Washington Accord

The Engineering Council is a signatory to the Washington Accord.

The Washington Accord was first signed in 1989. It recognises that professional engineering education programmes accredited by the signatories deliver outcomes that are substantially equivalent to the Washington Accord Graduate Attributes (learning outcomes).

In the UK Washington Accord programmes are ones accredited for the purpose of Chartered Engineer (CEng) registration. Since 1999 these have been:

An accredited Bachelors in Engineering with Honours (BEng(Hons)) degree plus an accredited Masters degree or an accredited Engineering Doctorate (EngD)
An accredited integrated Masters in Engineering (MEng) degree

The Washington Accord applies to accreditation by a signatory of programmes delivered by higher education institutions within the national or territorial jurisdiction of that signatory. In the case of the Engineering Council, this recognition applies to programmes accredited at universities in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland only.

These accredited programmes are listed in our Course Search Database.

Determining Washington Accord recognition

Search for your degree in the database using your exact degree title and/or university name. When you have found your degree first check that the year you started your degree falls within the accreditation period stated. If you were given exemption from one or more years of your programme, your start year is the year you would have started, if you had joined at the beginning of the programme.

Check which Section your programme is accredited for. This is shown at the top right-hand side of each programme entry and will be CEng or IEng registration.

If the Section is CEng, and your degree meets one of the following criteria is recognised under the Washington Accord:

Your programme is an MEng started after 1989
Your programme is a Bachelors started before 1999 (and after 1989)

If your programme is a Bachelors started in or after 1999, you will need to check the Public Notes at the bottom of the entry to see whether there is a further learning requirement:

If further learning is indicated for the year, you started and you have also completed an accredited Masters level programme (eg MSc or EngD accredited as further learning) the combination is recognised under the Washington Accord.

If you have completed a degree accredited as further learning but do not have a Bachelors degree accredited in the CEng Section, your qualification(s) is/are not recognised under the Washington Accord.