U.S. recognition of a foreign degree

Hello,

Is there an official or reputable organization in U.S. that one can pay to have a foreign degree evaluated and recognized as being equivalent to a U.S. degree?

I have a Bachelor's degree from Canada and a Master's from the U.S. I am now pursuing a Doctorate abroad and I know (based on past experience) that my program is undoubtedly comparable to a U.S. program based on quality and rigor. That being said, it would be nice to have a recognized body, if there is such a thing, "approve" the degree as being equivalent to an American one.

Thanks

 

Any evaluation service that is a member of NACES (Nat'l Assoc. of Credential Evaluation Services) will be legitimate, although they do vary in their opinions, espcially when non-traditional' programs or schools are involved. My readers, over the years, have most recommended World Education Services in NY, Josef Silny in Miami, and ECE in Milwaukee. The similar service offered by AACRAO, the Amer. Assoc. of Collegiate Registrars, is also popular. Be sure to stay with the NACES or AACRAO ones; there are phony organizations in this field, just as there are phony schools and accreditors.

John Bear
Bears Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance LEARNING

 

I'd like to point out that WES has a very fast and reliable service BUT they have a "peculiar" opinion about foreign degrees.

I have a "Licenciatura" e "Bacharelado" in History from a very prestigious (in my country, of course) brazilian university. It's a 4 year degree and almost always accepted as a BA here in the USA - but WES gave me only 3.5 years of undergrad study, not a full american BA.

I don't have any idea way - and believe me, I've tried to argue with then about it.

Fortunately my current american University (AAU) DID accept me in their Master program after seeing my diploma and (most important) my portfolio.

But that's because it's an MFA. I think I'd have some serious problems trying to enter in any other kind of Master in the USA, like and MBA or MA because of the WES evaluation.

So, just keep that in mind about WES.

 

From my experience many universities relay on more then one credential evaluation service so when WES evaluated one of my credentials a 5 year specialist degree form Soviet Union they evaluated it equivalent to US RA Masters of Science in Computer Science, I also got evaluation from another NACES member agency located in Sacramento and their evaluation stated that it was Masters of Science in Informatics with qualified title of Engineer in Soviet union. Closer to what is stated on the diploma.

In their notes the evaluators used exactly the same publications so go figure.
I like having two evaluations. They provide me more flexibility.

 

I guess it depends on where "abroad" is. If it is from the UK, Australia or New Zealand, you probably don't need an assessment. Even French degrees are pretty standard fare.

 

What about UNISA?

Has anyone here tried to get a degree from the University of South Africa evaluated in the USA? With what results?

 

Then shouldn't the university already have some kind of scholarly or professional reputation in its field?

I don't think that credential evaluations typically evaluate "quality and rigor". A credential evaluation is more interested in how degree syllabi from different countries compare. Do the degrees require roughly the same quantity of work, do they cover all the fundamental material, are individual subjects addressed at the same level and have similar prerequisites? My impression is that credential evaluation probably makes the most sense at the bachelors and sometimes the masters level.

Another thing to think about: many graduate schools and likely employers as well will specify which credential evaluators they want applicants to use. They routinely work with the same one, probably for reasons of consistency.

Moving on to a more fundamental issue, are PhDs ever selected simply because they possess a doctoral diploma with recognized accreditation or because some evaluator has deemed the degree 'equivalent'? Perhaps on the level of adjunct hiring in high-demand subjects.

But in government and industry research positions and for full-time hiring in research universities, hiring committees are more likely to inquire into a candidate's previous research experience, what they worked on, who they worked with, what their thinking is on particular technical issues, and stuff like that.

So if I was doing a doctorate overseas and cared about it being recognized and respected by the scholarly and professional communities here in the United States, I'd target enrolling a reputable 'GAAP' school with a reputation in my particular subject and ideally in my dissertation area as well. Then I'd try to get involved in research activities working alongside my professors (physically if I was there or by telecomunications if it was DL), would try to get some publication credits and would work to raise my profile in the profession by making myself visible at professional meetings and by getting myself introduced around. Employers are more apt to hire people that they already know, at least by reputation, or who come highly recommended by individuals that they respect.