Requirements

Persons seeking recognition as an IBERA Diplomate must provide proof of education and professional experience in Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA). The eligibility requirements are as follows:

Education and Professional Experience

  • Have 8 years* of professional experience in ERA, or
  • Have an undergraduate degree (e.g., B. Sc.) in a discipline related to ERA AND 6 years* of professional experience in ERA, or
  • Have a graduate degree (e.g., M. Sc.) in a discipline related to ERA AND 5 years* of professional experience in ERA, or
  • Have a doctorate degree (e.g., Ph.D.) in a discipline related to ERA AND 3 years* of professional experience in ERA, or
  • Be an adjunct member of IBERA AND 2 years* of extra professional experience in ERA after having become an adjunct member.

*The years refer to full-time professional experience or part-time equivalent. Professional experience may have begun before, during or after educational degree; however, it must be separated from the time working on the degree itself.

Professional Activities

In addition to the above required years of professional experience in ERA, a recent or current professional position in the field of ERA (employed or self-employed) at the time of the application is required.

Reasonable Accommodations

Candidates must request consideration for reasonable testing accommodations at the time of exam eligibility application via the online application portal or via email to info@ibera-certification.org by the application deadline of that year.

Reasonable testing accommodations will be provided for candidates with documented disabilities. Candidates are requested to provide documentation from a qualified professional (e.g., a doctor, psychologist, physical, occupational or speech therapist, vocational rehabilitation specialist, or licensed mental health professional) listing the needs for modification, or auxiliary aid or service requested.

Documentation

For the Eligibility Check the following information and documents need to be submitted.

  • Personal contact details and professional information
  • Proof of Academic Education: Official transcript of the degree used as the basis for qualification – scanned copies are acceptable.
  • Statement of Professional Experience: Listing of professional experiences in the field of Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) as a brief dossier or CV (abbreviated CV is recommended). Experience in ERA should be clearly described in detail and include the time period.
  • Verification of Professional Experiences: Applicants must arrange for letters from supervisor(s) to verify work experiences. For self-employed applicants, letters from clients or (previous) employers may be used.

Check below for further details and instructions.

The degree must have been awarded by a college or university prior to the application. Since terminology of degrees varies across geographic regions, the following criteria are used to evaluate education experience:

  • an undergraduate degree is considered to result from at least 3 years of education;
  • a graduate degree is considered education for at least 2 years beyond an undergraduate degree (Bachelor’s); and
  • a doctorate degree is considered at least 4 years education beyond a graduate degree (Master’s) or a total of at least 6 years beyond an undergraduate degree.

Applicants must provide an official transcript of their highest applicable degree as proof of their educational background. Transcripts of lower degrees (e.g., Master degree when a PhD is being used to prove eligibility) are not needed. Documentation shall be provided as an electronic copy (scans are acceptable) of the official transcript and conveyance of degree.

A Statement of Professional Experience (brief dossier or CV) must be provided by the applicant to express intent to qualify for the examination and to achieve Diplomate status. Experience in ERA should be clearly described in detail.

Experience includes conducting ERAs or developing essential components used to estimate exposure or toxicity in a risk assessment context (i.e., not fundamental research unless the research is used in a risk assessment application). The candidate need not develop data used in ERA but demonstrate proficiency applying data in an ERA, such as:

  • Use of statistics and employing assumptions to characterize exposure, risk, or hazard;
  • Recognition and characterization of uncertainty in the development of exposure and toxicological criteria and how it may affect the characterization of risk;
  • Assessment of the weight of evidence relevant to the development of toxicology-based benchmarks (such as water quality criteria, Predicted No Effect Concentrations, Toxicity Reference Values, etc.);
  • Use and/or development of fate, transport, and effect models and field data.

Conducting an ecotoxicological or environmental fate experiment under controlled laboratory conditions for a specific chemical does not in itself demonstrate experience in ERA. However, the analysis and critical evaluation of such data, the use of such data in the development of criteria for ERA or use of such data in a risk assessment application does constitute experience in ERA.

Scholastic work towards a higher degree is not considered to be professional experience. Individuals working toward a higher degree while employed in the practice of ERA will receive credit for the employment as converted to years of experience if employment is documented.

Suggestions

To assist with the preparation of documents to describe the applicant’s professional experience, several suggestions are listed below. These suggestions are examples and are not intended to be a comprehensive listing.

  • Duties and responsibilities should be described in terms of time allocated to specific activities, types of studies or functions performed, reporting relationships, numbers and types of technical reports prepared, and role played in the preparation of such reports, etc.;
  • Job title alone is not adequate. Thoroughness is essential. Provide specific and detailed descriptions of each aspect of present and past employment activities in ERA;
  • Descriptions of relevant work in the field of ERA is encouraged. Studies conducted that have provided advancements in ERA tools are also considered experience. Provide adequate descriptions of work and applications;
  • A formal job position description may be attached, but may not be sufficient by itself;
  • List the name(s) of the supervisor(s) who will be providing a letter(s) of support and the time periods they are covering in the online application.

Applicants must arrange for letter(s) from supervisor(s) to be email by the supervisor(s) directly to info@ibera-certification.org. Letter(s) of support forwarded by the candidate will not be accepted. To aid in the preparation of a letter, a template is available here.

For self-employed applicants, letters from clients or (previous) employers may be used as substitutes. Those that have gathered experience while self-employed must provide proof of existing contracts/work during the period of performance. 

During the application for eligibility, applicants are asked to provide the name, position, email and timespan the supervisor or client is covering. After the application is submitted, the supervisor(s) or client(s) will receive an email including a link to upload the letter(s) for verification of professional experience. The letters must be provided by 15 June 2024.

The letter(s) must cover the period of experience used as basis for eligibility, as listed below. If the timespan was under one supervisor only one letter must be provided, otherwise letters from each supervisor over the applicable timespan must be provided.

Degree Years of professional experiences
/ 8 years*
undergraduate degree (e.g., B.Sc.) 6 years*
graduate degree (e.g., M.Sc.) 5 years*
doctorate degree (e.g., Ph.D.) 3 years*

*Full-time professional experience or part-time equivalent

Professional experience may have begun before, during or after the BSc, MSc or PhD program; however, it must be separated from the time working for the degree itself.

Documentation of professional experience is to be provided by the supervisor(s) outlining dates of service and the specific types of experience during this time. If a supervisor is providing documentation of multiple positions, each position should be outlined separately with dates and duties for each described. Letter(s) of support must explicitly specify the time period of the position and accurately and fully document the applicant’s duties, responsibilities and full-time professional experience in ERA. Letter(s) of support may contain other information as deemed appropriate by the supervisor or employer. This information will be disclosed to the applicant upon request. To aid in the preparation of a letter, a template is available here. It is strongly encouraged that supervisors use this format when completing work verifications.

Applicants submitting part-time equivalents as job experience will be considered on a case-by-case basis. For instance, a 50% employment in ERA will normally result in 0.5 years of experience for each year of employment.

Eligibility Periods

Each period of eligibility to take the examination is of three years’ duration. A candidate found eligible by the council may take up to three examinations within that period of eligibility. If the applicant does not pass the examination within the period of eligibility, eligibility needs to be re-established with necessary forms, fees and supporting documentation.

An extension in the third year of eligibility may be granted by the council in exceptional cases. For example, when a scheduled examination could not be taken and rescheduled by a candidate due to unforeseen circumstances. Requests for extension must be made via email and received by IBERA either before or within 10 business days after the missed examination. Appropriate documentation should accompany all such requests. If an extension is granted, the candidate must take the examination in the following year but will not have to pay an additional Application and Examination Fee.