Section 1380.230  Approved Experience

a)         Each application shall be reviewed by the Division or the Professional Engineer Board (Board) to determine whether the applicant has shown evidence that the professional (non-structural) engineering experience meets the requirements for licensure as described in this Section.  All experience shall have been acquired after conferral of the baccalaureate degree except as provided in subsections (a)(1), (a)(4), and (a)(5).

1)         Credit for one year of experience shall be given for completion of graduate study resulting in a master's degree in engineering from a U.S. university, including as part of a combined or dual-degree or co-terminal program where the baccalaureate degree requirements are being met simultaneously with the master’s degree requirements.

2)         Credit for two years of experience shall be given for completion of graduate study resulting in a doctor's degree in engineering from a U.S. university.

3)         The maximum credit for graduate study shall be 2 years.

4)         Credit for one year of experience shall be given for a graduate of a university certified cooperative program.

A)        An internship shall not qualify for co-op credit.

B)        The co-op program shall consist of supervised industrial or field training to last at least one academic year and alternate with semesters of full-time academic education.

C)        Applicants claiming credit for participation shall submit an official transcript reflecting university credit for completion of the co-op program.

D)        All experience must be verified, on forms provided by the Division, by the supervising engineer who is licensed as a professional engineer.

5)         Credit for professional engineering experience earned PRIOR TO conferral of a baccalaureate degree shall be given if the employment is full-time and if the applicant takes eight or more years to earn the degree as a part-time student, as provided for in Section (10)(b) of the Act.

6)         All experience shall be gained under the supervision of a licensed professional engineer or a person legally practicing professional engineering pursuant to Section 3 of the Act who verifies the experience during which the applicant was doing work at a professional level, and the manner in which the work prepares the applicant for licensure as a professional engineer.

7)         Credit for all necessary experience shall only be given for actual experience in the practice of professional engineering.  Acceptable experience shall be within the definition of the practice as set forth in Section 4(o) of the Act and shall require the application of technical knowledge and professional engineering principles.

8)         The required engineering experience shall require the applicant to demonstrate progressive growth in quality, responsibility, and capability of making independent technical decisions, and be held accountable for the performance of the applicant's duties.

9)         Engineering experience that is structural in nature shall not be accepted for the Professional Engineer license as it is outside the scope of practice as set forth in Section 4(o) of the Act.

10)       A maximum of three years of experience may be given for full-time teaching of upper division junior/senior courses or graduate courses in an approved engineering program as defined in Section 1380.210.  An academic year of full-time instruction shall be considered equivalent to one year of experience as required for licensure.  Instruction may not be done concurrently while enrolled as a student in an approved engineering program at any level.  Instruction must be documented and certified via affidavit by the department chair or dean of the engineering program.

11)       All experience must be verified and submitted on forms provided by the Division or as part of the NCEES Record.

12)       Experience gained outside of the U.S. may be accepted and shall be accompanied by certified documents detailing the requirements to legally practice professional engineering in the country and proof that the supervisor met those requirements at the time of supervision.  The applicant, at their expense and if necessary, is responsible for providing translation of documents into English for review by the Board.  A maximum of four years of experience gained in this manner shall be given.

b)         A post-graduate degree used to satisfy the educational requirements under Section 1380.220 shall not be eligible for use as experience credit.

c)         Experience Requirements

1)         For a graduate from an approved program

A)        To be enrolled as an Engineer Intern, no experience is required.

B)        To be licensed as a Professional Engineer, 4 years of acceptable experience is required.

2)         For a graduate from a non-approved program

A)        To be enrolled as an Engineer Intern, 4 years of acceptable experience is required.

B)        To be licensed as a Professional Engineer, 8 years of acceptable experience is required.

(Source:  Amended at 47 Ill. Reg. 876, effective January 5, 2023)