Licensing Information
Department Recommended Preparation
The Department recognizes three ways for students to prepare for the Washington State Geologist Licensing Exam. The endorsement option and geology major both require courses covering a wide range of topics on the exam and in the field of geology. The minimum requirements option is to assist students who may have other geology experience to ensure they also meet the State's educational requirements. More information about each option is below.
Update 12/1/12
The licensing board has recently updated their requirements in response to community feedback. The new requirements are much more flexible and Earth and Space Sciences was added to the list of approved majors. This means that if you meet the credit requirements (detailed below) you will not need to petition, regardless of your track.
36 quarter hours of upper division geology courses (300+), including 21 quarter credits (unduplicated) from the following list:
Earth Materials (combination of mineralogy and petrology) - ESS 212*
Economic Geology -
Engineering Geology - ESS 447
Field Camp - ESS 400
Geomorphology - ESS 326, 426, 427, or 435
Geophysics - ESS 314, 411, 413, 414, or 416
Geochemistry - ESS 312 or 457
Hydrogeology - ESS 454
Mineralogy - ESS 437
Petrology - ESS 439, 440, or 441
Sedimentology - ESS 441 or 456
Stratigraphy - ESS 455
Structural Geology - ESS 463
* courses do not count as upper division, but are useful for additional practice
Most students will be able to meet the 21 specified credits with ESS 400: Field Camp (12 cr), ESS 312: Geochemistry or ESS 314: Geophysics (5 cr), and then another upper division elective from the list above. The remaining 15 credits can come from any upper division ESS course, and the courses above are great for preparing for the licensing exam.
Endorsement Option
- Endorsement Option
- The endorsement option will best prepare you for the licensing exam. It requires multiple courses in each of the four fields on the exam to ensure you have both breadth in the topic areas, as well as practical experience. The requirements for the endorsement option are:
Structural: ESS 211 & ESS 400, and one of the following - ESS 311, or ESS 403, or ESS 463
Mineralogy: ESS 212 and one of the following - ESS 345 or ESS 437
Petrology: ESS 212 and one of the following - ESS 311 & ESS 312, or ESS 439, or ESS 440
Sedimentary Geology & Stratigraphy: ESS 213 and one of the following - ESS 311 & ESS 441, or ESS 445, or ESS 456 - Geology Major Option
- The geology major option will provide coverage in all areas, however it is still recommended that students complete the endorsement option. You will be exposed to all the topics covered in the exam, but may not go into as much depth. Geology Major
- Minimum Requirements Option
- This option is reflective of the state's licensing requirements, and represents the bare minimum of topics the state requires. The department recommends completing either the Endorsement or Geology Major options. Checklist Tool
Note that the final decision about whether a candidate has satisfactory preparation rests with the State Licensing Board. The requirements are subject to change over time, and we provide this information as guidance only. See the links to the State Licensing Board for more details and the most up-to-date requirements.
Resources
Listed below are some links to relevant information.
State Licensing Board Links
General Information - http://www.dol.wa.gov/business/geologist/
How to get your license: Geologist - http://www.dol.wa.gov/business/geologist/geogetalicense.html
Educational Equivalent Requirements (for those not graduating with a Geology option) - http://www.dol.wa.gov/business/geologist/docs/geoeduequiv.pdf
Syllabi
Links to syllabi for courses identified as covering licensing topics http://www.ess.washington.edu/ess/education/undergrad/licensing-syllabi.html