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.

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 312
• Economic Geology - ESS 445
• Engineering Geology - ESS 447
• Field Camp - ESS 400 or 401
• Geomorphology - ESS 326, 425, 426, or 427
• Geophysics - ESS 311, 314, 411, or 414
• Geochemistry - ESS 316 or 457
• Hydrogeology - ESS 454
• Mineralogy -
• Petrology - ESS 439 or 440
• Sedimentology - ESS 456
• Stratigraphy - ESS 455
• Structural Geology - ESS 463

Most students will be able to meet the 21 specified credits with one of ESS 400: Field Camp or ESS 401: Field Camp with GIS (12 cr) one of ESS 311: Geomechanics or ESS 312: Earth Materials or ESS 314: Geophysics or ESS 316: Geochemistry (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.

Resources

Listed below are some links to relevant information.

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