EXPERIENCE-BASED DEGREES

You've already done the work.

Get your real-world experience recognized.

No extra classes. No exams. No long essays.

Many people gain valuable knowledge and skills through working, running a business, volunteering, leading others, teaching, training, technical work, and community service.

CIE helps experienced adults explain what they have learned and show how it matches a degree.

This program is offered in partnership with Faculté Autonome Francophone de Management International (FAFMI), a private provider of higher and continuing adult education based in France.

Experienced professional

Preliminary Review

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Experience Degree Levels

Experienced Professionals

Do You Qualify?

You may qualify even if you have never thought of yourself as academic. If you have spent years working, volunteering, solving problems, and taking responsibility, you may have learned far more than you realize.

Your experience can come from different parts of your life. Paid work, self-employment, running a business, teaching, mentoring, community service, and volunteer work may all be relevant.

You do not need a senior job title or a traditional career. What matters is what you actually did, what you learned, who you helped, and the difference your work made.

CIE looks at each person’s story individually and suggests the degree level and pathway that appear to fit best. You do not need to work this out by yourself—the main experience areas we assess are shown below.

Experience Areas

- Business administration
- Civil engineering / construction
- Coaching
- Education
- IT & AI
- Humanitarian management
- International business management
- Public health
- Social impact and economy

Your experience may cover more than one of these areas. That is fine. CIE reviews your whole background and recommends the available degree pathway that appears to fit best.

Coder

GRADUATE TESTIMONIAL

What did it mean to you to have your experience formally recognized through a degree? My expertise is now recognized by the government in the country where I was hoping to live. Without this recognition, I would not have been able to receive the visa. It opened so many opportunities to me.

How have you used, or how do you plan to use, your degree? I have already had the opportunity to begin working for a private school. Now that I have this qualification, I can choose wide range of jobs in the area I live in.

-Colten, USA, awarded BA in 2026

GRADUATE TESTIMONIAL

Going through the VAE process helped me step back and see that I had developed valuable skills in leadership, education, training, and project management that genuinely reflected graduate-level competencies. It was both encouraging and humbling to have those years of experience recognized in such a meaningful way. Having this degree provides additional credibility that can help open doors to new opportunities for collaboration.

-Jonathan, USA, awarded MBA in 2026

GRADUATE TESTIMONIAL

I found the professional dossier particularly valuable. Besides serving as the basis for the degree, the dossier has helped me reflect on and present my experience in a structured and professional way, which I can also use when explaining my professional background in other settings. I have already included the degree in several job applications, and I was successful in one of those.

-Johannes, Germany, awarded BA in 2026

GRADUATE TESTIMONIAL

I truly appreciated the professional dossier preparation, it exceeded my expectations. While nothing was exaggerated, it presented my career in a positive light. It was very validating and gave me a huge sense of accomplishment for my decades of work in my field of study. I shared this accomplishment with my clients which builds their confidence in my skills.

-Joanne, USA, awarded MBA in 2026

GRADUATE TESTIMONIAL

What did it mean to you to have your experience formally recognized through a degree? It was a long time coming. It will allow me to use my experience over so many years to be able to support so many in my city.

What stood out to you about the application process and the professional dossier prepared from your experience? It was easy to fill out, once I understood what was required. Also, the wonderful support from the CIE team throughout, helped me to know what to enter and what I did not need to enter.

-Ihab, UK, awarded BA in 2026

GRADUATE TESTIMONIAL

What did it mean to you to have your experience formally recognized through a degree? It was a validation of years of work. It gave me an opportunity to see how I have grown in a field of work that beyond direct care service.

How have you used, or how do you plan to use, your degree? I plan to use my degree to turn my career in a different direction of employment. Staying in Behavioral Health but more on the administrative side.

-Lisa, USA, awarded MBA in 2026

GRADUATE TESTIMONIAL

What did it mean to you to have your experience formally recognized through a degree? My expertise is now recognized by the government in the country where I was hoping to live. Without this recognition, I would not have been able to receive the visa. It opened so many opportunities to me.

How have you used, or how do you plan to use, your degree? I have already had the opportunity to begin working for a private school. Now that I have this qualification, I can choose wide range of jobs in the area I live in.

-Colten, USA, awarded BA in 2026

GRADUATE TESTIMONIAL

Going through the VAE process helped me step back and see that I had developed valuable skills in leadership, education, training, and project management that genuinely reflected graduate-level competencies. It was both encouraging and humbling to have those years of experience recognized in such a meaningful way. Having this degree provides additional credibility that can help open doors to new opportunities for collaboration.

-Jonathan, USA, awarded MBA in 2026

GRADUATE TESTIMONIAL

I found the professional dossier particularly valuable. Besides serving as the basis for the degree, the dossier has helped me reflect on and present my experience in a structured and professional way, which I can also use when explaining my professional background in other settings. I have already included the degree in several job applications, and I was successful in one of those.

-Johannes, Germany, awarded BA in 2026

GRADUATE TESTIMONIAL

I truly appreciated the professional dossier preparation, it exceeded my expectations. While nothing was exaggerated, it presented my career in a positive light. It was very validating and gave me a huge sense of accomplishment for my decades of work in my field of study. I shared this accomplishment with my clients which builds their confidence in my skills.

-Joanne, USA, awarded MBA in 2026

GRADUATE TESTIMONIAL

What did it mean to you to have your experience formally recognized through a degree? It was a long time coming. It will allow me to use my experience over so many years to be able to support so many in my city.

What stood out to you about the application process and the professional dossier prepared from your experience? It was easy to fill out, once I understood what was required. Also, the wonderful support from the CIE team throughout, helped me to know what to enter and what I did not need to enter.

-Ihab, UK, awarded BA in 2026

GRADUATE TESTIMONIAL

What did it mean to you to have your experience formally recognized through a degree? It was a validation of years of work. It gave me an opportunity to see how I have grown in a field of work that beyond direct care service.

How have you used, or how do you plan to use, your degree? I plan to use my degree to turn my career in a different direction of employment. Staying in Behavioral Health but more on the administrative side.

-Lisa, USA, awarded MBA in 2026

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How the Process Works

1 – Preliminary Review

Email CIE a short summary of your work and volunteer experience. We will let you know whether this route may be right for you and which degree level and pathway appear to fit best.

2 – Registration and Intake

Register for the degree level we recommend and fill out the Experience Intake Form. You will also provide any available documents that help show your experience.

3 – Professional Dossier Preparation

A CIE specialist prepares your dossier—a detailed record showing what you have done, what you have learned, and how it matches the degree requirements. You check it, make any needed corrections, and sign the final version.

4 – Official Assessment and Degree Award

CIE submits your dossier for official assessment. If your application is approved, FAFMI awards the degree and accompanying academic documents. The whole process normally takes around one month.

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New Programs in Development

We are developing a new generation of degree programs for CIE K12 graduates and other adult learners ready for the next step in their education.

These programs are being designed around a more flexible and practical model that combines academic study with the development of a portfolio of real-world experience. They are especially suited to those who want to keep working, earning, and/or volunteering while progressing toward a degree.

The subject areas now in development are:

- Business administration
- Coaching
- Education
- Information Technology & AI