Section 1480.130  Approved Experience

a)         Every application shall be reviewed by the Division or the Structural Engineering Board (Board) to determine whether the applicant's experience meets the requirements described in this Section.  Approved experience, other than in accordance with subsection (a)(1)(A), shall have been acquired after conferral of the baccalaureate degree.

1)         Credit for Graduate Study:

A)        One year of experience shall be given for completion of graduate study resulting in conferral of a master's degree with an emphasis in civil or structural engineering from a U.S. university, including as part of a combined or dual degree program where the baccalaureate degree requirements are being met simultaneously with the master’s degree requirements.  The course of study shall include a minimum of 12 semester hours, or their equivalent (e.g., 18 quarter hours), of structural analysis, behavior or design courses.

B)        One year of experience shall be given for completion of graduate study resulting in conferral of a doctoral degree with an emphasis in structural engineering from a U.S. university and a course of study that includes a minimum of 12 semester hours, or their equivalent (e.g., 18 quarter hours), of structural analysis, behavior or design courses beyond a master's degree. Two years of experience shall be given for completion of graduate study resulting in conferral of a doctoral degree with an emphasis in structural engineering from a U.S. university and a course of study that includes a minimum of 24 semester hours, or their equivalent (e.g., 36 quarter hours), of structural analysis, behavior or design courses without a master's degree.

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

D)        If coursework from a post-graduate degree is used to satisfy the education requirement, the applicable post-graduate degree shall not also be credited as structural engineering experience.

2)         Credit for one year of structural engineering 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 in the university cooperative program shall submit an official transcript from the university reflecting the university credit for completion of the program; and

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

3)         Credit for all required experience shall be given for actual experience in the practice of structural engineering under the employ or immediate supervision of an engineer legally practicing structural engineering.  Acceptable experience shall be within the definition of the practice as set forth in Section 5 of the Act and shall require the application of technical knowledge and structural engineering principles.

4)         All experience shall be progressive in nature and must demonstrate growth in quality, responsibility and the capability of making independent technical decisions , and be held accountable for the performance of his or her duties.

5)         Credit for a maximum of 3 years of the experience required for licensure shall be given for the full-time teaching of upper division junior/senior courses or graduate courses in structural engineering as a part of, or in conjunction with, an approved engineering curriculum as set forth in Section 1480.110.  An academic year of full-time teaching (2 semesters, or 3 quarters) at a level of assistant professor, or higher, shall be considered equivalent to 6 months of the experience required for licensure.  This teaching experience shall be fully documented, and certified by an affidavit from the department chairman, or dean, of the engineering curriculum involved.

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

7)         Experience gained outside of the U.S. shall be accompanied by certified documents detailing the requirements to legally practice structural engineering in that country and proof that the supervisor met those requirements at the time of supervision.  Applicant is responsible for providing translations into English as necessary and at their expense.  A maximum of two years of verified experience gained in this manner shall be given.

b)         Experience requirement to be licensed as a Structural Engineer:

1)         For a graduate from an approved program, 4 years of acceptable experience is required.

2)         For a graduate from a non-approved program, 8 years of acceptable experience is required.

(Source:  Amended at 47 Ill. Reg. 946, effective January 5, 2023)