Yes, EMA-I is free for the first 500 candidates. After that there will be a fee, but a credential you have already earned stays valid at no extra cost.

Do I need to complete training or a course first?

No. EMA-I has no prerequisite training or course. If you know the material, you can sit the examination straight away.

How is the exam structured?

EMA-I has 60 questions across five domains: People Leadership, Delivery & Execution, Strategy & Vision, Technical Judgment, and Culture & Coaching. You have 90 minutes, and the pass mark is 70%.

How does verification work?

Every certificate has a unique credential ID, such as EMA-2026-00042. An employer, recruiter or colleague can check it at engineeringmanagement.academy/verify without creating an account.

How long is the credential valid?

All EMA certifications are valid for three years from the date of issue. We email you a reminder 90 days and again 30 days before it expires.

What sign-in methods are supported?

You sign in with Google, LinkedIn, GitHub or Microsoft. EMA never creates or stores a password.

Independent certification authority

The certification authority for engineering management.

For engineering managers, and for the engineers stepping up to lead them. You earn the credential by passing an examination against a published standard, and anyone can check it in seconds.

Certifies: Engineering-management judgment, at three levels of scope.
For: Engineering managers, and engineers moving into leadership.
Earned by: A timed examination. No course, portfolio or endorsement counts towards it.

Start EMA-I · free Read the standards

Engineering Management

ACADEMY

Empowering Leaders. Certifying Excellence.

Specimen

This is to certify that

Name of the holder

has demonstrated the knowledge, judgment and competency required by the examination, and is hereby conferred the professional designation of

EMA-I

Engineering Management Associate

Examined against

EMA Competency Framework 3.0

Active credential

Conferred by

Certification Board

Engineering Management Academy

Credential No.

EMA-2026-00042

Valid through three years from issue

Verify at engineeringmanagement.academy/verify

Scan to
verify

Specimen of the issued certificate. A real credential carries the holder’s name, the dates of issue and expiry, its own QR code and a SHA-256 integrity hash. See the full-size specimen.

The proposition

Capability certified by a body that sells nothing else.

Independent

We sell no training and accept no attendance certificates. The assessment is the only thing we sell, so we have no students of our own to pass.

By examination

Every credential is earned by passing a timed examination set against the published competency framework, with scenario questions drawn at random. Everyone sits to the same standard.

III

Verifiable by anyone

Each credential carries a unique ID. A recruiter, hiring manager or peer can check it in seconds without creating an account.

The credential path

Three levels. One standard.

The five domains are the same at every level. The scenarios grow from one team to a whole engineering organisation, and the pass mark rises from 70% to 80%.

EMA-I

Engineering Management Associate

First-line judgment, leading a single engineering team.

No experience requirement

Questions: 60
Time: 90 min
Pass: 70%

Free for the first 500 candidatesStart EMA-I →

EMP-II

Engineering Management Professional

Organisational judgment across several teams, usually through other managers.

Recommended: 3+ years leading teams

Questions: 75
Time: 105 min
Pass: 75%

Not yet openDetails →

EME-III

Engineering Management Expert

Executive judgment at the scale of an engineering organisation.

Recommended: 7+ years shaping organisations

Questions: 90
Time: 120 min
Pass: 80%

Not yet openDetails →

Compare all three levels →

Areas of assessment

Five domains, equal weight.

Every examination is built against the EMA Competency Framework v3.0 and draws its questions at random from a bank. Each question sets out a realistic situation at work and asks what you would do about it.

The framework →Body of Knowledge →Sample exam →

01
People Leadership
Building, growing and keeping effective engineers, teams and the leaders who run them.
20%
02
Delivery & Execution
Turning intent into shipped, reliable software, on dates people can plan around.
20%
03
Strategy & Vision
Connecting engineering work to business outcomes and direction.
20%
04
Technical Judgment
Exercising sound engineering judgment without doing the engineering.
20%
05
Culture & Coaching
Shaping the environment in which good engineering happens.
20%

Credential verification

Verify a certificate

Enter a credential ID to see who holds an Engineering Management Academy certificate and whether it is still valid.

Common questions

Questions, answered.

Begin with EMA-I.

There is no experience requirement. Sixty questions in ninety minutes, against a published pass mark. Anyone you show the credential to can check it.

Start EMA-I · free Try ten sample questions