Does state provide a license: Yes
Current Active Licensees
| Title | Licensees |
|---|---|
| Professional Geologist | 475 |
| Soil Scientist | 43 |
License: Professional Geologist
Exam Entity: ASBOG
Licensing Board: Minnesota Board of Architecture, Engineering, Land Surveying, Landscape Architecture, Geoscience and Interior Design
Licensing Board Website: http://www.mn.gov/aelslagid/geology.html
Degree required:
Majors accepted:
Courses required:
Courses accepted:
Geology credits required: 30
Credit information: A minimum of thirty (30) semester or forty-five (45) quarter credits in geology are required, with a minimum of twenty-four (24) semester or thirty-six (36) quarter credits divided among at least three of the following geology areas: physical geology; historical geology; stratigraphy; sedimentology or sedimentary petrology; mineralogy; igneous and/or metamorphic petrology; structural geology; hydrogeology; geochemistry; geophysics; glacial/quaternary geology; geomorphology; and field geology or geologic field methods.
Education Notes: See the state regulations for a complete explanation of the education requirements for licensure.
Years of experience required: 6
Experience credits needed: 2
Experience information: 1 year credit for undergraduate and 1 year credit for Master’s degree if the geoscience curriculum meets the specified requirements. From 1800.3910, Qualifying experience for geology licensure must be obtained under the direct supervision of a licensed geologist. As used in this part, “qualifying experience” consists of varied, progressive, nonrepetitive, practical experience in the discipline of geoscience in which the applicant is seeking licensure that develops the applicant’s ability to apply the knowledge gained during academic training to make sound judgments in completing geoscientific work and prepares the applicant to assume responsible charge of the work involved in the practice of the geoscience discipline in which the applicant is seeking licensure. The experience must include elements of research and analysis, planning, specifications, codes and standards, economics, safety, observation of ongoing work, and inspection of the project. Qualifying experience must be acquired
Continuing education requirements: Yes
Ethics required for continuing education: Yes
Continuing education years: 12
Continuing education details: All licensees or certificate holders (with exceptions) must obtain twenty-four (24) professional development hours (PDH). Two of those hours must be dedicated to professional (but not necessarily profession-specific) ethics and those ethics hours must be earned during the proper period (they cannot be carried forward as ethics hours).
Geologist in Training license available: Yes
Can take Fundamentals of Geology test before graduation: Yes
Fundamentals of Geology test details: To qualify for admission to the written fundamentals examination for a geoscience discipline, the applicant shall present graduation or being within 30 semester or 45 quarter credits of graduation from a geoscience curriculum.
Legal Code Reference for GIT, FG: MN Rule 1800.3910 Subpart 2.
Most registration and licensure systems include structural approaches to review both the need and operational effectiveness of the process.
Some states provide formal sunset evaluation processes for their licensure programs. Many also include a periodic audit process of the licensure program/agency, which can range from cursory financial reviews to comprehensive evaluation of program effectiveness.
The audit process is often leveraged when political pressure is applied to eliminate geologist licensure, so awareness of the history and codes for audits and sunset evaluations is critical to montioring the health of the licensure within the state.
Current modes for sunsetting evaluation: Audit
License subject to sunset review: No
License subject to audit review: No
Sunset regulation name: Repealed. See sunset history information.
Sunset statute: See sunset history information.
Sunset statute reference: See sunset history information.
Sunset committee: See sunset history information.
Composition of sunset committee: See sunset history information.
Sunset committee website: See sunset history information.
Sunset duration: See sunset history information.
Auditor name: Office of the Legislature Auditor, Program Evaluation Division
Auditor website: https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/pedintro.htm
Audit legislation committee: Legislative Audit Commission (LAC)
Audit legislation committee website: https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/lac.htm
Audit notes: No audits of the board were identified.
| Year | Action | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Practice regulation | The Minnesota Board of Architecture, Engineering, Land Surveying, Landscape Architecture, Geoscience and Interior Design (AELSLAGID) was created. |
| 1998 | ASBOG | The first ASBOG exam was administered. |
| 2011 | Sunset law created | The Minnesota Sunset Act with Sunset Advisory Commission was created. |
| 2013 | Sunset law repealed | The Minnesota Sunset Act with Sunset Advisory Commission was repealed. |
| 2019 | There are pproximately 6 audit reports posted per year, from 1977 to present (2019). Audits for the Board were not identified. It does not appear that licensing boards are audited. |