sultanoflondon

Hi all,

I was wondering whether good quality UK degrees are accepted in the US? I was going to go to either Oxbridge or London School of Economics for a bachelors degree in Economics and I was wondering whether it would be accepted in the US so that I would be able to pursue a masters degree over there? Or would I have to do both degrees in the US?

Thanks in advance!

JAJ

An employer or university may (or may not) accept a U.K. degree at face value.

Otherwise, credential evaluation may be required:
http://www.naces.org/

Note that some states/institutions may only accept certain evaluators.

dunroving

US universities recognise the quality of UK degrees.

Depending on the university, there may be a need to pay for a commercial company to certify the "equivalence" of your degree, but most universities these days are used to accepting international students into graduate programs.

(You may have some that question whether a 3-year UK degree is equivalent to a 4-year US degree, but this can be addressed).

Pulaski

US universities are mostly revenue driven. If you have a bachelor's degree you will have no problem being accepted at a US university for a master's degree. With a bachelor's degree from Oxbridge or LSE, you would meet the academic requirements for any US university.

sultanoflondon

Hi there. Thanks so much for your prompt reply! I am very new to the whole system. I understand from your post that UK/foreign degrees are 'evaluated' by an external organisation? How would I go about doing this if necessary?

thanks.

sultanoflondon

So US employers and universities recognise that UK degrees are good and not just a piece of paper? That's good. Thanks.

sultanoflondon

Thanks for the reply. I realise that Oxbridge and LSE degrees are amongst the elite of the world and therefore if I were to get into any other average UK university such as Nottingham, Durham, Warwick, Birmingham, etc. would they be accepted well, or not at all or sort of? Thanks so much!

sir_eccles

Not sure that is what he said. In the end all degrees are just pieces of paper. More important now is internships.

dunroving

Some of the universities you have listed are "above average".

I obtained my undergraduate degree from an institution that (I am guessing from the above), you would describe as "average" or "below average" (not sure what criteria you are using), and it didn't stop me getting into a (top 25%) private US college (for my discipline) and a (top 25%) public US university (for any discipline), with scholarships at both.

As noted by Sir Eccles, I didn't say anything about US employers.

sultanoflondon

Thanks for that, Sir Eccles and Dunroving.

Dunroving, which universities did you get into, both US and UK? Thanks.

How would I do credential evaluation?


Thanks again.

Steve_

Universities might but employers are a different kettle of fish. Depends on the job and what you want to use the degree for, for example a foreign university isn't going to cover US business law, financial regulation, HR law, etc. so typically a foreign degree has less value, in the same way a US degree would have less value in the UK.

Also because a bachelor's only takes three years in the UK that often causes confusion, because you don't have the year of making up for crappy high school courses.

This gives an example of how this stupid four-year rule can cause you problems: http://www.immigration-visa-lawyer-b...y-what-co.html

So if you do three years, the degree often is considered less than the equivalent of a US degree.

Pulaski

Though that ceases to be a problem once you have a few years work experience under your belt.

lgabriel73

Never had a problem with my UK degree in the US for work purposes or for starting my masters. The school just requires transcripts to see if you meet their GPA requirements. Only time I had to get it certified was for immigration purposes and it was certified that it was the equivalent of a US bachelors despite being only 3 years.

dunroving

That's personal information I don't share on public forums. Doesn't really add to my point either.

Your second question was already answered in post #2.

kimilseung

follow the instructions regarding evaluation from the institution that you are interested in. Most have a short list of evaluators they will accept. It will probably involve emailing, or maybe snail mailing your documents, probably filling in a short form and arranging payment. The evaluation will then be returned to you, possibly also to the institution of your choosing. copies may also be in a sealed envelope for you to distribute yourself.


one such evaluating organization is www.fis-web.com