FAQs

ESA Professional Certification Frequently Asked Questions

GENERAL INQUIRIES

What should I do if I am not certain which level of certification best matches my credentials?
Please review the requirements for each level and use your best judgment.  The Board does consider applicants for approval at lower levels, and will occasionally approve exceptional applicants at higher levels.  We recommend that you provide as much information as possible to assist the Board in its evaluation.

How many copies of my form does ESA need?
Beginning with the 2010 application period, the Professional Certification program has transitioned to an online-only application system. All applications from 2010 forward must be submitted electronically in order to be considered. Supplemental materials should also be submitted electronically by email with your form or in a separate email if they are too large to be included with the application form. If your supplemental materials exceed 5 MB, please either send an excerpt of your document, or you may send all of your supplemental materials on a CD (which is preferable for maintaining the quality of the file).  You may also include a hotlink to your documents if they are available online.  If you have questions about this process or in using the electronic form, please contact the Membership Manager, Tanya Pendleton, at tanya@esa.org or by phone at 202-833-8773 ext. 216.

How do I handle the Membership verification section if I don’t have a membership ID?
Send a copy of your membership payment. If there is no proof of membership, you will be invoiced for the difference of non-member versus ESA member rate.  As membership is a requirement for the Streamlined process, please confirm your membership status before applying with this method.  If you are not sure about the status of your ESA membership, you can verify this by contacting membership@esa.org.

Are supplemental materials required? 
No, but they are encouraged, particularly for applicants working in nontraditional fields or positions, as well as for Senior Ecologists, who need to demonstrate written output.

Who do I contact if I am having difficulty with the application process?
After carefully checking the rest of the FAQ, the website, and forms to confirm that your question is not addressed here, please contact Membership Manager Tanya Pendleton at 202-833-8773 ext. 216 or tanya@esa.org.

EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

One or more of my degrees is not in ecology.  Can I still apply for certification?
Yes, provided you are able to meet the educational requirements and can show that your recent work experience involves application of ecological and biological principles to an appropriate degree for the level at which you are applying.  Supplemental materials such as reports or other publications may be particularly helpful in demonstrating this.  There are also places on the application forms to explain how the content of your degree program relates to the field of ecology.  While you may have a degree outside of ecology, the qualifying degree being used for certification must still be in a related science.

One or more of my degrees is from an international institution.  Can I still apply for certification?
Yes, provided your institution is accredited.  For smaller, less well-known institutions, both abroad and in the U.S., additional information and/or documentation is encouraged.

I did not attend a school with a traditional semester/quarter system, or have continuing education courses.  How can I determine my credit hours?
One semester hour equals one classroom meeting a week for 12-14 weeks, or two field/lab hours a week for 12-14 weeks.  Therefore, a full three-credit course has three lecture hours a week, and a four-credit course has three lecture hours plus two lab hours, or two lecture hours plus a four-hour field trip.
Another way of thinking about this is that a total of 45-46 contact hours of class time equal a three-credit lecture.  A person in a six-day course with eight hours a day of contact time then has 48 hours, or the equivalent of a three-credit lecture in semester hours.  Number of contact hours includes the time for exams.

Does ESA require or endorse any continuing education programs?
While ESA encourages continuing education, it is not currently a mandatory component of the certification program, and we do not endorse any specific programs.  It is important when recertifying to show that you have continued your professional experience and development in the field of ecology, so it may help solidify the Board’s decision to recertify you at your current level or to upgrade your certification should you be applying for it.

Can the Board review my course list and/or program of study before I send in my application?
Unfortunately, the Board cannot assess your qualifications in full until the review period. If you believe a class may require further explanation, we encourage you to do so in your application.

**PLEASE NOTE: As of the 2011 certification application period, the Board will be requiring college/university transcripts to be submitted for anyone applying for New Certification or Certification Upgrade. Transcripts may be official or unofficial and will be used to determine length of professional experience and competency in ecological coursework.

