ECA for degrees from two different countries from WES (India and the UK)

[Singhsta]

Hello everyone,

I would very much appreciate your assistance with regards to my query.

I hold a Masters in IT from the UK and a BE in Computer Engineering from the University of Mumbai.

With regards to getting the ECA done, do I need to get both the BE and the Masters evaluated from WES, or will only my highest degree (masters) suffice?

Also, if I have to get the BE evaluated, do I need to get both transcripts AND marksheets from the college(2nd and 3rd year) and the University of Mumbai (1st and 4th year) or will just the marksheets suffice since I have found the following information on the WES website:

B.Eng.
Mark sheets for year 2 and 3 of your study program (semesters 3-6) may be issued and attested by the college you attended. Mark sheets representing year 1 and 4 of your study must be issued and attested by the University of Mumbai.

Also, if I need to get both degrees evaluated, can it be done under one application on WES or would I need to pay twice and create two different applications for each degree?

At the risk of sounding silly, could someone explain the difference between Final or Provisional Degree Certificate (Is it the final year marksheet that contains both 7th and 8th semester marks) and the Convocation certificate especially with regards to Mumbai University?

Thanks in advance and I look forward to all your replies!

 

[Asivad Anac]

Check the equivalency for your Masters degree ---> https://www.wes.org/ca/preliminary/poe.asp?

If it is equivalent to a Canadian Masters degree, you don't need to have an ECA for your Bachelors degree.

All the best!

 

[sushsmart15]

Yes, you can get both the degrees evaluated under a single application of WES. I suggest you ask both the Universities - Mumbai and the one in UK to provide you the transcripts and send them to WES Canada. Get both evaluated. I did the same.

As such you can claim the maximum points only for your highest degree.

 

[ag2015usa]

Getting the University of Mumbai degree evaluated is a massive pain. You need to evaluate only the highest degree (i.e. your Master's). I had posted a link to the CIC page that specifically says that a few days ago, you can try looking for the link on the forum or just search the CIC Q n A website. The short answer to your question is, just get the Master's evaluated.

 

[Singhsta]

Thank you both for your prompt replies Asivad Anac and sushsmart15. Much appreciated!

As mentioned by Asivad, I carried out my degree equivalency using the link provided and it turns out my MSc. from the UK is equivalent to a Canadian Masters degree.

And as sushsmart15 suggested to get both degrees evaluated, but since I can claim maximum points only for my highest degree, can I only get my Masters evaluated since it will save me a lot of time and hassle.

For Universities in the UK, I believe we only have to submit everything electronically using Digitary or Gradintel for electronic document delivery to WES. Has anyone ever done this before and would be kind enough to shed some light on the same?

Also, while registering on the WES website, it provides an option for First and Last name. But I have Singh as my middle name, and it has been mentioned on my Masters certificate as well. So should I mention 'Singh' in the First name dialog box while registering along with my first name?

 

[sushsmart15]

For Universities in UK, you need to provide them your student number and a scan copy of your transcript.
You can visit their website and pay the fees to order a copy of your transcript. You can ask them to directly send the Transcript to WES Canada by providing your WES Reference number and the form.

 

[Singhsta]

Thank you ag2015usa. Just the answer I was hoping for!

For Universities in UK, you need to provide them your student number and a scan copy of your transcript.
You can visit their website and pay the fees to order a copy of your transcript. You can ask them to directly send the Transcript to WES Canada by providing your WES Reference number and the form.

Will get in touch with my University and keep you guys posted on the process.

Also, would like to thank/rate you guys for all your assistance. How do I do that on this forum?

 

[sushsmart15]

You need to hit the "Good" mentioned under a person's ID/name to express your gratitude.

 

[Singhsta]

Strangely enough, I don't seem to get that option under or anywhere near your usernames. Could it be because I am a newbie?

 

[rohansekhri]

Thank you ag2015usa. Just the answer I was hoping for!

Will get in touch with my University and keep you guys posted on the process.

Also, would like to thank/rate you guys for all your assistance. How do I do that on this forum?

I hope you've gone through the directions which WES has laid out for students of Mumbai University. Well, some people would disagree here, but its better to send both the degrees for evaluation. In my case, i know my masters from Symbiosis Distance Learning won't work, but WES still asked me to mail it and did not start my evaluation until they received it.

Consider a case where an employer/univ might ask you for the authenticity of both your degrees. In such cases, having your entire educational qualifications assessed will certainly help. I know MU is pain, as mentioned in many forums, but do not tell them that you want it for immigration, tell them its required for higher studies and you're supposed to join sometime soon.

 

[ag2015usa]

There are specific Master's degrees (mostly Indian, I believe), where WES asks for the Bachelor's transcripts as well. This is mentioned on the WES' website itself, but failing there isn't a need to get the Bachelor's evaluated.

