CBA

Co-op, Master’s and PhD: How Much Experience Credit Counts Toward Your P.Eng. (2026)

Published September 27, 2026

Most Canadian engineering regulators give up to a year of credit for co-op or other engineering work done before graduation, and up to one or two years for a thesis-based master's or PhD, toward the four years (48 months) of experience they require. Ontario is now the exception: since July 1, 2026, PEO counts no pre-graduation work toward its 24-month minimum, and a graduate degree earns no credit on its own.

Credit only shortens the time requirement. You still need a validated CBA example for every competency at the minimum rating, and co-op or thesis work helps there only if it shows the competency at the level assessors expect. The table below compares all 12 regulators as of September 2026.

At a glance (as of September 2026)

PEO (Ontario): no co-op or pre-graduation credit toward the 24-month minimum since July 1, 2026, though that work can still support CBA examples.
APEGA (Alberta): up to 12 months of pre-graduation work after two years of study; research master's 0–12 months; PhD 0–24 months.
APEGS, EGBC, Engineers Nova Scotia, APEGNB, Engineers PEI and PEGNL: up to 1 year of pre-graduation work, earned after half the program.
Graduate credit is for thesis or research work. A course-based master's earns none at APEGA or APEGS.
EGBC: postgraduate study never satisfies the Canadian-environment competencies.
OIQ (Quebec): internships after 60 credits count for up to 8 months of duration only.

Experience credit by regulator

Regulator	Co-op and pre-graduation work	Master's and PhD	Limits and conditions
PEO (Ontario)	None toward the 24-month minimum since July 1, 2026; can support CBA examples	No credit for the degree itself; engineering work during graduate study may count toward the 24 months and the CBA	24 months counted from the date your bachelor's degree is conferred
APEGA (Alberta)	Up to 12 months, after 2 years of engineering or engineering-technology study	Course-based master's: 0. Thesis or project master's: 0–12 months. PhD with thesis: 0–24 months	Research portion only, completed degree, full-time study, supervisor's letter; not for M.I.T. or P.L. applicants
APEGS (Saskatchewan)	Up to 1 year, after half the program, directly supervised by a P.Eng., P.Geo. or equivalent	Thesis master's: up to 1 year (course-based: none). PhD: up to 2 years (1 is standard)	Technologist work before the degree up to 1 year; volunteer work not eligible
EGBC (British Columbia)	Up to 12 months, after the first half of the program, supervised by a P.Eng./P.Geo. or international equivalent	Up to half the time the degree took: master's max 1 year, PhD max 2	Postgraduate max 2 years combined; must be validated in the CBA; never satisfies Canadian-environment competencies
Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba	Can be included in your employment history	Competencies gained during graduate work are eligible	No month caps published; plan for 4 years covered by validators
Engineers Nova Scotia	Up to 12 months, after 50% of the degree, supervised by a P.Eng. or international equivalent	Master's: up to 12 months. PhD: up to 12 months (thesis-based, completed)	Graduate credit max 24 months
APEGNB (New Brunswick)	Up to 1 year, after half the degree, supervised by a P.Eng. or P.Geo. registered in Canada	Thesis master's: up to 1 year. PhD: up to 2 years	Graduate credit max 2 years
Engineers PEI	Up to 1 year, after 50% of the degree	Up to 12 months in total, for a thesis-based master's related to your bachelor's or a PhD	Teaching engineering at a university counts
PEGNL (Newfoundland and Labrador)	Up to 1 year, after half the program	Master's: 1 year. Doctorate: 1 more year	Pre-graduation and graduate credit max 2 years combined; at least 3 of the 4 years after the degree
NAPEG (NWT and Nunavut)	Up to 1 year	No NAPEG rule published; files are assessed through APEGA's CBA	4 years
Engineers Yukon	Co-op or summer work in 3rd and 4th year: up to 12 months	Thesis-based master's: up to 12 months, once the degree is awarded	4 years under a P.Eng. who verifies the experience
OIQ (Quebec)	Internships after 60 credits: up to 8 months toward the 24 months, not toward competencies	Research periods count toward both the months and the competencies	24 months of supervised practice, completed within 5 years

Ontario: no credit toward the 24 months

PEO's minimum is now 24 months "after the bachelor's degree or equivalent", counted from the date your degree is conferred. Under the old four-year rule, up to 12 months could come from work done after finishing half the degree. That credit ended on July 1, 2026. PEO says pre-graduation work "does not count toward the two-year minimum", but it "may be applied to the CBA if it meets the required criteria".

Graduate study works differently. The degree earns nothing by itself, but eligible engineering work done during a master's or PhD "may count toward both the two-year minimum and the CBA". For any work in Canada, co-op included, your validator must have been a P.Eng. licensed in Canada when the work was carried out. See PEO's 24-month rule explained.

Alberta and the North: the most detailed rules

APEGA's 48 months can include up to 12 months of engineering work done after two years of acceptable post-secondary study in engineering or engineering technology. Co-op, internships and summer jobs all qualify, but part-time work that overlaps your studies typically does not.

