Qualification Scheme

The Qualification Scheme is developed by the APM Group Ltd in partnership with the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) and The Stationery Office (TSO).

The MSP qualifications consist of three levels:

Foundation - the examination has not changed in style or format. The paper remains a simple multiple choice style, closed book examination consisting of 50 questions to be completed within 40 minutes. Candidates need to achieve a mark of 25+ to pass the paper.  Should a candidate sit the foundation examination after the 01 March 2008 and wish to proceed to take the Practitioner/Advanced Practitioner level qualification they will need to achieve a mark of 30 or above. 
 
Practitioner (previously known as Intermediate) - has been changed to an objective marking style, open book paper. The paper consists of 9 questions with a total of 180 marks available to be completed within 2 1/2 hours. Candidates need to achieve a mark of 90+ to pass the paper.  A pre-requisite for this exam is a score of 60% at Foundation level for candidates that have taken the Foundation exam on or after 1 March 2008. Candidates that have taken their Foundation exam prior to 1 March 2008 are exempt from this rule.

Advanced Practitioner (previously known as Practitioner) - remains an essay based, open book paper. The paper consists of up to 3 questions with a total of 75 marks available to be completed within 2 1/2 hours. Candidates need to achieve a mark of 38+ to pass the paper.

Route to Certification

Candidates must always take and pass the Foundation Examination (with a pass at 60% or more if taken on or after 1st March 2008), before attempting the Practitioner and Advanced Practitioner Examinations.  This may be done either on the same day or separately. If a candidate has previously passed the Foundation Examination, they are qualified to sit the Practitioner and Advanced Practitioner Examinations without the need to re-sit the Foundation Examination. 

If a candidate chooses to sit the Foundation Examination only, and passes, they will receive a "Foundation Examination" certificate stating that they have passed. However, if a candidate sits the Foundation Examination, Practitioner and Advanced Practitioner Examination on the same day, and passes all three, they will receive an "Advanced Practitioner Examination" certificate, but not any other certificate.