New Hampshire § 310-A-125 - Section 310-A:125 Requirements for Licensure as a Professional Geologist.

§ 310-A-125. Section 310-A:125 Requirements for Licensure as a Professional Geologist.

I. (a) Applicants for licensure as a professional geologist shall meet the ethical standards set forth in this subdivision and shall have committed no misconduct as set forth in RSA 310-A:133, II. In addition, each applicant shall have a bachelor's degree in geology or a bachelor's degree in a related field which included 30 credit hours or 45 quarter hours in geology from an accredited 4-year college, or a master's or doctoral degree from an accredited graduate program in geology, including but not limited to degrees or credit hours in geochemistry, geohydrology, geomorphology, geophysics, groundwater geology, hydrogeology, hydrology, marine geology, mineralogy, mining geology, paleontology, petrography/petrology, sedimentology/stratigraphy/historical geology, or water resources studies; and shall present evidence suitable to the board of at least 5 years of experience in the practice of geology, of which at least 3 years must have been under the supervision of a licensed professional geologist or a geologist who otherwise meets the requirements of a licensed professional geologist as determined by the board. Applicants meeting these ethics, education and experience requirements shall be eligible to sit for an examination. Unless otherwise provided, applicants shall take the examination and receive a passing score. (b) Experience in the practice of geology, obtained before the expiration of the period described in paragraph II of this section, may count towards the experience in the practice of geology under the supervision of a professional geologist required in subparagraph I(a) of this section if the supervising geologist met the education and experience qualifications of paragraph II at the time of the relevant experience. For purposes of this section, experience in the practice of geology does not include routine sampling, laboratory work or geological drafting. (c) A completed academic year of graduate study in geology may be applied either towards a year of the experience requirement of this section up to a total maximum of 2 years, or to the education requirement of this section, but not both. (d) A completed academic year of college or graduate level teaching in geology may be applied towards a year of the experience requirement of this section. II. Following the effective date of the initial adoption by the board of rules under RSA 541-A, the office may issue licenses without examination to applicants whose applications for licensure have been received during a one-year period following the effective date of adoption of rules and who either meet the education and experience requirements of subparagraph I(a) of this section, or who provide evidence satisfactory to the board of knowledge and experience equivalent to such requirements. III. Whenever information presented in an application for licensure or renewal is determined by the office to be incomplete or insufficient, the office may require additional information as necessary to determine if the application requirements of this section have been met.