Combining Graduate Education and Experience For GS-06—GS-11
For GS-06
Definitions:
EXPERIENCE: One year of work experience is twelve months working full-time (at least 35-40 hours per week). Part-time experience can be pro-rated (i.e., a year at 20 hours per week is credited as 6 months of experience). If your position consisted of mixed duties, experience credit is given for the percentage of time that you spent on qualifying duties (i.e., if you held a position for 2 years, full-time, consisting of 25% personnel work and 75% budget work, and then applied for a budget position you could calculate your experience as follows:. 2 yrs = 24 months. 24 months x 75% [percentage of time spent on budget duties] = 18 months of qualifying experience.)
GRADUATE EDUCATION: In the absence of specific graduate program information, a year of graduate education is 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours of graduate level college course work, or the number of credit hours the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full time study. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university.
Step 1—Creditable Education
The following formula should be used to determine how much graduate study you have completed, based on the number of graduate credit hours you have earned:
FORMULA: YOUR NUMBER OF SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED GRADUATE CREDIT HOURS DIVIDED BY THE NUMBER OF SEMESTER HOURS OR QUARTER HOURS REQUIRED FOR 1/2 YEAR OF FULL TIME GRADUATE STUDY (OR 9 SEMESTER HOURS OR 13.5 QUARTER HOURS, IF SUCH INFORMATION CANNOT BE OBTAINED)
EXAMPLE:
- Your Graduate School: 9 semester hours = 1/2 year
- You have 4 semester hours of directly related graduate level courses
- Formula: 4 divided by 9 = .444 or 44%
Step 2—Qualifying Specialized Experience
Determine your qualifying specialized experience as a percentage of the specialized experience required for this position.
FORMULA: YOUR NUMBER OF MONTHS OF PERTINENT EXPERIENCE DIVIDED BY 12.
EXAMPLES:
- If you have 6 months of the right kind of experience, 6 divided by 12 = .50 (50%)
- If you have 5 months of the right kind of experience, 5 divided by 12 = .416 (42%)
Step 3—Combining Graduate Education and Specialized Experience
Now, take your percentage of graduate education and your percentage of specialized experience and add them together. In order to meet the requirements through a combination of education and experience, the total of the two percentages must be at least 100% or you do not qualify.
EXAMPLE # 1:
- Graduate education totaled 4 semester hours of directly related graduate level courses
(Formula: 4 divided by 9 = .444 or 44%) - Pertinent experience totaled 6 months.
(Formula: 6 divided by 12 = .50 or 50%) - TOTAL: 44% + 50% = 94% (LESS THAN 100% = NOT QUALIFIED)
EXAMPLE #2:
- Graduate education totaled 7 semester hours of directly related graduate level courses
(Formula: 7 divided by 9 = .777 or 78%) - Pertinent experience totaled 5 months.
(Formula: 5 divided by 12 = .416 or 42%) - TOTAL: 78% + 42% = 120% (100% OR MORE = QUALIFIED)
For GS-07
Definitions:
EXPERIENCE: One year of work experience is twelve months working full-time (at least 35-40 hours per week). Part-time experience can be pro-rated (i.e., a year at 20 hours per week is credited as 6 months of experience). If your position consisted of mixed duties, experience credit is given for the percentage of time that you spent on qualifying duties (i.e., if you held a position for 2 years, full-time, consisting of 25% personnel work and 75% budget work, and then applied for a budget position you could calculate your experience as follows:. 2 yrs = 24 months. 24 months x 75% [percentage of time spent on budget duties] = 18 months of qualifying experience.)
GRADUATE EDUCATION: In the absence of specific graduate program information, a year of graduate education is 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours of graduate level college course work, or the number of credit hours the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full time study. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university.
Step 1—Creditable Education
The following formula should be used to determine how much graduate study you have completed, based on the number of graduate credit hours you have earned:
FORMULA: YOUR NUMBER OF SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED GRADUATE CREDIT HOURS BEYOND YOUR FIRST 1/2 YEAR OF PROGRESSIVE GRADUATE STUDY DIVIDED BY THE NUMBER OF SEMESTER HOURS OR QUARTER HOURS REQUIRED FOR 1/2 YEAR OF FULL TIME GRADUATE STUDY (OR 9 SEMESTER HOURS OR 13.5 QUARTER HOURS, IF SUCH INFORMATION CANNOT BE OBTAINED)
EXAMPLE:
- Your Graduate School: 9 semester hours = 1/2 year
- You have 4 semester hours of directly related graduate level courses beyond your first 9 semester hrs. of progressive graduate study.
- Formula: 4 divided by 9 = .444 or 44%
Step 2—Qualifying Specialized Experience
Determine your qualifying specialized experience as a percentage of the specialized experience required for this position.
