THE INSTITUTE OF MATHEMATICS
AND ITS APPLICATIONS

Chartered Scientist Status

Chartered Scientist
Applicants for this designation must be Members or Fellows of the Institute who are registered as Chartered Mathematicians and must meet the requirements in the following four components:

Education
Postgraduate training and experience
Professional standing
Continuing Professional Development

Applicants should provide suitable documentary evidence to demonstrate that they have met these requirements, which are detailed below.

Education
The educational requirements can be met by one of the following.

	i.	An approved MMath honours degree.
	ii.	An approved BSc honours degree in mathematics followed by a higher level taught or research degree in mathematics or a cognate subject.
	iii.	An approved BSc honours degree in mathematics followed by subsequent training and experience in employment to obtain equivalent competences to those specified by the QAA for taught masters degrees.
	iv	A BSc or Masters undergraduate pass degree in mathematics followed by subsequent acquisition in education or employment of mathematical competences equivalent to those in i, ii, or iii above.
	v	A BSc or Masters undergraduate degree in mathematics which is taken in combination with one or more other subjects, or in a discipline with a high mathematics content such as engineering ora physical science, followed by subsequent acquisition in education or employment of mathematical competences equivalent to those in i, ii, or iii above.

Degrees in mathematics are approved by the IMA's Higher Education Service Area on the basis of consideration of the specification, corespondence and visits as appropriate. Mathematical topics must constitute at least two-thirds of the total content at each stage of the course.

The QAA competences for taught masters degrees are detailed in Chartered designations: Appendix A.

Postgraduate Experience
Applicants are required to have at least five years postgraduate training and experience, including employment for a minimum of two years, requiring the application of mathematical knowledge.

Applicants will be required to demonstrate that they have developed a series of mathematical, generic and specific competences as described in Chartered designations: Appendix B.

Applicants who can demonstrate that they have successfully completed an approved Graduate Training Scheme, or followed the Initial Professional Development Scheme, will have met the postgraduate training and experience requirements for obtaining the Chartered Scientist designation. Compliance over several years with the requirements of the Continuing Professional Development Scheme will provide strong supporting evidence that applicants have met the employment requirements.

Professional Standing
An applicant must have been employed at an appropriate level of professional standing for a minimum period of two years in which the professional skills of a Chartered Scientist pertinent to the execution of the duties of the post. A summary of expectations for posts in education, science, technology, commerce, engineering and finance is contained in Chartered designations: Appendix C.

Continuing Professional Development
Applicants are required to participate in the Institute's Continuing Professional Development Scheme. See also Further Information below.

How to apply
Applications must be made using an Institute application form and must be signed. The signature constitutes a contract to abide by the requirements of the designation. A properly completed application will not be processed until the appropriate fees are received. See the subscription section for the current fees.

The application must include a statement outlining current and previous professional activities. This statement is the most important part of the application and should make the case for acceptance by the Membership Committee. The statement should be written in the appropriate part of the application form or on a clearly labelled separate sheet. Additional information, for example a summary publications list, may be enclosed but must not exceed four sides of A4 paper.

Applicants for the designation should show the application f orm to one supporter who must read and sign it. A signature is taken to mean that in the supporter’s opinion the applicant meets the requirements for the designation.

The supporter should have a detailed knowledge of the applicant's work, should be more senior than the applicant, or of equal seniority but working for a different organisation and should ideally be a Chartered Scientist or Chartered Mathematician, or failing that a senior member of the Institute or another relevant professional body.

Applications are considered by the Membership Committee. Applications usually take two to three months to process from receipt at Catherine Richards House.

Designatory Letters
Chartered Scientists may use the letters CSci as a postfix to CMath and membership grade (i.e. CMath MIMA CSci CMath FIMA CSci).

Further Information
Applicants may apply for the Chartered Mathematician designation and the Chartered Scientist designation simultaneously. Such applicants for Chartered Scientist are exempt from completing Part 1 and Part 3 of the application form.

Applicants who apply within six months of being awarded the Chartered Mathematician designation may be exempt from completing Part 1 and Part 3 of the application form, and should seek advice from the Institute’s Membership department.

Continued use of the Chartered Scientist designation is subject to re-validation every five years by the Institute. Applicants are required to participate in the Institute's Continuing Professional Development Scheme and to submit the required evidence of maintenance of their professional competence at the time of revalidation.

If an applicant is registered as a Chartered Scientist between January and September the annual subscription is valid until the end of the same calendar year, otherwise it is valid until the end of the following calendar year.