Is a BEng and MSc the same as an MEng as regards CEng

[38jd38]

Does it matter and do all MSc in engineering bring you up to CEng?

No, you'll need IET accreditation.
But you can probably do something work-based.

Have you checked with the relevant Engineering body what the requirements are?

I know of a CEng who hasn’t done Masters but does have all the required work experience and professional development since graduation.

MEng gives you all the academic requirement but you still need to work as an engineer to fully qualify for chartered status.
BEng means you’ll need to do additional study as well as working as an engineer.
MSc is different if it’s not MEng, I think.

For CEng, all relevant academic work must be completed at accredited institutions.

Assuming this, BEng plus an MSc in Engineering is a stronger qualification than MEng, because the MSc dissertation is more demanding than anything in the MEng programme. The combination is fine for the academic part of the CEng requirement.

Random example - Sheffield MSc gets you the same status as MEng: https://sheffield.ac.uk/postgraduate/taught/courses/2025/civil-engineering-msc

Check with the relevant institution. You don't actually need a masters degree just masters level education. An MSc would need to be accredited.

Funding is better for an integrated MEng degree and the entry requirements are often the same or it is possible to swap onto the masters course if doing well in the first two years.

IStructE have a technical report route for candidates with an accredited BEng and further learning which can be on the job https://www.istructe.org/membership/does-my-degree-fit/

For the ICE, as long as the MSc is on their list (i.e. a relevant subject) yes it would meet the educational requirements part of training.

@38jd38 In case it's relevant, BEng + MSc would be a lot more expensive than an MEng.

How?

You receive undergrad funding for the BSc, so a maintenance loan and fees loan. An integrated masters MEnf course would be funded for 4 years in the same way.

Funding for the separate MSc is by way of a single loan of around £12k which might not even cover the post grad fees. There is no extra maintenance loan. The post grad loan also has to be paid back alongside any undergrad loans, not afterwards. You might be able to get a bursary but it's unlikely to be more than £1-2k.

With any integrated masters courses, including the MEng, the fourth year costs the same as the first three years. So, for UK students it is capped by the Government at £9535.

MSc course costs aren't capped so they cost more. E.g. a Structural Engineering MSc at Bristol would be £15.5k, and an Aerospace Engineering MSc at Leeds would be £14.5k.

Schools should warn students about this before they apply to university. I only found out from Mumsnet. I think a lot more would choose 4 year courses if they realised.

Ah thankyou, good to know

Ah thankyou, good to know

Is CEng Chartered status? So that's generally a first degree, plus possibly a masters but also significant experience?

I have Chartered status for another profession and as well as my first degree and professional qualifications, I also had to prove I had several years working in the industry and be validated by two experienced colleagues.

@Bjorkdidit The degree just covers the academic requirements. There is further professional development and review to gain Chartered Engineer (CEng) status.

The MSc year is more in depth than the final year of an MEng - I did two terms of taught courses with exams followed by a six month dissertation for my MSc, as opposed to the MEng year being two semesters to include a research project.

A stand-alone masters is more expensive in terms of fees and the loan system works differently, but can give more scope for specialising - for instance, Imperial College has a vast range of specialist engineering MSc courses.

I worked for a couple of years so knew which area I wanted to work in before doing a specialist Masters (back in the day when they were funded by the research councils though).