Evaluation and Recognition of Academic Degrees from Countries Outside of Israel

What is the purpose of getting an academic degree recognized?

A person with an academic degree earned outside of Israel has three main avenues for using this degree in Israel:

  1. Academic: In order to pursue an advanced degree in Israel, you must submit your foreign degree to the Israeli university or college you wish to attend. Your degree will be evaluated. The universities have full academic freedom in this matter and are not subject to the criteria set by Misrad Hachinuch (Israeli Ministry of Education).
  2. 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 (see link below). For example, Misrad Habriut 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
  3. 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 Misrad Hachinuch’s Division for Evaluation of Foreign Academic Degrees, which issues a certificate with the applicant’s name, date of degree, name of university, state and country, level of academic degree and major. This certificate is only valid for salary-related issues and does not serve as confirmation of academic level.

How does one get their degree recognized by Misrad Hachinuch?
Through a simple online process!

Click here to learn how it works and get the process started! Once you press on the yellow button that says “Online System” you will be led through a user-friendly process of submitting your information and documents online. While instructions are mainly in Hebrew, hovering over the text (“tooltips”) will provide you with English translation of each step.

Degree Evaluation Pre-Aliyah:

If you are interested in getting your degree evaluated before you make Aliyah, you need to apply as if you are an Oleh Chadash:

  1. Instead of your teudat zehut, enter your passport number and upload a copy of your passport.
  2. Instead of uploading a copy of your teudat Oleh, upload either the email from the Jewish Agency with your Aliyah approval (must have your full name and passport number on it) or a copy of your Aliyah visa. Any uploaded document needs to be verified as true copy by your local Israeli Consulate.
  3. Enter an Israeli mobile phone number (of a friend or relative if you don’t have one) as the system does not accept US phone numbers.

Tips and Information:

  • Save your information and documents in the system periodically by clicking save at the top left corner.
  • Each degree requires its own entry in the system.
  • All documents submitted in the online system must be signed “true copy” (נאמן למקור) by an Israeli lawyer or a representative of Misrad Haklita on the link at the top of this page.
  • The only documents that need to be mailed are notarized translations with a red ribbon on it. Instructions are on the Misrad Hachinuch site. Since English documents do not need to be translated, this is mainly relevant for Olim from countries whose degrees are in languages other than the following exempt languages: English, Arabic, Ukrainian or Russian.
  • Within 4 days of applying you should receive a username and password which you will use until completion of the process.
  • For Olim from North America, it should take approximately 4-6 weeks until you receive official recognition of your documents.

Online Degree Evaluation

Students who have earned an online degree prior to making Aliyah are evaluated differently from those who earn an online degree in Israel.
Pre-Aliyah: If the degree is listed as a recognized institution on CHEA (Council for Higher Education Accreditation) site, it will be approved by the Ministry of Education.
Post-Aliyah: 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.

Non-Academic Credits

Misrad HaChinuch 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:

Please see: Notice Concerning Amendments to the Regulations for Recognition of Non-Academic Studies as Part of Foreign Bachelor Degrees in Terms of Their Evaluation for Ranking and Salary Purposes.

For a detailed list of documents to submit and additional information, see the Ministry of Education website.

Additional Notes

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 [email protected] 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 Misrad HaChinuch.
  • 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 Misrad HaChinuch doesn’t recognize your BA, then your MA will also not be recognized.
  • Anyone who started university studies after August 2000 must also present a high school diploma.

Last Updated: January 13, 2022.

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