FWIW, I got only my Master's (American) evaluated and according to my GCMS notes, my application has been deemed complete (R10 check) and the notes specifically say that they verified the WES report on their website and it is consistent with the level claimed by me.

 

[rohansekhri]

There are specific Master's degrees (mostly Indian, I believe), where WES asks for the Bachelor's transcripts as well. This is mentioned on the WES' website itself, but failing there isn't a need to get the Bachelor's evaluated.

FWIW, I got only my Master's (American) evaluated and according to my GCMS notes, my application has been deemed complete (R10 check) and the notes specifically say that they verified the WES report on their website and it is consistent with the level claimed by me.

It's on a case to case basis and independent of the country. For my wife, she didn't have to submit her bachelor's to get the master's evaluated nor did she get any emails asking for her bachelor's and she is Indian too ... In case they ask, it'll delay the whole process. I missed a draw because of this, although got the ITA in the next one.

In case, this gentleman still has time for your language tests, then I would suggest to get your bachelor's transcript too and send it. Just saving some valuable time

 

[ag2015usa]

It isn't on a case by case basis, here's quote from the WES' website when you select your country of education as India:

Special Requirements:

For applicants submitting a Master’s Degree or PGDip (12+3+2) for evaluation click here.
For study completed at the University of Mumbai, Gujarat University, or Goa University click here.
For study in Ayurveda, Unani, and Siddha indigenous medical systems click here.
WES does NOT evaluate academic records from Sikkim Manipal University.

For all applicants submitting a Master’s Degree or PGDip earned on top of a three year Bachelor’s Degree (12+3+2) for evaluation, WES requires that you provide your Bachelor’s degree documents, otherwise WES cannot complete the evaluation.

If your wife had a 4 year Bachelor's, then they wouldn't ask for the Bachelor's to be evaluated. In the OP's case and mine, we have 4 year Bachelor's degrees (BE) hence we didn't need to get the Bachelor's evaluated.

 

[Singhsta]

I hope you've gone through the directions which WES has laid out for students of Mumbai University. Well, some people would disagree here, but its better to send both the degrees for evaluation. In my case, i know my masters from Symbiosis Distance Learning won't work, but WES still asked me to mail it and did not start my evaluation until they received it.

Consider a case where an employer/univ might ask you for the authenticity of both your degrees. In such cases, having your entire educational qualifications assessed will certainly help. I know MU is pain, as mentioned in many forums, but do not tell them that you want it for immigration, tell them its required for higher studies and you're supposed to join sometime soon.

Now I'm confused :-\ What you mentioned here does make sense, but my hesitation is due to the fact that my name is spelt in a total of 3 different ways on my Bachelor's degree (BE) marksheets and certificates. Mumbai University has a habit of starting with your Last name followed by your name, your father's name and finally your mothers first name. This order of names has been moved around in three different ways in my BE documents.

On the other hand, my MSc documents have the name as it should be; first name, middle name and last name, which is why I am inclined to go just with my Masters for evaluation.

If I submit my bachelors for evaluation, wouldn't the difference in names from my masters degree create problems? Any advise on how to tackle this would be appreciated.

Also, as I mentioned earlier, the WES registration page does not provide an option to enter your middle name (in my case 'Singh'). So should I include it in the first name dialog box along with my First name while registering or omit it altogether?

 

[Asivad Anac]

Now I'm confused :-\ What you mentioned here does make sense, but my hesitation is due to the fact that my name is spelt in a total of 3 different ways on my Bachelor's degree (BE) marksheets and certificates. Mumbai University has a habit of starting with your Last name followed by your name, your father's name and finally your mothers first name. This order of names has been moved around in three different ways in my BE documents.

On the other hand, my MSc documents have the name as it should be; first name, middle name and last name, which is why I am inclined to go just with my Masters for evaluation.

If I submit my bachelors for evaluation, wouldn't the difference in names from my masters degree create problems? Any advise on how to tackle this would be appreciated.

Also, as I mentioned earlier, the WES registration page does not provide an option to enter your middle name (in my case 'Singh'). So should I include it in the first name dialog box along with my First name while registering or omit it altogether?

Let's simplify this.

Having a Master's degree or an equivalent ECA gives you the 2nd highest points on the grid, highest being reserved for applicants with a PhD. A Masters ECA report from WES subsumes the knowledge that there is a Bachelors degree, high school etc in the applicant's past. If a Bachelors ECA is recommended 'just in case', why stop there? Let's get the school credentials while we are at it!

Bottom line is that you get CRS points for the highest educational credential either acquired inside Canada or an equivalent ECA. Your UK Masters suffices for this purpose - just get that ECA and proceed with your application.

All the best!