BASIC QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
Research Biologist (General), GS-401, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university with a major in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position; or
B. Combination or education or experience - courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The quality of the combination of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate possession of the knowledge, skills, and abilities comparable to those normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major in the appropriate field.
Research Chemical Engineer, GS-893, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university with a major in professional engineering. To be creditable, the curriculum must: (1) be in a school of engineering with at least one curriculum accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) as a professional engineering curriculum; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) static, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationship); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable are of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics; or
B. Combination of education and experience--college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying professional engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering services and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering.
- Professional registration--Current registration as a professional engineer by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provisions as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions.
- Written test--Evidence of having successfully passed the Engineer-in-Training (EIT) examination, or the written test required for professional registration, which is administered by the Boards of Engineering Examiners in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.
- Specified academic courses--Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of course in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and in engineering that included the courses specified in the basic requirements. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of a professional engineering curriculum as described in paragraph A.
- Related curriculum--Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in engineering technology or in an appropriate professional field, e.g., physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least one year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.)
Research Chemist, GS-1320, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university with a major in physical sciences, life sciences, or engineering that included 30 semester hours in chemistry, supplemented by course work in mathematics through differential and integral calculus, and at least 6 semester hours of physics; or
B. Combination of education and experience - course work equivalent to a major as shown in A above, including at least 30 semester hours in chemistry, supplemented by mathematics through differential and integral calculus, and at least 6 semester hours of physics, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The quality of the combination of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate possession of the knowledge, skills, and abilities comparable to those normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major in the appropriate field.
Research Civil Engineer/Civil Engineer, GS-810, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor’s or higher degree from an accredited college or university with a major in professional engineering. To be creditable, the curriculum must: (1) be in a school of engineering with at least one curriculum accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) as a professional engineering curriculum; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) static, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationship); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable are of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics; or
B. Combination of education and experience--college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying professional engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering services and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering.
- Professional registration--Current registration as a professional engineer by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provisions as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions.
- Written test--Evidence of having successfully passed the Engineer-in-Training (EIT) examination, or the written test required for professional registration, which is administered by the Boards of Engineering Examiners in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.
- Specified academic courses--Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of course in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and in engineering that included the courses specified in the basic requirements. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of a professional engineering curriculum as described in paragraph A.
- Related curriculum--Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in engineering technology or in an appropriate professional field, e.g., physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least one year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.)
Computer Scientist, GS-1550, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Degree: with 30 semester hours in a combination of mathematics, statistics, and computer science. At least 15 of the 30 semester hours must have been in any combination of statistics and mathematics that included differential and integral calculus.
B. Evaluation of Education: Applicants should have sufficient knowledge of statistics and mathematics, as well as other subjects, to understand the fundamental concepts and techniques of computer science. Courses designed to provide an introduction to computer science techniques and methodologies, to problems of system design, and other specialized fields are acceptable. Courses or experience in teaching elementary, business, or shop mathematics are not acceptable.
Ecologist, GS-408, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university with a major in biology, or a related field of science underlying ecological research that included at least 30 semester hours in basic and applied biological sciences. These hours must have included at least 9 semester hours in ecology, and 12 semester hours in physical and mathematical sciences.
Research Economist/Economist, GS-110, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university with a major in economics, that included at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting, or calculus; or
B. Combination of education and experience - courses equivalent to a major in economics, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The quality of the combination of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate possession of the knowledge, skills, and abilities comparable to those normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major in the appropriate field.
Research Engineer/Engineer (General), GS-801, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university with a major in professional engineering. To be creditable, the curriculum must: (1) be in a school of engineering with at least one curriculum accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) as a professional engineering curriculum; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) static, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationship); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable are of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics; or
B. Combination of education and experience--college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying professional engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering services and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering.
- Professional registration--Current registration as a professional engineer by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provisions as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions.
- Written test--Evidence of having successfully passed the Engineer-in-Training (EIT) examination, or the written test required for professional registration, which is administered by the Boards of Engineering Examiners in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.
- Specified academic courses--Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of course in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and in engineering that included the courses specified in the basic requirements. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of a professional engineering curriculum as described in paragraph A.
- Related curriculum--Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in engineering technology or in an appropriate professional field, e.g., physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least one year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.)
Research Forester (General), GS-460, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Degree: forestry; or a related subject-matter field that included a total of at least 30 semester hours in any combination of biological, physical, or mathematical sciences or engineering, of which at least 24 semester hours of course work were in forestry. The curriculum must have been sufficiently diversified to include courses in each of the following areas:
OR
- Management of Renewable Resources--study of the science and art of managing renewable resources to attain desired results. Examples of creditable courses in this area include silviculture, forest management operations, timber management, wildland fire science or fire management, utilization of forest resources, forest regulation, recreational land management, watershed management, and wildlife or range habitat management.
- Forest Biology--study of the classification, distribution, characteristics, and identification of forest vegetation, and the interrelationships of living organisms to the forest environment. Examples of creditable courses in this area include dendrology, forest ecology, silvics, forest genetics, wood structure and properties, forest soils, forest entomology, and forest pathology.
- Forest Resource Measurements and Inventory--sampling, inventory, measurement, and analysis techniques as applied to a variety of forest resources. Examples of creditable courses include forest biometrics, forest mensuration, forest valuation, statistical analysis of forest resource data, renewable natural resources inventories and analysis, and photogrammetry or remote sensing.