FORMULA: YOUR NUMBER OF MONTHS OF PERTINENT EXPERIENCE DIVIDED BY 12.
EXAMPLES:
- If you have 2 months of the right kind of experience, 2 divided by 12 = .166 (17%)
- If you have 9 months of the right kind of experience, 9 divided by 12 = .75 (75%)
Step 3—Combining Graduate Education and Specialized Experience
Now, take your percentage of graduate education and your percentage of specialized experience and add them together. In order to meet the requirements through a combination of education and experience, the total of the two percentages must be at least 100% or you do not qualify.
EXAMPLE # 1:
- Graduate education totaled 4 semester hours of directly related graduate level courses beyond your first 9 semester hrs. of progressive graduate study.
(Formula: 4 divided by 9 = .444 or 44%) - Pertinent experience totaled 2 months.
(Formula: 2 divided by 12 = .166 or 17%) - TOTAL: 17% + 44% = 61% (LESS THAN 100% = NOT QUALIFIED)
EXAMPLE #2:
- Graduate education totaled 7 semester hours of directly related graduate level courses beyond your first 9 semester hrs. of progressive graduate study.
(Formula: 7 divided by 9 = .777 or 78 %) - Pertinent experience totaled 9 months.
(Formula: 9 divided by 12 = .75 or 75%) - TOTAL: 78% + 75% = 153% (100% OR MORE = QUALIFIED)
For GS-08
Definitions:
EXPERIENCE: One year of work experience is twelve months working full-time (at least 35-40 hours per week). Part-time experience can be pro-rated (i.e., a year at 20 hours per week is credited as 6 months of experience). If your position consisted of mixed duties, experience credit is given for the percentage of time that you spent on qualifying duties (i.e., if you held a position for 2 years, full-time, consisting of 25% personnel work and 75% budget work, and then applied for a budget position you could calculate your experience as follows:. 2 yrs = 24 months. 24 months x 75% [percentage of time spent on budget duties] = 18 months of qualifying experience.)
GRADUATE EDUCATION: In the absence of specific graduate program information, a year of graduate education is 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours of graduate level college course work, or the number of credit hours the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full time study. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university.
Step 1—Creditable Education
The following formula should be used to determine how much graduate study you have completed, based on the number of graduate credit hours you have earned:
FORMULA: YOUR NUMBER OF SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED GRADUATE CREDIT HOURS BEYOND YOUR FIRST YEAR OF PROGRESSIVE GRADUATE STUDY DIVIDED BY THE NUMBER OF SEMESTER HOURS OR QUARTER HOURS REQUIRED FOR 1/2 YEAR OF FULL TIME GRADUATE STUDY (OR 9 SEMESTER HOURS OR 13.5 QUARTER HOURS, IF SUCH INFORMATION CANNOT BE OBTAINED)
EXAMPLE:
- Your Graduate School: 9 semester hours = 1/2 year
- You have 4 semester hours of directly related graduate level courses beyond your first 18 semester hrs. of progressive graduate study.
- Formula: 4 divided by 9 = .444 or 44%
Step 2—Qualifying Specialized Experience
Determine your qualifying specialized experience as a percentage of the specialized experience required for this position.
FORMULA: YOUR NUMBER OF MONTHS OF PERTINENT EXPERIENCE DIVIDED BY 12.
EXAMPLES:
- If you have 2 months of the right kind of experience, 2 divided by 12 = .166 (17%)
- If you have 9 months of the right kind of experience, 9 divided by 12 = .75 (75%)
Step 3—Combining Graduate Education and Specialized Experience
Now, take your percentage of graduate education and your percentage of specialized experience and add them together. In order to meet the requirements through a combination of education and experience, the total of the two percentages must be at least 100% or you do not qualify.
EXAMPLE # 1:
- Graduate education totaled 4 semester hours of directly related graduate level courses beyond your first 18 semester hrs. of progressive graduate study.
(Formula: 4 divided by 9 = .444 or 44%) - Pertinent experience totaled 2 months.
(Formula: 2 divided by 12 = .166 or 17%) - TOTAL: 17% + 44% = 61% (LESS THAN 100% = NOT QUALIFIED)
EXAMPLE #2:
- Graduate education totaled 7 semester hours of directly related graduate level courses beyond your first 18 semester hrs. of progressive graduate study.
(Formula: 7 divided by 9 = .777 or 78 %) - Pertinent experience totaled 9 months.
