This entry route for the I.S.P. designation applies to individuals who have completed an Information Technology (IT) post-secondary education and have accumulated a certain number of years of professional experience.  The years of required experience depends on the type of educational background the applicant has. CIPS will recognize relevant education completed  at a CIPS accredited or CIPS non-accredited program.

CIPS Accredited programs refers to university programs and college programs that have received official endorsement from the relevant CIPS Accreditation Council given to the listed programs for limited periods of time. Educational transcripts must confirm that the graduation date falls within the period that the institution was accredited by CIPS.

Non-Accredited programs include all other university and college programs with a computing focus and content similar to accredited programs. For example, a B.A., B. Comm, or General B.Sc may NOT qualify in this category because they usually contain too few computing topics. Typically, a university B.C.S., B.Sc. in Computer Science or B.Math in Computer Science with approximately 40% computing content over 4 years would qualify. Similarly, non-accredited college/technical information systems programs with approximately 70% computing content over 2 years would qualify.

CIPS does not review program transcripts from private educational institutions unless the program has been accredited by CIPS or meets the guidelines as outlined under Non-accredited Three-year College/Technical Program in the criteria as listed below.

CIPS does not conduct pre-assessments on eligibility for the I.S.P., but encourages applicants to use the online self-assessment tool.

Applicants with overseas education

Individuals who completed their education at an educational institution outside North America must have their educational transcripts officially translated (if the transcript is in a language other than English or French) and must submit a course-by-course analysis and at statement of equivalency from a recognized Canadian academic credential assessment service.

Foreign applicants looking to use the I.S.P. designation to aid their entry into Canada should review the information available via the Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials.

Relevant Post-Secondary Education

*Program from privately funded educational institutions need to meet the following minimum criteria:

1. Only Canadian baccalaureate degrees will be considered.
2. The baccalaureate degree needs to have received official provincial/territorial government accreditation involving an institutional accreditation, which refers to the process of officially recognizing the post-secondary institution, and a program specific review, which refers to the official recognition of a program of study.
3. The baccalaureate program needs to be a minimum of 3 academic years in length(or equivalent to six full course load terms)
4. The C.I.S./C.I.T. specific course content of a program needs to be a minimum of 60% over three academic years.
5. Transfer credits must be from an educational institution that has comparable or mutually acceptable standards and requirements.

Previously Accredited Programs

An I.S.P. applicant may have their application assessed as if they were a graduate of an accredited program, if each of the following conditions is satisfied:

1. the program from which the applicant graduated is a program which was formerly accredited by CIPS;
2. the program either ceased to exist or became unaccredited;
3. at the time the program ceased to exist or became unaccredited, whichever happened earlier, the applicant must have completed a minimum of three quarters of the course requirements for the program in question.