PEDR Student Guide - Certificates of Professional Experience

Certificates of Professional Experience

What is the Certificate of Professional Experience?

The Certificate of Professional Experience is an alternative online recording format to the standard Professional Experience and Development Records sheets, which may be used, with permission from a Part 3 course leader, by Part 3 candidates with substantial experience.

Applying to use the Certificates of Professional Experience

Part 3 candidates with substantial experience, who have reached a degree of responsibility in their offices which gives them supervisory functions, may apply to their Part 3 course leader/Professional Studies Advisor for permission to use the RIBA Certificate of Professional Experience in lieu of the standard Professional Experience and Development Record Sheets, provided that the following condition is met:

The candidate must have completed at least 6 years' experience, all of which must have met the RIBA's practical experience eligibility criteria, and must have been undertaken outside of full-time academic study* for Part 1 and Part 2.

*Candidates who have studied on a part-time course or office-based route may apply to their Part 3 course leader to use the Certificates to record their experience

Candidates wishing to apply should provide their Part 3 course leader with the following information:

A statement of the length of their experience
A description of the kind of work they are currently undertaking, with the character and size of projects
A statement from their employer about their work and the level of responsibility they hold

Because a Certificate of Professional Experience is of limited value to Part 3 Examiners in assessing the quality of experience, it must be accompanied by a report and supplementary evidence, giving the student's own appreciation of the value of each employment to date. The 6 years' worth of experience should all be covered, and as a guideline, the report is expected to be around 2000 words; however, course providers may stipulate their exact requirements and thus candidates should check the exact requirements with their course provider.

Candidates should also note that course providers may ask them to also complete standard PEDR sheets covering their current experience from the start of the Part 3 course, until the documentary submission date; and therefore submit their experience in a combination of the two recording formats. Course providers will provide further guidance on their specific requirements.

A separate Certificate must be submitted in respect of each employment in which the candidate has obtained professional experience.

Aspects to consider when choosing which recording format to use

Candidates considering requesting permission to use the Certificate of Professional Experience should review the following information before applying to their course provider:

The Certificates of Professional Experience are designed for the retrospective recording of prior experience.
As above, some Part 3 course providers will advise that the standard quarterly PEDR sheets should also be completed for the candidate's on-going experience in the lead up to the Part 3 examination phase, and both standard sheets and relevant Certificates submitted for assessment. A standard PEDR sample record sheet can be viewed here: Standard PEDR sample record
Candidates are reminded that whichever recording format they choose, the evidence they produce will be submitted for assessment at the Part 3 examination. Candidates should therefore consider carefully which format would be better suited to presenting their experience and to take advice from their course leader.
At the discretion of the course provider, candidates may be required to submit their Certificates for interim review prior to the date of the final documentary submission

How to complete a Certificate of Professional Experience

To complete a Certificate of Professional Experience online your first step is to register on the PEDR website. Once you have registered and signed in, click on 'Your Certificates' under the 'Certificates of Professional Experience' menu item. Then click on 'New Certificate'. This will take you to the general information section of your selected sheet and the menu will expand to display links to the other sections.

The best way to complete your certificate, especially when starting a new record, is to fill in the details on each page and then click on 'Save and proceed to the next step'. This will take you through all the sections you need to complete. Most sections can be left blank and you can return to them at any time using the menu options on the left.

Viewing and printing draft copies of your record

Partial or completed record sheets can be viewed by clicking on the 'View Record' menu item. Draft copies can be viewed and printed at any time. They will appear in a pop-up window in the printer friendly format. Use the print button on your web browser to print the record.

Submitting a Certificate of Professional Experience

The Certificate of Professional Experience must be signed by an employer to confirm the candidate has undertaken the activities recorded overleaf whilst in their employment. A letter of support from the employer to accompany the Certificate would also assist the Examiners.