California Code of Regulations › Title 16 - Professional and Vocational Regulations › Division 29 - Board for Geologists and Geophysicists › Article 2 - Applications › Section 3022 - Professional Geologist Educational and Experience Requirements

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a) To be eligible
				for the professional geologist license, an applicant shall have completed the
				educational requirements as set forth in either Section
				7841(b)(1) or
				Section 7841(b)(2) of the
				Code and completed at least five years of professional geological experience,
				as set forth in Section
				7841(c) of the
				Code. To be eligible for the geologist-in-training certificate, an applicant
				shall have completed the educational requirements as set forth in either
				Section 7841.2(c)(1) or
				Section 7841.2(c)(2) of
				the Code.
(1) As described in Section
				7841(b)(1) of the
				Code and Section
				7841.2(c)(1) of
				the Code, graduation from a college or university with a major in geological
				sciences or any other discipline relevant to geology refers to graduation with
				a baccalaureate degree or higher in geology or a related geological science
				from a program accredited by the Applied and Natural Science Accreditation
				Commission of ABET, Inc., the organization defined in Section
				404(a) of Title
				16, California Code of Regulations.
(2) As described in Section
				7841(b)(2) of the
				Code, and Section
				7841.2(c)(2) of
				the Code, the requirement for successfully completing 30 semester hours or 45
				quarter hours, in courses that, in the opinion of the Board, are relevant to
				geology, of which at least 24 semester hours or 36 quarter hours are upper
				division or graduate level, shall include the minimum coursework and concepts
				specified in subdivisions (A) and (B) below. Additional geologic coursework
				necessary to meet the total 30 semester hours or 45 quarter hours requirement
				specified in Section
				7841(b)(2) and
				Section 7841.2(c)(2) of
				the Code may be selected at the applicant's discretion but shall be relevant to
				geology as defined in Section
				7802 of the Code. This requirement
				shall be fulfilled at a college or university which, at the time the applicant
				was enrolled, was accredited by a national or regional accrediting agency
				recognized by the United States Office of Education. "Life Experience Course
				Credit" is not acceptable.
(A) Core Geologic
				Concepts: Of the 30 semester hours or 45 quarter hours required by the Code, an
				applicant shall successfully complete a minimum of 15 semester hours or 22.5
				quarter hours of core geological science courses in the following subject areas
				as specified:
(i) "Earth Materials" shall
				include a minimum of four semester hours or six quarter hours of instruction in
				the identification, classification, and chemistry of minerals and rocks; their
				formation; the interpretation of their origins; as well as their uses and
				importance.
(ii) "Structural
				Geology" shall include a minimum of three semester hours or four and one-half
				quarter hours of instruction in the description and analysis of structural
				features of rocks to reconstruct the motions and processes involved in the
				buildup and deformation of the Earth's crust from small to large scales. It
				shall also include the interpretation of brittle and ductile strain, the
				fundamentals of plate tectonics, and the analysis of local and regional
				geologic structure.
(iii)
				"Stratigraphy and Sedimentation" shall include a minimum of three semester
				hours or four and one-half quarter hours of instruction in the identification
				and interpretation of sedimentary rocks, sedimentary processes and structures,
				application of stratigraphic and dating methods, identifying the impact of
				climate and geologic processes on depositional patterns, and facies
				analysis.
(iv) "Upper-Division
				Field Geology" shall include a minimum of five semester hours or seven and
				one-half quarter hours of field training designed to demonstrate a progression
				of field investigation skills culminating in a final project or integrative
				field experience that is based on the knowledge and skills acquired in earlier
				geological science courses. This shall include instruction in the geological
				techniques or methods needed to measure, map, evaluate, and communicate
				geologic data; and the ability to plan and conduct geological investigations
				based upon existing sources of geologic information. This shall include
				preparing and interpreting geologic maps, cross-sections, stratigraphic
				columns, and written reports. The field training may be obtained in one or more
				separate upper division field courses, but shall not be introductory in nature
				or be part of laboratory exercises for other geological science courses.
				Academic instruction in field methods such as geophysical techniques, logging
				trenches or borings, designing wells, and other common professional geologic
				tasks may serve as a component of the Upper-Division Field Geology requirement
				described in this section so long as it is part of an established field
				techniques course taught within a college or university geology or related
				geological sciences program.
(B) Applied Upper-Division Geology
				Coursework: Of the 24 semester hours or 36 quarter hours of upper division or
				graduate coursework required by the Code, an applicant shall successfully
				complete a minimum of six semester hours or nine quarter hours from a
				combination of at least two of the following subject areas.
