Experience can give you a diploma!
If you have work experience in a specific field and you have not studied? This article will give you some key elements for you to get a university degree. To begin, we will distinguish between the two terminologies VAE and VAPP:
Validation of Acquired Experience (VAE): offers the possibility of obtaining part or all of a degree provided that you can justify at least one year of professional experience related to the content of the desired degree, whether or not this activity was carried out continuously, as part of professional activity, or during periods of initial or continuing training in a professional environment, regardless of the level of certification sought.
Validation of Professional Acquired Skills (VAP.85 or VAPP): The validation of professional acquired skills (V.A.P. 85) allows direct access to university degrees without having the required diploma, by having professional experience (with a salary or not), training courses followed, or personal acquired skills developed outside of any training system validated.
For example, you have experience in computer science. You think that this experience allows you to enter the computer science faculty directly in a master’s degree; in this case, you apply, and you will see the jury’s decision.
The general conditions of the two schemes:
To have at least 1 year of experience directly related to the degree sought.
To be able to justify this experience.
No age, nationality, status, or level of study is required.
The administrative procedures of VAE:
- Attend an information meeting at the educational institution in question.
- Submit the admissibility file: the CERFA application (in other words, booklet/form 1), and depending on the institution, this application should be accompanied by a text showing your experience related to the diploma sought.
- If the file has a favorable decision of recognition, seek funding and support: Depending on the institution, this step may or may not be mandatory, but support is strongly recommended.)
- Build the final VAE file (in other words, booklet/form 2).
- Going before the jury: often, there are two dates set in June and December (sometimes, depending on the institution, the jury is available throughout the year). The jury may very well validate. A full degree or a partial degree. In the second case, several potential devices are presented depending on the establishment (resuming studies, doing a dissertation or directed work, etc.).
To verify that your certification is well recognized, you can consult it on the Répertoire National des Certifications Professionnelles (RNCP) site.
http://www.rncp.cncp.gouv.fr/grand-public/recherche
The administrative procedures of VAP or VAPP :
The VAP file is a file that can be downloaded from the universities’ websites. However, there are two different procedures for submitting it, depending on the institution:
- Either, you apply along with your application directly.
- Either you submit a separate VAP application to the continuing education department of the university in question. This process takes two months to deliver the final decision of the jury. In this case, it is preferable to submit your application a few months before you apply.
Important: The VAPP has no value if you have not completed your degree in full.
Image – the schema according to the student guide of the University Paris 8 – page 62 – in French
We will quickly mention the Validation of Higher Education (VES), a device that allows you to have your academic achievements (obtained in France or abroad) recognized. You should know that it is very difficult in France to obtain a diploma in equivalence of your foreign diploma.
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The sources :
https://www.unistra.fr/index.php?id=24543
Experience Validation Unit – University of Strasbourg.
VAE Office – University of Paris 8.
SCUIO-IP University Toulouse Jean Jaurès.
Request for CERFA. https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/R10282
https://www.defi-metiers.fr/dossiers/faire-une-vae-en-ile-de-france
