An engineer who studied in Lagos, Mumbai or Monterrey and now works in the United States runs into the licensure question quickly: a state board wants proof that the degree meets its education requirement, and the board does not evaluate foreign transcripts itself. For most applicants the answer is a credentials evaluation from the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES), the organization of the 68 licensing boards that also writes the FE and PE exams.

What the service is

NCEES Credentials Evaluations compares an applicant's education with a published standard and sends the result to licensing boards. Most applicants arrive because a board referred them. NCEES describes it as the only evaluation service accepted by all state licensing boards. It is also required for anyone applying to the NCEES Records program, which packages a licensee's record for applications in other states, if that person does not hold a degree from a program accredited by ABET's Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC).

The finished evaluation has four parts: an applicant summary, a comparability summary, an education summary and a criteria analysis. The board, not NCEES, decides what the result means for the application.

What it measures a degree against

For engineering, the yardstick is the NCEES Engineering Education Standard. It looks for 32 semester credit hours of higher mathematics, basic sciences and additional sciences, and 48 semester credit hours of engineering science or engineering design. General education is not required, though those credits are listed so a board can weigh them if its rules say to.

For surveying, the NCEES Surveying Education Standard looks for 18 semester credit hours of mathematics and basic sciences (at least 12 in mathematics and 6 in basic sciences) and 30 semester credit hours of surveying science and practice.

The service evaluates engineering bachelor's degrees that are not EAC-accredited, and a bachelor's degree in another field only when it is paired with a master's or doctorate in engineering. On the surveying side it covers bachelor's degrees in surveying that are not ABET-accredited, and other bachelor's degrees for applicants who meet the surveying core requirements.

When no evaluation is needed

If the program was accredited by EAC at the time of graduation, no evaluation is needed, and ABET does accredit some engineering programs outside the United States. That exemption is tied to EAC accreditation of the specific program. NCEES states that it does not decide whether a foreign program is substantially equivalent to an EAC-accredited one, so an applicant from a country that belongs to an international engineering accord should still ask the board whether the accord changes anything for its application.

Documents, fees and timing

From every university attended, NCEES needs an official transcript, an official diploma or certificate of graduation, and official course descriptions. Anything not in English must come with a literal English translation from a certified translation service. Course descriptions are often the slowest item for graduates of older programs, since the evaluator needs them to place each course in the right category.

The evaluation costs $400; a re-evaluation costs $100, and sending the result to an additional board is free. The fee is paid at the end of the application, and an evaluation can be purchased only after every document has been received and verified. Applicants can follow that progress in their MyNCEES account. Once purchased, an evaluation is typically completed within 15 business days. Refunds carry a $50 administrative fee, and NCEES does not refund applications submitted more than a year before the request.

Before you start

Ask your board which evaluation it requires and whether it accepts an existing one. Then request transcripts and course descriptions from each university early, because the 15-day clock starts only after they arrive and the purchase is made. If an evaluation shows a shortfall in one category, the criteria analysis shows where, which tells you what coursework a board might ask for.

Licensure and renewal rules differ by state and change over time. Check the current requirements with your state licensing board before you act on them.

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