(i) "Geomorphology" shall include instruction
				in the classification, origin, and analysis of landforms and watershed elements
				as well as the surface and tectonic processes that relate landforms to the
				underlying geologic materials. This shall include methods of geomorphic
				analysis and interpretation of different types of mapped data, including
				topographic, geologic, and remotely sensed data.
(ii) "Engineering Geology" shall include
				instruction in that branch of geology as defined in Section
				3003(b) of Title
				16, California Code of Regulations. This shall include instruction in those
				skills necessary to demonstrate knowledge and abilities as described in Section
				3041(a)(2) of
				Title 16, California Code of Regulations.
(iii) "Hydrogeology" shall include
				instruction in that branch of geology as defined in Section
				3003(h) of Title
				16, California Code of Regulations. This shall include instruction in those
				skills necessary to demonstrate knowledge and abilities as described in Section
				3042(b)(2) of
				Title 16, California Code of Regulations.
(iv) "California Geology" shall include the
				instruction necessary to demonstrate knowledge of the seismicity and geology
				unique to the State of California, and the state laws, rules and regulations
				unique to the practice of geology in this state as described in Section
				7841(d) of the
				Code.
(v) "Paleontology" shall
				include instruction necessary to recognize common fossils and fossil types, the
				geologic settings that would indicate the potential for paleontological
				resources, and the evolutionary history of fossil groups of traditional
				importance to geologists. Other topics may include basic modes of preservation,
				skeletal anatomy, systematics and taxonomy, biostratigraphy, paleoecology, and
				paleobiogeography.
(vi) "Resources
				Geology" shall include the instruction needed to identify the origin,
				occurrence, and distribution of non-renewable resources, including metallic,
				nonmetallic, and energy-producing materials; problems related to resource
				extraction; estimations and limitations of reserves; and reclaiming sites after
				extraction of resources.
(vii)
				"Environmental Geology" shall include an introduction to concepts involved in
				environmental site assessment and remediation, environmental geochemistry, and
				the mitigation of potentially negative effects of human activities such as
				exploration for mineral and energy resources, or solid and hazardous waste
				disposal on geologic systems, as well as the protection of water resources,
				land and watershed restoration.
(viii) "Geophysics" shall include instruction
				in that branch of geology defined in Section
				7802.1 of the Code and Section
				3003(e) of Title
				16, California Code of Regulations.
(ix) "Technology Applications in Geology"
				encompasses a wide range of technology related instruction that includes an
				emphasis on applications to geologic investigations. These subjects may
				include, but are not limited to, instruction in the use of Geographic
				Information Systems (GIS), computer modeling of groundwater flow or other
				geologic processes, signal processing or numerical methods of data analysis.
				Instruction without a specific and demonstrable geologic application will not
				qualify. A maximum of three semester hours or four and one-half quarter hours
				would be accepted in this subject area.
(x) "Applied geoscience topics taught by a
				college or university department other than a geology or related geological
				sciences department" refers to instruction in subject areas with a reasonable
				and rational application to the professional practice of geology. These courses
				are limited to the topics of geological engineering, geotechnical engineering,
				mining engineering, petroleum engineering, soil science, engineering soil
				mechanics, or hydrology. A maximum of three semester hours or four and one-half
				quarter hours taught in a college or university department other than a geology
				or related geological sciences department would be accepted in this subject
				area.
(3)
				Independent study, research projects, theses, or dissertations may be used to
				satisfy the upper-division coursework requirements defined in subdivisions (A)
				or (B) if it can be documented as meeting the requirements of one or more of
				the courses specified in subdivisions (A) or (B) above. Courses that combine
				subjects or skill sets that can be documented as meeting the requirements
				described in subdivisions (A) or (B) above may be accepted.
(4) Workshops, professional development
				seminars, conferences, non-credit certificate programs, student internships, or
				reading courses may not be used to satisfy the requirements described in
				Section 3022(a)(2) of
				Title 16, California Code of Regulations. For the purposes of this section, a
				reading course is defined as a course not normally offered as part of the
				curriculum that is conducted as a tutorial or remedial course.
(5) It shall be the applicant's
				responsibility to demonstrate that his or her academic instruction meets the
				requirements of the Board. The applicant shall provide official sealed
				transcripts, and any other reasonable and necessary supporting evidence, when
				requested by the Board, to document successful completion of all educational
				requirements.