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The Science Council, an independent body seeking to unite all the Professional Institutions and Learned Societies in the scientific and mathematical fields in the UK, has awarded the Institute with a licence to grant the designation Chartered Scientist (CSci) to members who meet the necessary criteria.

Benefits of Chartered Scientist

In addition to the use of the post nominal letters CSci, the designation of Chartered Scientist will benefit all those concerned with science as a profession, and its application. It will be of value to:

• Society, which will be more confident in the competence of an individual scientist and need no longer be confused by a platform of letters and descriptions.
• Individual practitioners by identification as a professional scientist that sets them at the forefront of their profession and offers a passport to mobility.
• Employers, with confirmation, through the designation, of the quality of a job applicant’s application.
• Government departments seeking to appoint advisors or consultants will have an assurance about the level of an individual’s expertise and competence.
• Professional bodies, with provision through the new designation of additional opportunities to benchmark their qualifications.
• Higher education, which will be better able to set and monitor benchmarks for their science courses, and to promote programmes of study to meet the high standards required of a Chartered Scientist.
• Regulatory Authorities, who could be confident in specifying the designation in Acts of Parliament and regulations.
• Legal credibility, enabling expert witness participation at a defined standard.
• Professional standing, recognising equality of excellence across the science professions.

Criteria

Applicants for this designation should be Members or Fellows of the Institute and should normally be registered as Chartered Mathematicians.  Applicants must also meet the requirements in the following components:

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

Education

The following requirements are based on the Frameworks for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ) Levels.  The educational requirements can be met by one of the following.

1. An approved MMath honours degree (FHEQ level 7).
2. An approved Bachelors honours degree (FHEQ level 6) in mathematics followed by a higher level taught or research degree (FHEQ level 7) in mathematics/mathematical sciences or a cognate subject.
3. An approved Bachelors honours degree (FHEQ level 6) in mathematics/mathematical sciences followed by subsequent training and experience in employment to obtain equivalent competences to those specified by the QAA for master’s degrees (FHEQ level 7).
4. A Bachelors or Masters undergraduate pass degree in mathematics/mathematical sciences followed by subsequent acquisition in education or employment of mathematical competences equivalent to those in 1, 2, or 3 above.
5. A Bachelors or Masters undergraduate degree in mathematics/mathematical sciences which is taken in combination with one or more other subjects, or in a discipline with a high mathematics content such as would be the case in some engineering or physics programmes, followed by subsequent acquisition in education or employment of mathematical competences equivalent to those in 1, 2, or 3 above.

Bachelors or Masters undergraduate degrees would need to contain a minimum of 66% of undergraduate level mathematics/mathematical sciences at each stage of the course. If any particular year has less than this it can be compensated for in later years.

The QAA competences for master’s degrees (FHEQ level 7) are detailed in:  Chartered designations: Appendix A.

Postgraduate Experience and Professional Standing

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 and/or scientific knowledge.  This must include employment at an appropriate level of professional standing for a minimum period of two years in which the professional skills of a Chartered Scientist are pertinent to the execution of the duties of the post.

Applicants will be required to demonstrate that they have developed a series of competences as described in Chartered Scientist: Appendix B.

Compliance over several years with the requirements of the Continuing Professional Development Scheme will provide strong supporting evidence that applicants have met the employment and professional requirements.

Continuing Professional Development

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

Fees and How to Apply

Of these fees £51.30 is paid to Science Council in order to maintain your entry on the CSci register. The IMA retains £27.00 administration cost.

Applicants must supply all information requested, either on the application form or on myIMA, and indicate their agreement to the declaration. This agreement constitutes a contract to abide by the Institute’s Chartered Code of Conduct. Applications must be accompanied by copies of degree certificates that have been signed by either their employer or supporter confirming that it is a true copy of the original certificate. Where possible, all applications should also be accompanied by transcript(s) of degree(s). A properly completed application will not be processed until the appropriate fees are received.

Applicants for the designation should nominate a supporter who will be invited to submit a comprehensive reference. This reference is crucial in the consideration of the application. A nominated supporter should not be a family member.

The supporter must be someone who has detailed knowledge and understanding of the applicant’s work and who can comment on the extent that the requirements for education, postgraduate training and experience, and the professional standing of the applicant’s recent employment, have been met.

The supporter should be more senior than the applicant, or of equal seniority but working for a different department or organisation.  Ideally, they should be a Chartered Scientist or Chartered Mathematician, or failing that a senior member of a relevant professional body. The supporter should, in general, be from the applicant’s current employment.

Applicants that do not hold masters (FHEQ level 7) or above qualifications are required to demonstrate that they have obtained equivalent competence level within their training and experience. This should be demonstrated by the completion of the FHEQ Level 7 Equivalence Report.

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

Post nominals

Chartered Scientists are entitled to use the title ‘Chartered Scientist’ and may use CSci as a postfix to CMath and a prefix to membership grade (i.e. CMath CSci MIMA or CMath CSci FIMA).

Further Information

Applicants may apply for the Chartered Mathematician designation and the Chartered Scientist designation simultaneously.

Continued use of the Chartered Scientist designation is subject to re-validation every year by the Institute. Applicants are required to participate in a Continuing Professional Development Scheme in accordance with the requirements of Science Council and may be required to submit 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.

Contact the Membership Team

For further guidance or to talk to somebody about getting chartered, contact the membership department.

Applying

To apply for CSci please visit myIMA
If you’re unable to apply via myIMA please use the application form below.