The United States Department of Education and the National Science Foundation do not include the J.D. or other professional doctorates among the degrees that are equivalent to research doctorates. Among legal degrees, they accord this status only to the Doctor of Juridical Science degree. In Europe, the European Research Council follows a similar policy, stating that a professional degree carrying the title "doctor" is not considered equivalent to a PhD. The Dutch and Portuguese National Academic Recognition Information Centres both classify the US J.D. (along with other professional doctorate degrees) as equivalent to a master's degree, although the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland states with respect to US practice that "The '... professional degree' is a