WORK EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

What is the cutoff date for length of experience?
Length of experience will be evaluated up to the Primary Deadline, February 1.  If you are not able to meet the minimum post-degree work experience for the level at which you are applying by this date, please wait until next year to apply, particularly if you are applying as an Associate Ecologist or plan to use the Streamlined Process.  . 

Can time spent during graduate school count towards my work experience?
If you are using a lower degree to fulfill the educational requirements for the level at which you are applying, work experience during graduate school will count as half-time and should be listed accordingly in your application.  If educational requirements were met in a graduate program past the qualifying degree, length of experience will begin after the completion of the final required course to meet the basic educational requirements for certification.

STREAMLINED PROCESS

What are the Streamlined Process requirements?
In order to qualify for the Streamlined process, you must be a current ESA member, hold a PhD, and have at least 10 years of post-degree work experience, in addition to meeting the other requirements for the Senior Ecologist level.   

**Starting in 2011, we are also allowing those with a Master’s Degree who have been previously certified at the Senior Ecologist level to apply using the Streamlined Application form.

Can I use the Streamlined form if I only meet some of these requirements?
No.  You will either be denied or asked to complete the appropriate form and provide the Board with any additional required information, including letters of recommendation if appropriate.

RECERTIFICATION

How do I know when it is time for me to reapply? 
Certification lasts five (5) years.  While it is your responsibility to note the dates on your approval letter and certificate, broadcast emails will be sent out during the application period for the year your certification is due to expire, beginning in September or October.  Please be sure to keep a current email address on file with ESA so that we may contact you.

Why does ESA require recertification?
Because the certification program is intended for actively practicing ecologists, the Board must periodically reassess whether you have continued to meet the requirements for the level at which you were certified since your credentials were last reviewed.  For this reason, it is important that you provide dates for all activities on your CV and your publications list, particularly those undertaken in the past five years.

My certification has lapsed.  Which form do I use? 
If less than a year has elapsed since your certification expired and you wish to continue at the same level, you may complete a Recertification form and note the lapse in your cover letter.  If approved, your certification will be retroactive to the year in which your certification expired, and you will need to apply for recertification in four years rather than five. 
If more than a year has elapsed since your certification expired, you must complete a New Certification form and include all required materials, including letters of recommendation and transcripts if applicable.  You may, however, note that you were previously certified in your application.

I wish to be considered for a higher level of certification.  Which form do I use? 
You should complete a Certification Upgrade form and indicate that you are upgrading from your previous level.  If the Board does not feel that you meet the requirements for the new level, you will be considered for recertification at your current level. 

If you are an Ecologist who meets the requirements for the Streamlined Process, you may use this form instead, and indicate your previous level.  However, the Board may request additional information from you if they do not find your cover letter and CV sufficient to evaluate you.

Do you still have my old application on file?  If so, may I reuse portions of it instead of filling out the whole application again? 
While the Board does bear in mind that you were previously certified at a specific level, they will be looking for evidence that you have remained active and continued your professional development in the five years since your last certification.  It is therefore to your advantage to submit an updated version. Forms and requirements tend to change periodically, so please double-check all requirements before submitting your application for recertification.

REFERENCES AND LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

How many references and letters of recommendation do I need?
Applicants using the New Certification form or Certification Upgrade form must provide two references and two letters of recommendation.  Each person listed as a reference should submit a letter of recommendation on the applicant’s behalf.  At least one of these references and letters must be from a current ESA member, and only one letter may be from your current organization.  Recommenders should not be related in any way to the applicant.  Please clearly indicate which reference(s) fulfill the ESA member requirement on your application form.  To check your intended recommender’s membership status, please contact the Membership Manager.

Recertification applicants are not required to provide letters of recommendation, but must still provide two references.  Again, at least one of these references must be a current ESA member, and should be clearly indicated as such on the application form.

Applicants using the Streamlined Process are not required to provide references or letters of recommendation at this time.

Who should I ask?
Your references and recommenders should be colleagues, supervisors, advisors, or other individuals capable of evaluating your credentials in an informed and objective manner.  You may not request a reference or letter of recommendation from a subordinate.  Again, note that you may only choose one reference from your current organization and you may not have a member of your family serve as a reference.

