Engineering Grad School in Europe count towards PE?

[jtw5a]

I graduated from an ABET accredited civil engineering undergraduate program and earned my EIT back in 2004. Since then I have worked in industry two years (1.5 yrs for a structural firm, 9 mo. for a coastal eng. firm). I am contemplating returning to graduate school for my masters and was recently accepted at the University of Delft in The Netherlands. The school is well-known, particularly in the coastal engineering field. The specific program is a 1.5 year Masters of Science track that culminates with a thesis. The school uses the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) and reports the credits are widely accepted in the USA, UK, and Australia.

Obtaining my PE license is a priority for me. Currently, I'd probably sit for the test in Florida, Virginia, or California. Does anyone know whether these state boards would treat The Netherlands program I described like a U.S. engineering masters (i.e. would I be able to use my schooling to count 1 year towards sitting for the exam and only have to work the three other years)?

Thanks for any help,

 

[DaveVikingPE]

I sure would hope that a degree from Delft would count as the 1 year work credit they give for a masters!

In New York, a master's - no matter how long or short it takes to get it - counts as one year of work experience. Check with your respective state's boards; if a school like Delft doesn't pass the mustard (I would be amazed if it didn't)...

 

[Tark62]

From the California standpoint, there is bad news and good news.

The bad news is that you would get zero education credit for a foreign MS degree. The California Board's Plain English Pamphlet states explicitly that "No credit will be given for foreign graduate work."

The good news is that you don't need such credit. If you have an ABET BS degree, then California only requires two years of work experience, which you already have.

You also need an EIT certificate, but you have that too. So if you can find four Civil PEs willing to act as references and sign off on your work experience, you would qualify to take the Civil PE exam in California already.

But note that California has more stringent exam requirements than other states. In California, Civil PE candidates are required to pass two 2.5-hour state exams, on surveying and seismic design, in addition to the NCEES Civil PE exam. The two state exams are comparable in difficulty to the national exam.

 

[KENAT]

My understanding of the rules in CA is pretty much the same as Tark62.

May also be worth looking at what counts as experience. Having done that it now appears I'm not even experienced enough to take my EIT since much of my time was spent drafting.