully or partially to the academic requirements required for you to register for "Chartered" status. In other words, you will be exempted from some or all the professional exams required to achieve this title.
Unfortunately, you won't get "Chartered" status straight away as usually you will need to become a member of the BCS or IET and do at least two years' relevant work experience before you can be considered. You may also need to provide evidence that you have sufficient competencies to justify this status and could have to sit a peer review panel before it is granted.
See http://www.bcs.org/upload/pdf/CEng-and-IEng-Standard-document.pdf and http://www.theiet.org/careers/profreg/ceng/ for details.
To become a full member of these institutions you have to meet their professional requirements and pay an annual fee but once enrolled you are entitled to use the initials MBCS or MIET behind your name. It is possible to get a student and an associate membership of these institutions.
See http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=nav.5653 and http://www.theiet.org/Membership/ .
The BCS is also able to consider accreditation for programmes of study for the Chartered IT Professional (CITP) status.
The table below shows you what level of accreditation each degree has achieved.
|
BEng (Hons) Computing |
G400 |
CITP and Partial CEng |
IET and BCS |
|
MEng (Hons) Computing |
G401 |
CITP and Full CEng |
IET and BCS |
|
MEng (Hons) Computing (International Programme of Study) |
G402 |
CITP and Full CEng |
IET and BCS |
|
MEng (Hons) Computing (Computational Management) |
G501 |
CITP and Full CEng |
IET and BCS |
|
MEng (Hons) Computing (Software Engineering) |
G600 |
CITP and Full CEng |
IET and BCS |
|
MEng (Hons) Computing (Artificial Intelligence) |
G700 |
CITP and Full CEng |
IET and BCS |
|
BEng (Hons) Mathematics and Computer Science |
GG14 |
CITP and Partial CEng |
IET and BCS |
|
MEng (Hons) Mathematics and Computer Science |
GG41 |
CITP and Full CEng |
IET and BCS |
|
MSc in Advanced Computing |
G5U0 |
*Partial CEng |
IET |
|
MRes in Advanced Computing |
G5U18 |
*Partial CEng (FL) |
IET |
|
MSc in Computing (Specialism) |
G5U8,G5U11,G5U20T,G5U16 &G5U13 |
*Partial CEng |
IET |
*Partial CEng (FL) - means you have a first degree in Computing or similar area and your Master's degree is accredited as satisfying the further learning requirements for CEng. If your first degree was accredited then it is very likely that you will be exempt from having to take the professional exams to achieve Chartered Engineer (CEng) status.
Regrettably, both institutions will not award accreditation to a Masters degree whose entrants do not have a first degree in a Computing area. Therefore in the case of MSc Computing Science students, you are still advised to apply to these institutions for membership and professional status but they will look at each application on an individual basis.
Accreditation by programme type
| Programme type | IET Accreditation |
| MSc/EngD | Accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) on behalf of the Engineering Council as meeting the requirements for Further Learning for registration as a Chartered Engineer. Candidates must hold a CEng accredited BEng/BSc (Hons) undergraduate first degree to comply with full CEng registration requirements. |
| MEng | Accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) on behalf of the Engineering Council for the purposes of fully meeting the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered Engineer. |
| BEng/BSc (Hons) | Accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) on behalf of the Engineering Council for the purposes of fully meeting the academic requirement for registration as an Incorporated Engineer and partly meeting the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered Engineer. |
| BEng/BSc | Accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) on behalf of the Engineering Council for the purposes of fully meeting the academic requirement for registration as an Incorporated Engineer. |
| Foundation Degrees | Accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) on behalf of the Engineering Council for the purposes of fully meeting the academic requirements for registration as an Engineering Technician and partially meeting the academic requirement for registration as an Incorporated Engineer. |
| Programme type | Minimum computing credit points (including project) | BCS Accreditation |
| Foundation degree | 160 of which a minimum of 80 are at level 5* | Accredited as partially meeting the requirements for IEng |
| Joint honours degree | 160 of which a minimum of 80 are at level 5*† | Accredited as partially meeting the requirements for CITP |
| Ordinary degree | 200 of which a minimum of 40 are at level 6* | Accredited as meeting the requirements for IEng |
| Honours degree | 240 of which a minimum of 80 are at level 6* | Accredited as meeting the requirements for CITP and partially meeting the requirements for CEng and / or CSci |
| Specialist master’s degree | 120 at level 7* | Accredited as partially meeting the requirements for CITP and partially meeting the requirements for CEng and / or Csci |
| Generalist master’s degree | 180 credits at level 6* or above† | Accredited as partially meeting the requirements for CITP |
| Integrated master’s degree | 320 of which a minimum of 60 are at level 7* | Accredited as meeting the requirements for CITP and fully meeting the requirements for CEng and / or CSci |
| Undergraduate industrial placement, Degree Apprenticeship, Foundation Degree | Individuals must have been employed in an IT role and the placement/employment must contribute to the overall assessment of the programme | Accredited as meeting the requirements for RITTech |