Recognition of Diplomas
Evaluation of Academic Degrees from Foreign Countries:
A person with an academic degree earned outside of Israel has three main avenues for using this degree in Israel
- Academic: In order to pursue an advanced degree in Israel, you must submit your foreign degree to the Israeli university you wish to attend. Your degree will be evaluated. The universities have full academic freedom in this matter and are not subject to the Ministry of Education's criteria.
- Employment: In order to practice a profession that requires Israeli licensing (e.g. medicine, law, engineering, psychology, para-medical professions, etc.), you must apply for a license from the appropriate government office. For example, the Ministry of Health grants licenses to practice medicine, psychology, and other health-related fields. Transcripts and diplomas must be submitted to the appropriate governing body. If you have questions about your eligibility to meet Israeli licensing requirements, please see: Professional Licensing in Israel
- Salary: If you are employed in the Israel public sector, you will receive an increase in salary based on your academic degrees. Degrees from Israeli institutions are automatically recognized. Degrees from foreign countries are evaluated by the Foreign Degree Evaluation Branch, which issues a certificate with the applicant’s name, date of degree, the name of the university, state and country, the level of academic degree and major. This certificate is only valid for salary-related issues and does not serve as confirmation of the academic level.
For more information about the rules for the evaluation of academic B.A and M.A degrees and for specific details, see Degree rules and information including the following:
- Required documentation
- Application forms
- Recognition of distance learning programs
- Branch office and hours
PLEASE NOTE:
Students who live in the South, North or Haifa are required to submit their documents by mail or in-person to their local office. They will NOT be accepted in the Jerusalem office, which is just for Jerusalem region residents. Students who live in the Center can submit their documents at any of the offices.
Useful Information:
The Ministry of Education has strict guidelines about the acceptance of non-academic credits. These include credits from institutions that are not recognized officially as institutions of higher education (such as yeshivot and seminaries) as well as credits that were not taken in the course of a degree program (even if they were obtained from a recognized academic institution). The credits are evaluated according to the following guidelines:
If you started your degree before July 2008, the Ministry of Education will accept up to 20 non-academic credits, as long as you meet these criteria:
- You started the degree after having worked for at least 10 years.
- There is a clear connection between the non-academic credits and the degree.
If you started your degree after July 2008, these are the guidelines defined by Ministry of Education:
Non-academic credits cannot constitute more than 25% of the total credits needed for the BA, based on the following criteria:
- The exemption applies only to subjects that are not part of the core curriculum, major, or introductory classes necessary for the BA.
- The exemption applies only to studies in an institution requiring applicants to complete 12 years of study prior to acceptance.
- The exemption applies only to institutions that are certified by the local authorities to accept non-academic studies towards a BA; it does not apply to institutions that award such exemptions to Israeli students alone.
- The exemption applies only to situations where the non-academic studies are commensurate with the parallel academic studies in terms of their scope.
- The exemption applies only to non-academic studies that were undertaken within five years of beginning the academic coursework.
The department may demand documentation or information necessary to verify the above criteria, including:
- Documentation certifying the completion of coursework and its scope
- Syllabi of the non-academic studies
- Syllabi of academic courses from which you received an exemption
- The scope of academic studies from which you received an exemption
All requests for recognition of non-academic studies are determined by the committee and are based on the above guidelines. Nonetheless, applicants will be considered on a case by case basis and based on the discretion of the committee.
Students who have earned an online degree prior to immigrating are evaluated differently from those who earn an online degree in Israel.
Pre-Immigration: If the degree is listed as a recognized institution on CHEA (www.chea.org) site, it will be approved by the Ministry of Education.
Post-Immigration: The CHEA site is utilized, but the Ministry of Education has additional evaluation criteria.
Keep in mind that the Ministry will only consider BA degrees in which the student was required to complete final exams for at least 50% of the courses. This stipulation does not apply to graduate degrees, in which final exams are not a requirement.
NOTE: The Ministry of Health DOES NOT recognize any online degrees in the medical or para-medical fields.
As there have been issues in recent years with acceptance of foreign degrees (especially those which included non-academic credits), please note the points below. Contact diplomot@education.gov.il with any questions.
- You must submit separate transcripts from each source of credits that counted toward your degree. For example, if your degree is from the University of Maryland but you took courses – for credit that counted toward your degree – at NYU, you must also submit the NYU transcripts.
- Due to the strict guidelines regarding non-academic credits, the Thomas Edison degree is often problematic in terms of official recognition by the Department of Education.
- In order to facilitate the acceptance of yeshiva or seminary credits, it is recommended to Major or Minor in Jewish Studies or another faculty where a connection to the yeshiva/seminary credits can be clearly established. Another option is to take extra credits toward your degree so that the yeshiva/seminary credits don’t have to be counted.
- If the Department of Education doesn’t recognize your BA, then your MA will also not be recognized.
- Those who are still living abroad and would like to submit their degrees for recognition must provide a local Israeli address, passport and the stamp of an Israeli lawyer at the Israeli Consulate on their documents which reads “Neeman L’Makor (true to the original document).”
- Anyone who started university studies after August, 2000 must also present a high school diploma.