Certified Quality Engineer (CQE)

An ASQ Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) is a professional who specializes in improving processes and systems to ensure quality and efficiency within an organization. They are skilled in areas such as quality control, statistical analysis, product and process design, and compliance with industry standards and regulations. Accredited Certification Program This certification program is accredited by the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) under the ISO 17024 standard, demonstrating impartial, third-party validation that the certification program has met recognized national and international credentialing industry standards for a program’s development, implementation, and maintenance. Candidates must have worked in a full-time, paid role. *A "Decision-making" position is defined as the authority to define, execute, or control projects/processes and to be responsible for the outcome. This may or may not include management or supervisory positions. For candidates who were certified by ASQ as a quality auditor, reliability engineer, supplier quality professional, software quality engineer or quality manager, the experience used to qualify for certification in these fields applies to certification as a quality engineer. Examination Each certification candidate is required to pass an examination that consists of multiple-choice questions that measure comprehension of the Body of Knowledge. Computer Delivered - The CQE examination is a one-part, 175- multiple choice question exam and is offered in English only. 160 multiple choice questions are scored and 15 are unscored. Total appointment time is five-and-a-half-hours, exam time is 5 hours and 18 minutes. Paper and Pencil - The CQE examination is a one-part, 160- multiple choice question, five-hour exam and is offered in Mandarin and Korean in certain locations. View available translated exams, dates and locations here. All examinations are open book. Each participant must bring his or her own reference materials. Use of reference materials and calculators is explained in the FAQs. For more information about examination delivery options, including online, remote proctored examination, please visit the computer-based testing page. Body of Knowledge The topics in this Body of Knowledge include subtext explanations and the cognitive level at which the questions will be written. This information will provide useful guidance for both the Exam Development Committee and the candidate preparing to take the exam. The subtext is not intended to limit the subject matter or be all-inclusive of that material that will be covered in the exam. It is meant to clarify the type of content that will be included on the exam. The descriptor in parentheses at the end of each entry refers to the maximum cognitive level at which the topic will be tested. A complete description of cognitive levels is provided at the end of this document.