OAR 809-030-0015: Qualifications for Geologist Practice Examination and Geologist Registration

(1) To qualify to take the geologist practice section of the national examination, a candidate must have a minimum of 7 years of geology experience computed as follows: (a) The Board requires a minimum of 2 years of education experience and will grant 2 years of education experience credit to either: (A) A candidate with an undergraduate degree in geology or a related geological science with a minimum of 45 quarter hours or the equivalent of geology coursework successfully completed at an accredited college or university, including 36 quarter hours or the equivalent of upper division coursework; or (B) A candidate without an undergraduate degree in geology or a related geologic science but who has successfully completed a minimum of 45 quarter hours or the equivalent of geology coursework at an accredited college or university, including 36 quarter hours or the equivalent of upper division coursework. (b) The Board will grant an additional year of education experience credit, up to a maximum of 2 years total, for each year of study at the post-baccalaureate level, as defined at OAR 809-003-0000(30) in geology or a related geological science. (c) Education experience credit shall not exceed 4 years in total for the undergraduate and graduate coursework completed by the candidate. (d) The Board will grant 1 year of work experience credit for each year spent working under the supervision of an Oregon Registered Geologist, Oregon Certified Engineering Geologist, or a geologist who, in the determination of the Board, was providing supervision in responsible charge; however, a minimum of 3 years of such experience must be completed before any credit is granted. (e) The Board will grant 1 year of work experience credit for each year working in responsible charge in a jurisdiction other than Oregon or working in Oregon in a manner exempt under ORS 672.535(1) or (2); however, a minimum of 5 years in responsible charge must be completed before any credit is granted. (f) Geology faculty may acquire the 7 years of geology experience in accordance with the following criteria: (A) Meet the minimum education experience requirements of OAR 809-030-0015(1)(a); and (B) Demonstrate 5 years of experience from geologic work conducted in responsible charge as professional faculty activities conducted other than teaching or administrative duties. Such duties may include, but are not limited to, the following: (i) Geologic report preparation; (ii) Publication and the preparation for publication of published geologic work; (iii) Geologic field or laboratory data collection; or (iv) Geologic data analysis or interpretation. (C) Geologic experience must be documented and calculated as a percentage of non-teaching full-time experience such as follows: (i) Experience documented by the preparation of geology reports or publications; and (ii) Geologic experience verified by the Board. (D) Post-baccalaureate research in geology or a related geological science may be granted for in responsible charge experience, at the discretion of the Board. (g) Duplicate credit will not be given for experience and education gained concurrently. (h) Experience of less than one month will not be recognized. (2) Candidates for the practice section of the national examination must: (a) Be registered as a Geologist-in-Training (GIT) in Oregon; or (b) Apply to take the fundamentals section of the national examination on the same day as the practice section of the national examination; or (c) Provide to the Board acceptable proof of having passed the fundamentals section of the national examination. (3) To qualify for registration as a geologist, an applicant must meet the following requirements: (a) Passed the fundamentals and practice sections of the national examination. An applicant who passed sections of the national examination in another jurisdiction must provide official documentation of examination scores to the Board and also must demonstrate qualifying education and work experience as defined in (1) of this rule. (b) Submitted a complete application on forms provided by the Board; (c) Submitted applicable fees as per OAR 809-010-0001.