Internationally-Educated Engineers Qualification Bridging (IEEQB) Program

What is the IEEQB Program?

The Internationally-Educated Engineers Qualification Bridging (IEEQB) Program is a new program offered by the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Science, Ryerson University , and Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO). The program is funded by the Ontario Government and the Government of Canada.

The Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Science at Ryerson University has developed this program specifically for International Engineering Graduates (IEGs) to provide them with an opportunity to meet the academic requirements for professional engineering licensure in Ontario.

To be granted a licence to practise professional engineering in Ontario , applicants must meet all the requirements as outlined in the Licensing Guide and Application for Licence, which can be downloaded from www.peo.on.ca. The academic requirement is the core requirement towards licensure that applicants must demonstrate they have met.

IEEQB Program Streams of Study

The IEEQB Program consists of the following two streams of study:

Stream 1:

This stream is intended for licensure applicants who have been offered a Confirmatory Examination Program by Professional Engineers Ontario. Enrolling in the IEEQB Program allows you an opportunity to register at Ryerson University as a full- or part-time Special Student. As part of the program, you will be expected to:

If you successfully complete the IEEQB program, you will receive a letter from the Dean of Engineering, Architecture and Science verifying your successful completion of the IEEQB Program at Ryerson. You may also request that the university forward a copy of the letter together with transcripts of the courses completed directly to PEO. Upon receipt of these documents, you will be deemed to have met the PEO’s academic requirement, thus fulfilling this important stage of the progress towards licensure. It should be noted that except for the earned course grades transcript, no degree, diploma or certificate will be issued by Ryerson University to the participants in this stream of study.

Stream 2:

This option is available to licensure applicants who have been offered a Specific Examination Program that consists of not more than nine specific examinations. It is also available for IEGs with Confirmatory Examination Program who may wish to pursue an accredited Bachelor of Engineering degree from Ryerson University. Acceptance in this stream will be determined by the IEEQB Program’s Admissions Committee after reviewing and assessing your previous academic qualification. Please note that this assessment is solely for admission to the relevant Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB)-accredited B.Eng. program at Ryerson University, and is not intended to replace PEO’s assessments for licensure. If you qualify to be admitted in this stream, you will be offered advanced-standing admission to the third-year level of the relevant engineering program at Ryerson University. Some applicants may be required to reach back and enroll in some second-year level courses. Advanced Standing course credits will be granted on the basis of a course-by-course equivalency assessment, which in turn is based on your previous engineering bachelor degree program of study.

If you are admitted to this stream, you will be enrolled in your respective program as a full-time undergraduate student. You are eligible to receive your program’s B.Eng. degree following the successful completion of your program’s curriculum requirements. This degree meets the PEO’s academic requirement. All of the Ryerson University Academic Policies and Regulations must be adhered to by applicants admitted to this stream.

Advantages of the IEEQB Program

The IEEQB Program offers many advantages to the internationally-educated engineer seeking licensure from PEO and having to write several examinations largely through self-study.

Participants in this program will:

(d) Learn the technical English terminology required for their engineering discipline along with Canadian economic principles, and engineering law and ethics,

(e) Receive engineer-in-training (EIT) experience and initiate corporate networking through a paid co-op or internship placement. Please note that the quality of the experience gained through the co-op program may be assessed by PEO and if it meets the licensure experience criterion, it may be credited towards the 48 months of engineering experience required for licensure. Additional information is available from www.peo.on.ca by downloading the Guide to the Required Experience for Licensing as a Professional Engineer in Ontario, and

(f) be eligible to apply for financial assistance from the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP).

IEEQB Program Admissions Process

Before applying to the IEEQB Program at Ryerson University, applicants must first apply to PEO for a Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) Licence in accordance with PEO’s Licensing Guide and Application for Licence, which can be downloaded from www.peo.on.ca. The Registrar of PEO will refer the application to the Academic Requirements Committee for a determination as to whether the applicant has met the academic requirements prescribed by the regulations for the issuance of the licence. If you do not meet the academic requirement, PEO will provide you with an option to write examinations to demonstrate that you have the equivalent knowledge. You may then present PEO’s examination program letter to Ryerson University for consideration and enrolment in the IEEQB Program.

Applicants must also demonstrate English language proficiency if it was not the language of instruction in their engineering undergraduate studies. The minimum English proficiency test scores for admission into the IEEQB Program are as follows: 560 paper-based, 220 computer-based or 83-87 Internet-based for TOEFL, 85 for MELAB, 6.5 for IELTS, or 60 for CAEL. ESL workshop-type courses are available through Ryerson University ’s Continuing Education Division to help applicants achieve the required language proficiency.

The IEEQB Program is accepting applications for the 2007-2008 academic year, which starts in September, 2007. The program gives priority to “Confirmatory Examination Program” applicants, and for the 2007-2008 academic year, it has a limited enrolment target of 60 participants. Applications are accepted and reviewed on an on-going basis until this enrolment target is reached.

The application form for the IEEQB Program can be downloaded from the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Science website at www.feas.ryerson.ca, under the heading: IEEQB Program Application Form.

The applicable tuition fees for the participants in either Stream 1 or Stream 2 are the same as those fees charged to the domestic engineering students at Ryerson University. For more information on the tuition fees, please review the student fees website at:

www.ryerson.ca/rows/fees2007/eng.html (currently under review), or
www.ryerson.ca/rows/fees2006/eng.html (for the 2006-2007 academic year tuition fees).

You are expected to submit the following documents to the Office of Internationally-Educated Engineers at Ryerson University no later than June 29, 2007:

As soon as the required application documents are received, they will be assessed, and the applicants will be informed about their admissions status to the IEEQB Program within three weeks of the submission of these documents.

If you have not yet applied to PEO for licensure, you may want to visit www.peo.on.ca and download the Licensing Guide and Application for Licence.

Contact Information

Internationally-Educated Engineers Qualification Bridging (IEEQB) Program
Office of Internationally-Educated Engineers
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Science
Ryerson University
350 Victoria Street
Toronto , Ontario
M5B 2K3
Tel: (416) 979-5000 ext. 4263
Fax: (416) 979-5308
Email: ieeqb@ryerson.ca

IEEQB Program Office Personnel