Professional Membership - Fact Sheet VI (04/09)

Open University Degrees

General Overview

Open University (OU) degrees do not have prior accreditation by the Engineering Council (UK) and are therefore considered under The Welding Institute's Individual Route. In principle this is a formality if the candidate has followed a profile approved by the Institute. Those achieving a BEng degree may apply for Incorporated Member (IncMWeldI) and Incorporated Engineer (IEng) and an MEng or MSc opens the way to Member (MWeldI), Senior Member (SenMWeldI) and Chartered Engineer (CEng).

Under the Individual Route, candidates are asked to undergo a Professional Review Interview and those applying for SenMWeldI will also be interviewed on the project that forms part of their degree (OU reference T450 or T402).

Candidates for SenMWeldI will also need to demonstrate their welding and joining knowledge, either by an appropriate certificate or diploma in welding engineering, eg an International Welding Engineer diploma, or a compendium of evidence.

The OU may recognise prior learning and allow exemption from some of the Level 1 and 2 modules. The TWI diploma modules are acceptable as shown in the following tables. Engineering HNC/HND qualifications are also valid. For information please see www.open.ac.uk/credit-transfer.

Candidates who hold OU degrees but have not previously sought guidance on the profile should provide the Professional Membership Office with details. It is quite possible that they may be acceptable.

A BSc Open (Ordinary) degree meets the entry requirements for the International Welding Technologist (IWT) and Engineer (IWE) courses but only after successful completion of one of these courses can degree holders be considered for IncMWeldI status.

A Foundation Degree in Materials Fabrication and Engineering based on the TWI Welding Technology Diploma will also allow application to IncMWeldI.

Recommended Degree Profile

For Senior Member or Member and CEng Registration

• A minimum of 480 CATS points is required, at least 420 of which shall have engineering content drawn from the table below. An integrated MEng (M03) or an honours BEng (B24) together with a Postgraduate Diploma in Engineering (E22) or an MSc in Engineering (F46) is therefore necessary.
  
  
• Normal OU conditions on the points required at each level apply. See www.engineering.open.ac.uk
  
  
• Passes in T191 'Personal and career development in engineering', T397 'Key skills in professional engineering' and T450 'The engineering project', are mandatory. T398 'Towards chartership: professional development for engineers' is strongly recommended. The discontinued project course, T402, is accepted as an alternative to T450.

For Incorporated Member and IEng Registration

• A degree of 360 CATS points or a degree of 300 points with evidence of further learning in welding engineering is required. A Foundation Degree in Materials Fabrication and Engineering based on the TWI Welding Technology Diploma is also acceptable
  
  
• Normal OU conditions on the points required at each level apply:
  
  
• Passes in T191 'Personal and career development in engineering', T397 'Key skills in professional engineering' and T450 'The engineering project', are mandatory. The discontinued project course, T402, is accepted as an alternative to T450
  
  
• In addition
  
  
  1. Modules in mathematics to a total of at least 60 points are required
  2. For a 360 point (Honours) degree, 300 points should be from the recommended modules in the table below, postgraduate modules are not necessary
  3. For a 300 point (Ordinary) degree, 240 points should be from the recommended modules in the table below, postgraduate modules are not necessary
  
  
• A BSc Open (Ordinary) degree is acceptable as entry to the International Welding Technologist or Engineer course. Success in either course is acceptable evidence of further learning in welding engineering.

Recommended modules

Issue no. 7
April 2009