NCEES Credential Evaluation & PE requirements in different states

Hi,

I am a masters student in structural engineering in MA state. However my bachelors degree is from outside USA . I am appearing for the FE exam this fall. To get an EIT certification I recently got my credentials evaluated by NCEES. It declared in the evaluation that I have some credits missing/deficient in General Education i.e. Arts, Humanities, Philosophy etc.

It seems that the MA state board is very strict about these evaluations and so I cannot get EIT certification even on passing FE exam. Also, I will not be permitted to sit for PE before 8 years (probably 7 years work experience) as credential evaluation does not recognize my bachelors degree equivalent to ABET accredited degree (only because of a few credits short in Humanities).

I was interested to know that when I apply for PE exam, which state boards are more friendly for people with bachelors from outside of the USA . Has anyone else gone through a similar problem? Since most of the members of this group have already applied or are applying for PE, it would be really helpful if you can share the eligibility requirements for different state.

I am trying to find it out too. For example, Minnesota states clearly that in case of bachelors from outside of USA , only the credits in Science and Engineering should exceed the minimum required (which is true for me).

Thanks.

Check Delaware.

For PE, If you have 15 years of experience you don't need your degree to be evaluated.

I am not sure for EIT.

do you see yourself practicing engineering outside your current state? If not, then going to another state just to take the test isn't necessarily going to get you a license in your current state.

You can get the EIT in any state you want, I believe.

If you get a PE in one state, then it should be much easier to add-on.

You may need to take additional classes. You may be able to count some of your Master's level classes. How many credits do you have missing? You may also be able to CLEP out of some of them.

snickerd3 said:

do you see yourself practicing engineering outside your current state? If not, then going to another state just to take the test isn't necessarily going to get you a license in your current state.

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perhaps, yes. i can consider practicing in another state. I wanted to know in which state can I get EIT certification after passing FE based on NCEES credential evaluation. For example, Minnesota clearly mentions that only science, engineering & math credit requirement be met and not necessarily humanities/general education.

Peele1 said:

You can get the EIT in any state you want, I believe.
If you get a PE in one state, then it should be much easier to add-on.

You may need to take additional classes. You may be able to count some of your Master's level classes. How many credits do you have missing? You may also be able to CLEP out of some of them.

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I understand that after getting PE, transfers are relatively manageable to other states. I was curious which states would allow me to sit for PE after 4 years of FE, because based on credit deficiency in arts/humanities in Bachelor degree, MA state board may count it as NON ABET accredited and may not permit me to take PE before 8 years instead of usual 4 after FE.

Masters level courses cannot/are not considered because I did not take humanities courses in MS program. All credits are engineering credits, and my Bachelors degree has enough credits to surpass these requirements but not in the arts/humanities group. I have 9/16 in general education/arts/ humanities.

syncingminds said:

Peele1 said:

You can get the EIT in any state you want, I believe.
If you get a PE in one state, then it should be much easier to add-on.

You may need to take additional classes. You may be able to count some of your Master's level classes. How many credits do you have missing? You may also be able to CLEP out of some of them.

Click to expand...

I understand that after getting PE, transfers are relatively manageable to other states. I was curious which states would allow me to sit for PE after 4 years of FE, because based on credit deficiency in arts/humanities in Bachelor degree, MA state board may count it as NON ABET accredited and may not permit me to take PE before 8 years instead of usual 4 after FE.

Masters level courses cannot/are not considered because I did not take humanities courses in MS program. All credits are engineering credits, and my Bachelors degree has enough credits to surpass these requirements but not in the arts/humanities group. I have 9/16 in general education/arts/ humanities.

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Hi,

I think the solution is pretty easy. First, OFFICIALLY AND IN WRITING ask the board if you will need to take those courses and which type of courses or institutions would be acceptable. My experience is the in general boards will not bother you for 2 humanities classes. If you are a Master's student and the board asks you to take the courses, just go ahead and take the six credits of humanities at the university you are right now or at the local community college or online. Usually, it shall not be a problem to take classes with undergrads, choose something you like and that might be useful, like American History or so.

It really doesn't matter where you do the FE, so choose a place where requirements are easier. I have a foreign degree and did mine in Michigan.

For the PE I did mine in Texas, with my PhD it was a breeze. Other states can be more tough with conditions to take the PE.

