Since January 2003, the IMA has separated the Corporate Membership (MIMA and FIMA) from Chartered Mathematician status. The aims of this action are to;

(a) raise the standards and status for CMath.

(b) broaden the membership base by accepting a wider range of qualifications and experience for MIMA (without CMath). This should enable many more graduates to join the Institute, including those with BEds, those with joint honours degrees and those with certain degrees in physics or engineering. This will help increase our engagement with the whole mathematics community.

The educational requirements to obtain CMath status can be met by one of the following ways;

(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) 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 or a physical science, followed by subsequent acquisition in education or employment of mathematical competences equivalent to those in i, ii, or iii above.

Mathematical topics must constitute at least two-thirds of the total content at each stage of the course.

When applying for chartered status, an applicant's educational qualifications are assessed on the basis of their degree transcript. It is not possible to assess the mathematics content of a study programme from the title alone.

The IMA does everything it can to support mathematics courses in Higher Education. The Programme Approval Scheme provides an 'approval in principle' for courses that meet our CMath educational requirements.

Therefore, the IMA invites University Mathematics Departments to advise us of all programmes that the institution runs that meet the academic requirements of part (i), (ii) and (iii) of the above paragraph.

For programmes to be approved, the IMA requires an external academic to assess whether the programmes meet the required mathematical content threshold. The external academic should also be included within discussions and receive relevant paperwork, as this saves the preparation of any new documentation for the IMA Programme Approval process. The external academic then submits a summary report to the IMA Higher Education Committee recommending Programme Approval or otherwise.

External assessment is a pre-requisite for Programmes that are eligible for the Chartered Scientist designation. The Programme Approval process for Chartered Mathematician therefore includes external assessment to align CMath to CSci.

If the external academic is a Fellow of the IMA and Chartered Mathematician, their return will be automatically accepted. We do have a list of FIMA + CMath Academics who are willing to conduct the Internal Academic Audit, and we have drawn up criteria to assist the IMA Representatives.

We have also drawn up a list of frequently asked questions in regards to Programme Approval, and hope that they will answer any questions you may have. However, we are willing to answer any additional questions that you may have concerning the scheme. Please contact Vanessa Thorogood, Education Officer.