How do I go about obtaining an ESA member as a reference/recommender?
If you are an ESA member, you may log in and use the members-only directory to see if any of your references/recommenders are already current ESA members.  You may also use the Certified Ecologist Directory, which is open to the public.  However, please note that not all Certified Ecologists are current ESA members.  If you need to check an individual’s membership status, please contact the Membership Manager.  Recommenders must be ESA members in the year of the application.

Alternately, you may ask one of your current references to join ESA by the March 31 deadline.  If this is fast approaching and your reference is sending his or her membership form by fax or email, please contact the Membership Manager to let her know.

Can letters of recommendation be sent by e-mail?
Yes, as of the 2011 application period, recommendations may also be sent by email.  Recommendations sent in this manner must be sent by the recommender and should be submitted on electronic letterhead and must be signed.  If recommendations cannot be provided on company letterhead due to company policy, please indicate this in the letter or accompanying email.  Letters without a signature or without letterhead (without reason) will not be considered.  Our preference is for such letters to be sent as a PDF to tanya@esa.org.

APPLICATION FEES

What methods of payment does ESA accept?
Mailed payments may be made by check, wire transfer, VISA, or MasterCard. Make checks payable in U.S. dollars to the Ecological Society of America, and write “Certification Application Fee for [applicant’s name]” in the memo line to ensure proper processing. Foreign remitters may use drafts on U.S. banks and U.S. postal money orders. To pay by wire transfer, contact the Membership Manager for details.

Online payments may be made by VISA or MasterCard using the payment links on each of the online applications.  You may also pay over the phone by contacting the Membership Manager, Connie Hassan, at the ESA Headquarters at 202-833-8773 ext. 216.

Can I pay my application and ESA membership fee simultaneously?
Yes, you may send in your membership payment at the same time as your application.  However, to simplify billing, we ask that you write out separate checks or charges.  Please also indicate that your membership form needs to be processed, and is not being submitted as proof of payment.

Will I need to pay the application fee again next year to maintain my certification?
No.  The fee covers all five years of your certification.  (You will, however, need to renew your ESA membership on a yearly basis to maintain member standing and benefits.)

Can my application fee be returned if I am not approved or decide not to go through with the certification process?
Under all but the most exceptional circumstances, certification fees are nonrefundable.   Applicants who are denied on the basis of not meeting the qualifications for certification will not be refunded, as well as applicants who fail to complete the whole application process.  Please make sure that you carefully review the guidelines and requirements for the level for which you are applying and complete the application in its entirety prior to submission.

DEADLINES

What happens to my application if it is received after February 1st?
All applications received before February 1st will be accepted. Those received between February 2nd and March 31st will be accepted and charged/invoiced a late fee of $25. Any applications received after March 31st will be returned to the applicant.

If my recommendation letters are not submitted before the March 31st deadline, how does that affect my application process?
Your letters will still be accepted if received before April 15, but if you suspect they may not make it by this deadline, please contact the Membership Manager to alert her and encourage your letter writers to send electronic copies in the interim or instead.  Any letters received before the Certification Board meets to review the applications will be distributed to the Board and considered.  However, if letters are received after the first meeting, they will not be considered unless the Board needs more information.  In such cases, letters must be received by the deadline indicated on the request for additional information (typically mid/late July).

When can I expect to be informed of my certification status?
The Board typically meets in June to evaluate all applications.  Applicants who need to submit additional information for the secondary review at the Annual Meeting will be advised of their status first to give them sufficient time to respond, followed by denials and approvals.  All applicants will be informed of their status by the end of August. 

Can I send my application for next year between April and August?
We appreciate your enthusiasm, but no.  The Board and Membership Manager need this time to sort through the current application materials.  Moreover, it is possible that the Board will determine that clarifications or changes to the process need to be made which will affect you.  We encourage you to use the review period to put your resume in order and line up your references so that you will be ready when the application period reopens in the fall.

Thank you for your interest in our certification program, and we look forward to your application.