Academic Credentials: Is your Foreign Degree Equivalent to a U.S. Degree?
Some foreign degrees are equivalent to U.S. education, while others are not recognized as accredited education in the United States. Pre-evaluation services, such as those offered by CCI, can help people to determine whether their education is accredited (EMAILWIRE.COM, June 10, 2009 ) June 10, 2009 Fort Lauderdale, FL If you earned your degree in a foreign country, you know what your degree meant in that nation. When you decide to work or go to school in the United States, you hope that your degree is at least as valuable as it was in your home country. Unless you have your academic credentials evaluated by a foreign credential evaluation service, though, you can’t know for sure whether your foreign degree is equivalent to a U.S. degree. Some countries have different requirements for high school graduation than the U.S. does. In addition, these countries often have differing levels of high school diplomas. Some people may receive vocational diplomas, which would not entitle them to enter college in their home country. In this case, a person may or may not have the U.S. equivalence of a high school diploma. Generally, however, if the high school diploma issued permits an individual to attend university in his or her home country, this is recognized as equivalent to a U.S. high school diploma. In contrast, some countries may have requirements for high school graduation that exceed those of U.S. high school graduation. In these nations, students may be required to take a thirteenth year of secondary school, or take ‘A’ level exams. This extra year of secondary school often qualifies as one year of undergraduate education. Often, in these situations, a student is required to complete only three more years of education in order to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree. Demonstrating a U.S. Bachelor Degree equivalency for these students is a relatively straightforward process. In some countries, such as India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, however, a student attends elementary and secondary school for a total of twelve years. Bachelor Degrees from these countries may consist of a two- or three-year degree program. A two-year degree is usually evaluated as the educational equivalent of a U.S. Associate Degree. Sometimes, the three-year degree can be shown, through an extensive research process, to be equivalent to a U.S. Bachelor Degree. Credential evaluation services such as Career Consulting International (CCI), which specializes in evaluating three-year degrees, have extensive research files and databases that allow them to demonstrate this equivalency. Sheila Danzig, Executive Director at CCI are also aware that many people want to get an idea of what their degree is worth in terms of educational credentials before spending the money on a full educational evaluation. Therefore, they offer pre-evaluation services for a small fee. This service allows an individual to know whether his or her degree is recognized as accredited education, as well as to what level of U.S. education his or her degree is equal. For more information about pre-evaluations, visit www.thedegreepeople.com or call 1-800-771-4723.
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