(Formula: 9 divided by 12 = .75 or 75%) - TOTAL: 78% + 75% = 153% (100% OR MORE = QUALIFIED)
For GS-09
Definitions:
EXPERIENCE: One year of work experience is twelve months working full-time (at least 35-40 hours per week). Part-time experience can be pro-rated (i.e., a year at 20 hours per week is credited as 6 months of experience). If your position consisted of mixed duties, experience credit is given for the percentage of time that you spent on qualifying duties (i.e., if you held a position for 2 years, full-time, consisting of 25% personnel work and 75% budget work, and then applied for a budget position you could calculate your experience as follows:. 2 yrs = 24 months. 24 months x 75% [percentage of time spent on budget duties] = 18 months of qualifying experience.)
GRADUATE EDUCATION: In the absence of specific graduate program information, a year of graduate education is 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours of graduate level college course work, or the number of credit hours the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full time study. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university.
Step 1—Creditable Education
The following formula should be used to determine how much graduate study you have completed, based on the number of graduate credit hours you have earned:
FORMULA: YOUR NUMBER OF SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED GRADUATE CREDIT HOURS BEYOND YOUR FIRST 1 1/2 YEARS OF PROGRESSIVE GRADUATE STUDY DIVIDED BY THE NUMBER OF SEMESTER HOURS OR QUARTER HOURS REQUIRED FOR 1/2 YEAR OF FULL TIME GRADUATE STUDY (OR 9 SEMESTER HOURS OR 13.5 QUARTER HOURS, IF SUCH INFORMATION CANNOT BE OBTAINED)
EXAMPLE:
- Your Graduate School: 9 semester hours = 1/2 year
- You have 4 semester hours of directly related graduate level courses beyond your first 27 semester hrs. of progressive graduate study.
- Formula: 4 divided by 9 = .444 or 44%
Step 2—Qualifying Specialized Experience
Determine your qualifying specialized experience as a percentage of the specialized experience required for this position.
FORMULA: YOUR NUMBER OF MONTHS OF PERTINENT EXPERIENCE DIVIDED BY 12.
EXAMPLES:
- If you have 2 months of the right kind of experience, 2 divided by 12 = .166 (17%)
- If you have 9 months of the right kind of experience, 9 divided by 12 = .75 (75%)
Step 3—Combining Graduate Education and Specialized Experience
Now, take your percentage of graduate education and your percentage of specialized experience and add them together. In order to meet the requirements through a combination of education and experience, the total of the two percentages must be at least 100% or you do not qualify.
EXAMPLE # 1:
- Graduate education totaled 4 semester hours of directly related graduate level courses beyond your first 27 semester hrs. of progressive graduate study.
(Formula: 4 divided by 9 = .444 or 44%) - Pertinent experience totaled 2 months.
(Formula: 2 divided by 12 = .166 or 17%) - TOTAL: 17% + 44% = 61% (LESS THAN 100% = NOT QUALIFIED)
EXAMPLE #2:
- Graduate education totaled 7 semester hours of directly related graduate level courses beyond your first 27 semester hrs. of progressive graduate study.
(Formula: 7 divided by 9 = .777 or 78 %) - Pertinent experience totaled 9 months.
(Formula: 9 divided by 12 = .75 or 75%) - TOTAL: 78% + 75% = 153% (100% OR MORE = QUALIFIED)
For GS-10
Definitions:
EXPERIENCE: One year of work experience is twelve months working full-time (at least 35-40 hours per week). Part-time experience can be pro-rated (i.e., a year at 20 hours per week is credited as 6 months of experience). If your position consisted of mixed duties, experience credit is given for the percentage of time that you spent on qualifying duties (i.e., if you held a position for 2 years, full-time, consisting of 25% personnel work and 75% budget work, and then applied for a budget position you could calculate your experience as follows:. 2 yrs = 24 months. 24 months x 75% [percentage of time spent on budget duties] = 18 months of qualifying experience.)
GRADUATE EDUCATION: In the absence of specific graduate program information, a year of graduate education is 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours of graduate level college course work, or the number of credit hours the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full time study. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university.
Step 1—Creditable Education
The following formula should be used to determine how much graduate study you have completed, based on the number of graduate credit hours you have earned:
FORMULA: YOUR NUMBER OF SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED GRADUATE CREDIT HOURS BEYOND YOUR FIRST 2 YEARS OF PROGRESSIVE GRADUATE STUDY DIVIDED BY THE NUMBER OF SEMESTER HOURS OR QUARTER HOURS REQUIRED FOR 1/2 YEAR OF FULL TIME GRADUATE STUDY (OR 9 SEMESTER HOURS OR 13.5 QUARTER HOURS, IF SUCH INFORMATION CANNOT BE OBTAINED)
EXAMPLE:
- Your Graduate School: 9 semester hours = 1/2 year
- You have 4 semester hours of directly related graduate level courses beyond your first 36 hrs. of progressive graduate study.