Based on my own experience, I would strongly recommend to eliminate all discrepancies in the evaluated degree - it will follow you throughout your carrier. Even if some boards will let it pass based on your graduate/post-graduate education and/or experience, you would still have to write explanatory letters and wait for board sessions to review your case as opposed to just being passed through the reciprocity routine (that is for getting PE by transferring NCEES record after you get your initial PE).

First, talk to NCEES and see what they can suggest; maybe you masters degree will solve the problem; they were helpful in my case.

If your masters degree is some time away, find out about and take CLEP exam(s), then have NCEES re-evaluate your degree. Be careful and find out with NCEES if the particular exam will suffice in your particular case before taking it.

Good luck.

My degree is fom outside United States, too. I applied in MI. My degree was evaluated and I got the same issue, not having enough Humanities credit. I appeal to the Board, showing that I had to pass an essays test when I got my Chatered Engineer in UK and I had to pass a law and ethics exam when I got my professional license in Canada. The MI Board accepted and allowed me to sit the PE exam. I passed my PE exam in MI. After that I got PE licenses in FL, CO, WA, OR, NY, SD, WY, NE, ID, AZ, TX, MT and CA (had to pass the CA Seismic and Surveying exam). I still have "no-go" states, like NM, OK, KS, IL (after asking me to pass a Toeffl English exam, they said that I do not have enough Chemistry credits). These states (NM, OK, KS) are adamant that I need to have an ABET approved or equivalent degree.

Best of luck.

I have a 5-yr double bachelors from an Australian university, BEng(Mech)/BTech(Aero) and applied for EIT in NY. They do their own internal degree evaluation provided you can get them an English language transcript. Mine also has was very technical-heavy program but it was approved quickly by NY, and I think they gave me full credit (as if it was ABET accredited). Not sure if the double degree helped or not, but I would think your masters would get you a long way there too. California also takes non-US degrees and evaluates internally, but automatically requires an additional 2 years experience over those with ABET degrees. Luckily they also require two fewer years than every other state.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I guess I will go ahead and take the CLEP to clear out any further problems and get my credentials reevaluated.

Bombo_Buster said:

My degree is fom outside United States, too. I applied in MI. My degree was evaluated and I got the same issue, not having enough Humanities credit. I appeal to the Board, showing that I had to pass an essays test when I got my Chatered Engineer in UK and I had to pass a law and ethics exam when I got my professional license in Canada. The MI Board accepted and allowed me to sit the PE exam. I passed my PE exam in MI. After that I got PE licenses in FL, CO, WA, OR, NY, SD, WY, NE, ID, AZ, TX, MT and CA (had to pass the CA Seismic and Surveying exam). I still have "no-go" states, like NM, OK, KS, IL (after asking me to pass a Toeffl English exam, they said that I do not have enough Chemistry credits). These states (NM, OK, KS) are adamant that I need to have an ABET approved or equivalent degree.

Best of luck.

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I had a question about the PE exam in CA. So, as I understand, CA requires one to take an additional Seismic & Surveying exam for a PE license? Do they have two different exams if one were to get their first license in CA?

Yes. You have to pass the PE Civil Exam (8-hours) + California Seismic exam (2.5 hours) + Surveying (2.5 hours)

I had the almost similar situation in Florida.

So, I went to the school to take those useless classes to meet their requirement.

I heard that Ohio is pretty easy for the requirement. However, if you are working in another state, it does not help you.

Belgian engineer (PE CA) having credentials evaluated for licensure by comity in NY...

Anybody knows how U.S. equivalent credits are calculated? I just received notice I failed the math/basic sciences requirements, and general education. Nothing much I can do about the latter, but failing math/basic sciences is nonsense. I remember the nightmarish first two years of college back in Belgium, it was nothing but math and basic sciences!

So I want to review their numbers against mine, but they don't tell you how the U.S. credits are calculated. Frustrating, and poor engineering as well. When I review a calculation, I want to see how the results were obtained,  the formulas, data sources, etc,!

I cant speak directly how they determine credits, but i do know NCEES and some states are very strict about European degrees. We had a German gentlemen in our office who was denied sitting for the EIT until he took a list of college level classes that he could select from a list. Needless to say he still hasnt taken the test. It seems you have your PE in CA, so i dont know why new york is being stingy about it