Post-graduate credit covers only the research portion of a completed degree, for time in full-time study: 0 months for a course-based master's, 0–12 for a master's with a thesis or project, and 0–24 for a PhD with a thesis. Your thesis or project supervisor must send a letter of recommendation. Member-in-Training and Professional Licensee applicants cannot claim it, and an application with fewer than 48 months in total is declined without further processing.

NAPEG and Engineers Yukon send first-time applicants through APEGA's CBA but publish their own credit limits, shown in the table above.

Saskatchewan and BC: capped and supervised

APEGS allows up to one year of pre-graduation work after half your bachelor's program, directly supervised by a P.Eng., P.Geo. or equivalent. A thesis-based master's earns up to one year; a PhD earns one as standard, or up to two if it followed your bachelor's directly. Up to a year of technologist work before your bachelor's can also count. Volunteer work is not eligible, and at least 6 months must fall within the 2 years before you submit.

EGBC's Policy 4.B (January 30, 2026) allows up to 12 months of pre-graduation or co-op credit if the work was supervised by a P.Eng./P.Geo. or international equivalent, came after the first half of your program's course work, involved applying theory, meets EGBC's currency rules, and is reported in the CBA system and verified by validators. Postgraduate study in a related discipline earns up to half the time the degree took, capped at one year for a master's and two for a PhD or any combination. It never satisfies the Canadian-environment competencies, so plan to show those eight from work experience (see how to write the 8 Canadian environment competencies).

Manitoba and Atlantic Canada

Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba says your employment history "can also include pre-graduation (co-op, summer work, etc.)", and its CBA FAQ says competencies gained during graduate work are eligible. It publishes no month caps, but its guides require validators covering at least four years.

Engineers Nova Scotia: the current CBA guide allows up to 12 months each for a completed thesis-based master's and PhD, 24 at most. An older December 2024 FAQ says up to 12 months; follow the guide.
APEGNB: your pre-graduation supervisor can be a P.Eng. or P.Geo. registered anywhere in Canada. The CBA is not accepted for assessment until you have 45 of the 48 months.
PEGNL: pre-graduation and graduate credit together cannot exceed 2 years, and at least 3 of your 4 years must come after the degree.

Quebec: duration is not competence

OIQ counts internships completed after 60 university credits for up to 8 months of its 24-month supervised-practice requirement, but they cannot be used to demonstrate competencies. Research periods in a master's or PhD count toward both the months and the competencies, and an applied project must last at least six months full-time. See how OIQ's CPI program compares with the CBA.

How to report co-op and graduate work

Enter each period separately. List every co-op term, internship or research period in your employment history with exact dates and full-time or part-time months. At APEGS, part-time work is entered as a percentage, and credit never exceeds calendar time.
Check the starting point. Credit begins after half your program (APEGS, EGBC, Nova Scotia, APEGNB, PEI, PEGNL), after two years of study (APEGA), in third and fourth year (Yukon) or after 60 credits (OIQ).
Name a qualified supervisor or validator. APEGS, EGBC, Engineers Nova Scotia and APEGNB require pre-graduation work to be supervised by a P.Eng. or P.Geo. (or, at some, an equivalent). At PEO, a co-op example from Canada needs a validator who was a P.Eng. licensed in Canada at the time.
Write CBA examples from the real work. Credit covers time; competencies are rated example by example. A co-op or thesis project can be a first-person Situation–Action–Outcome example if it meets your regulator's criteria and a validator with first-hand knowledge confirms it. At OIQ, internships count toward duration only.
Mind recency. EGBC, EGM and Engineers PEI prefer examples from the last 7 years where possible, so older student work may carry less weight.

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Frequently asked questions

Does co-op count toward my P.Eng. in Ontario?

Not toward the time requirement. Since July 1, 2026, PEO's 24 months start when your bachelor's degree is conferred, and co-op or other pre-graduation work does not count toward them. It can still be used for a CBA example if it meets PEO's criteria and is validated.

Does a course-based master's earn any credit?

Not at APEGA or APEGS, which give graduate credit only for thesis or research work, and EGBC's FAQ describes its master's credit as for a degree "with a thesis component". Engineering work you did during the program can still count as experience at some regulators, including PEO and APEGS.

Can I claim both co-op and graduate credit?

The rules list them as separate allowances, but some cap the total. PEGNL allows at most 2 years of pre-graduation and graduate credit combined, EGBC caps postgraduate credit at 2 years for any combination of degrees, and APEGNB caps graduate credit at 2 years. Check your regulator's row in the table.

Will credit let me apply sooner?

It shortens the time requirement only. Every competency still needs a validated example at the minimum rating, and APEGNB and PEGNL accept a CBA only from 45 of the 48 months. PEO says its applicants need three to four years on average to show all 34 competencies, even with a 24-month minimum.