Foreign Credentials Evaluation Assistance

This page gives information to individuals who have earned (or will earn) a master's degree in library studies outside of the United States and details process to follow if seeking employment in the United States.

Job Seekers

This page is specifically for job seekers. If you are an employer looking for credentialing assistance, see our page for employers.

This information is intended for job seekers who obtained a degree in library and information science from a country other than the United States or Canada.

The policy of the American Library Association (ALA) states:

"The master's degree from a program accredited by the American Library Association (or from a master's level program in library and information studies accredited or recognized by the appropriate national body of another country) is the appropriate professional degree for librarians."

The American Library Association (ALA) does not accredit individual library degrees. ALA accredits library and information studies programs. If you did not earn your master’s degree from an ALA-accredited program, your degree cannot be ALA-accredited.

Attending an ALA-accredited program is not mandatory for employment in the U.S. However, finding employment in the U.S. without a degree from an ALA-accredited program can be extremely difficult. Employers have their own hiring policies and some are not permitted to hire individuals without a degree from an ALA-accredited program.

For individuals who received a master’s degree in library studies in Australia or the United Kingdom, the following statement applies:

It is hereby understood by this Statement of Mutual Recognition that the American Library Association, the Australian Library and Information Association, and the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals recognize the master’s-level degree programs accredited by each of the three associations (12 May 2017).

The following countries have been identified as having "formal" accreditation processes. An individual who has received his/her degree from an institution that is included on the countries' lists of accredited institutions/programs is considered acceptable for employment in the United States. A list of the specific institutions can be found at:Australia

If you are aware of an appropriate national body within your country of origin who recognizes programs and they are not listed here, please provide us with that information.

The American Library Association does not conduct evaluations of transcripts or credentials or make recognition decisions. We also cannot serve as a channel of appeal for persons dissatisfied with evaluations.

If you are seeking employment in a library in the United States, and received your degree outside of the U.S., you should consider having your credentials evaluated by an independent agency.

There is no governmental agency that specifically monitors, approves or certifies foreign credential evaluation services in the United States. Therefore, most individuals and agencies that conduct credential evaluations are affiliated with professional associations. Membership in one of these associations often requires a rigorous screening and application procedure. Members must usually adhere to strict standards of professional ethics and go through a recertification process periodically.

Choosing a foreign educational credential evaluation service is similar to choosing other professional service providers. When selecting an independent evaluator, you might consider if they are members of a professional credential evaluator association. Several credential evaluator associations are listed below. To find an agency to evaluate your transcripts/credentials, visit one of the sites listed below and click on find an evaluator or find a member.

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Questions to Ask When Choosing a Credential Evaluation Agency*

  • Does the credential evaluation agency have quick and efficient procedures for answering customer queries? Are they only available online, or can you speak to an actual person?
  • How long does the credential evaluation agency keep their records?
  • Does the evaluator offer the type of credential evaluation required for your purposes? Is it for employment or academic purposes? Do they provide course by course evaluation, overall documents evaluation, and/or professional work experience evaluation?
  • Are the credential evaluation reports presented in the necessary format for the intended purpose?
  • How competitive are the fees for the credential evaluation report?
  • What is the average time taken to receive completed credential evaluation reports? What kind of rush period/emergency policies does the credential evaluation agency have?
  • Is the credential evaluator able to provide genuine client references/reviews? How good and reliable are they?
  • Is it possible to obtain more copies of the credential evaluation from the evaluator if needed in the future and what is the procedure to obtain the same? Is there a fee?
  • How long has the credential evaluation agency been in this business?
  • What is their refund policy in case of withdrawal of the evaluation request?
  • Can the type of evaluation request be changed once placed? What sort of penalties apply?
  • What policy or recourse does the credential evaluation agency have to handle disputes?

*Questions from International Student.

These are just a few questions to ask when considering credential evaluation services. Once you get a determination concerning your course work, you can move forward with making a decision. If the evaluation indicates that your course work is equivalent to master’s level study, then you can use it when you apply for employment. You should understand however, that even having such a statement will not guarantee that you will be employed here in the U.S. as a librarian. These decisions are determined entirely by individual employers. The American Library Association can not influence employers in this area.

If the evaluation indicates that your credentials are lower than a master’s level, then you would need to decide if you are willing and/or able to complete an ALA-accredited masters program. If you decide that you want to proceed with an educational program here in the U.S., you would then need to do some investigations into programs. A good place to start is on our website. Here are a couple of pages to review:

1. Guidelines for Choosing a Master's Program

2. Directory of ALA-accredited master's programs in library and information studies

If you determine that you cannot or do not want to complete a master’s level library program here in the U.S. but still want to work in a library, you may try finding employment in a library as support staff.

Good luck with your library career.

If you have questions which have not been addressed by the information on this page, you may contact Beatrice Calvin, Manager, Professional Development, ALA Office for Human Resource Development and Recruitment at bcalvin@ala.org or via phone at 800/545/2433 ext. 4280.

Last updated March 2023