- Formula: 4 divided by 9 = .444 or 44%
Step 2—Qualifying Specialized Experience
Determine your qualifying specialized experience as a percentage of the specialized experience required for this position.
FORMULA: YOUR NUMBER OF MONTHS OF PERTINENT EXPERIENCE DIVIDED BY 12.
EXAMPLES:
- If you have 2 months of the right kind of experience, 2 divided by 12 = .166 (17%)
- If you have 9 months of the right kind of experience, 9 divided by 12 = .75 (75%)
Step 3—Combining Graduate Education and Specialized Experience
Now, take your percentage of graduate education and your percentage of specialized experience and add them together. In order to meet the requirements through a combination of education and experience, the total of the two percentages must be at least 100% or you do not qualify.
EXAMPLE # 1:
- Graduate education totaled 4 semester hours of directly related graduate level courses beyond your first 36 semester hrs. of progressive graduate study.
(Formula: 4 divided by 9 = .444 or 44%) - Pertinent experience totaled 2 months.
(Formula: 2 divided by 12 = .166 or 17%) - TOTAL: 17% + 44% = 61% (LESS THAN 100% = NOT QUALIFIED)
EXAMPLE #2:
- Graduate education totaled 7 semester hours of directly related graduate level courses beyond your first 36 semester hrs. of progressive graduate study.
(Formula: 7 divided by 9 = .777 or 78 %) - Pertinent experience totaled 9 months.
(Formula: 9 divided by 12 = .75 or 75%) - TOTAL: 78% + 75% = 153% (100% OR MORE = QUALIFIED)
For GS-11
Definitions:
EXPERIENCE: One year of work experience is twelve months working full-time (at least 35-40 hours per week). Part-time experience can be pro-rated (i.e., a year at 20 hours per week is credited as 6 months of experience). If your position consisted of mixed duties, experience credit is given for the percentage of time that you spent on qualifying duties (i.e., if you held a position for 2 years, full-time, consisting of 25% personnel work and 75% budget work, and then applied for a budget position you could calculate your experience as follows:. 2 yrs = 24 months. 24 months x 75% [percentage of time spent on budget duties] = 18 months of qualifying experience.)
GRADUATE EDUCATION: In the absence of specific graduate program information, a year of graduate education is 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours of graduate level college course work, or the number of credit hours the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full time study. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university.
Step 1—Creditable Education
The following formula should be used to determine how much graduate study you have completed, based on the number of graduate credit hours you have earned:
FORMULA: YOUR NUMBER OF SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED GRADUATE CREDIT HOURS BEYOND YOUR FIRST 2 1/2 YEARS OF PROGRESSIVE GRADUATE STUDY DIVIDED BY THE NUMBER OF SEMESTER HOURS OR QUARTER HOURS REQUIRED FOR 1/2 YEAR OF FULL TIME GRADUATE STUDY (OR 9 SEMESTER HOURS OR 13.5 QUARTER HOURS, IF SUCH INFORMATION CANNOT BE OBTAINED)
EXAMPLE:
- Your Graduate School: 9 semester hours = 1/2 year
- You have 4 semester hours of directly related graduate level courses beyond your first 45 hrs. of progressive graduate study.
- Formula: 4 divided by 9 = .444 or 44%
Step 2—Qualifying Specialized Experience
Determine your qualifying specialized experience as a percentage of the specialized experience required for this position.
FORMULA: YOUR NUMBER OF MONTHS OF PERTINENT EXPERIENCE DIVIDED BY 12.
EXAMPLES:
- If you have 2 months of the right kind of experience, 2 divided by 12 = .166 (17%)
- If you have 9 months of the right kind of experience, 9 divided by 12 = .75 (75%)
Step 3—Combining Graduate Education and Specialized Experience
Now, take your percentage of graduate education and your percentage of specialized experience and add them together. In order to meet the requirements through a combination of education and experience, the total of the two percentages must be at least 100% or you do not qualify.
EXAMPLE # 1:
- Graduate education totaled 4 semester hours of directly related graduate level courses beyond your first 45 semester hrs. of progressive graduate study.
(Formula: 4 divided by 9 = .444 or 44%) - Pertinent experience totaled 2 months.
(Formula: 2 divided by 12 = .166 or 17%) - TOTAL: 17% + 44% = 61% (LESS THAN 100% = NOT QUALIFIED)
EXAMPLE #2:
- Graduate education totaled 7 semester hours of directly related graduate level courses beyond your first 45 semester hrs. of progressive graduate study.
(Formula: 7 divided by 9 = .777 or 78 %) - Pertinent experience totaled 9 months.
(Formula: 9 divided by 12 = .75 or 75%) - TOTAL: 78% + 75% = 153% (100% OR MORE = QUALIFIED)