Effective Jan. 30, 2024, the Florida Board of Professional Engineers allows applicants seeking licensure as Professional Engineers in Florida to count both full-time work experience and up to 12 months of experience equivalents earned while enrolled part-time in a graduate engineering program culminating in a master’s or doctorate degree.
For this to apply, students must be enrolled fewer than 12 hours per semester while earning their graduate degrees.
The Board’s change to Rule 61G15-20.002, Florida Administrative Code, is designed to help make licensure in Florida easier and follows Gov. Ron DeSantis’s request to Florida’s professional licensing boards in 2019 to review their rules and make changes to “keep Florida on a trajectory toward continued prosperity.” The Florida Board of Professional Engineers took this call to action in earnest and continues to review its rules, ensuring that “unreasonable” or outdated regulation does not impede personal or economic success.
Post-graduate education opportunities have become increasingly more accessible in ways that were not possible in the past. The Board felt that it was necessary to consider the fact that working full time while attending graduate school on a part-time basis has become more commonplace.
For illustrative purposes, prior to this rule change an applicant seeking licensure who worked for one year while simultaneously earning their master’s degree on a part-time basis would only be awarded a total of one year of experience. Now, that same applicant can claim two years of experience (one year of work experience plus 12 months of experience equivalents for the graduate degree).
Thank you,
Dylan Albergo
FBPE Chair (2024)