B. Combination of education and experience--courses equivalent to a major in forestry, or at least 30 semester hours in any combination of biological, physical, or mathematical sciences or engineering, of which at least 24 semester hours were in forestry. The requirements for diversification of the 24 semester hours in forestry are the same as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
Applicants for Forester (Administration) or Research Forester (Administration) must have completed either the requirements described in A or B above; or the minimum educational requirements established for other forestry-related professional disciplines, e.g., Range Conservationist, GS-454; Soil Scientist, GS-470; Wildlife Biologist, GS-486; Geologist, GS-1350; Landscape Architect, GS-807; Hydrologist, GS-1315; or the full 4-year college requirements described for All Professional Engineering Positions, GS-800, provided that the basic professional training was supplemented by a sufficient amount of professional experience gained in a forestry work situation. The supplemental experience must have been gained in a work situation where the program or project required the joint application of full professional knowledge of forestry and the related professions in the solving of highly technical and complex problems; where the work was largely concerned with the planning, developmental, and administrative phases of multiple-use, forest land management programs; or with the carrying out of related research or special projects of a similar nature.Research Geodesist, GS-1372, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university with a major in geodesy; or 30 semester hours in any combination of geodesy, mathematics, physics, astronomy, engineering sciences, surveying, geodetic surveying, photogrammetry, or geophysics. The coursework must have included differential and integral calculus.
B. Combination of education and experience - course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
Research Geographer, GS-150, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university with a major in geography; or related physical or social science such as geology, meteorology, economics, statistics, sociology, anthropology, political science, history, cartography, computer science, urban studies, or planning that included at least 24 semester hours in geography or related field.
B. Combination of education and experience - courses equivalent to a major in geography, or a related field that included at least 24 semester hours in geography or related fields, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
Research Geologist, GS-1350, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university with a major in geology, plus 20 additional semester hours in any combination of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biological science, structural, chemical, civil, mining or petroleum engineering, computer science, planetary geology, comparative planetology, geophysics, meteorology, hydrology, oceanography, physical geography, marine geology, and cartography.
B. Combination of education and experience - course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The quality of the combination of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate possession of the knowledge, skills, and abilities comparable to those normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major in the appropriate field.
Research Geophysicist, GS-1313, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university that included at least 30 semester hours in mathematics (including calculus) and the physical sciences (geophysics, physics, engineering, geology, astronomy, meteorology, electronics, etc.); or
B. Combination of education and experience - courses as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The quality of the combination of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate possession of the knowledge, skills, and abilities comparable to those normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major in the appropriate field.
Research Hydrologist, GS-1315, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university with a major in physical or natural sciences, or engineering that included at least 30 semester hours in any combination of courses in hydrology, the physical sciences, geophysics, chemistry, engineering science, soils, mathematics, aquatic biology, atmospheric science, meteorology, geology, oceanography, or the management or conservation of water resources. The course work must have included at least 6 semester hours in calculus (including both differential and integral calculus), and at least 6 semester hours in physics. Calculus and physics, as described above, are requirements for all grade levels; or
B. Combination of education and experience - course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The quality of the combination of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate possession of the knowledge, skills, and abilities comparable to those normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major in the appropriate field.
Research Mathematician, GS-1520, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Degree: mathematics; or the equivalent of a major that included at least 24 semester hours in mathematics; or
B. Combination of education and experience--courses equivalent to a major in mathematics (including at least 24 semester hours in mathematics), as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
The total course work in either A or B above must have included differential and integral calculus and, in addition, four advanced mathematics courses requiring calculus or equivalent mathematics courses as a prerequisite.
Research Microbiologist, GS-403, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university with a major in microbiology; or biology, chemistry, or basic medical science that included at least 20 semester hours in microbiology and other subjects related to the study of microorganisms, and 20 semester hours in the physical and mathematical sciences combining course work in organic chemistry or biochemistry, physics, and college algebra, or their equivalent; or
B. Combination or education and experience - course equivalent to a major in microbiology, biology, chemistry, or basic medical science that included courses as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The quality of the combination of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate possession of the knowledge, skills, and abilities comparable to those normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major in the appropriate field.
Graduate Education. Microbiology, or specific area of study such as bacteriology, virology, mycology, algology, protozoology, parasitology, immunology, serology, microbial genetics, or soil microbiology; or specific applied field of microbiology such as clinical and public health microbiology, food technology, production processes, industrial fermentation, pollution, etc. Graduate study in related fields such as experimental pathology, infectious diseases, epidemiology, biochemistry, animal or plant physiology, genetics, plant pathology, and insect disease control, may also be pertinent, provided it has direct application to microbiological work.
Research Oceanographer, GS-1360, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university with a major in major study of at least 24 semester hours in oceanography or a related discipline such as physics, meteorology, geophysics, mathematics, chemistry, engineering, geology, or biology, plus 20 additional semester hours in any combination of oceanography, physics, geophysics, chemistry, mathematics, meteorology, computer science, and engineering sciences; or
B. Combination of education and experience - course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The quality of the combination of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate possession of the knowledge, skills, and abilities comparable to those normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major in the appropriate field.
Applicants who qualify on the basis of major study in biology or geology must have had at least 6 semester hours in the major directly concerned with marine science or 6 semester hours in oceanography; applicants who qualify on the basis of other physical sciences or engineering must have had differential and integral calculus and at least 6 semester hours in physics.
Operations Research Analyst, GS-1515, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university with a major in operations research; or at least 24 semester hours in a combination of operations research, mathematics, probability, statistics, mathematical logic, science, or subject-matter courses requiring substantial competence in college-level mathematics or statistics. At least 3 of the 24 semester hours must have been calculus.
Research Physical Scientist/Physical Scientist, GS-1301, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university with a major in physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties or materials, and electronics; or
B. Combination of education and experience - education equivalent to one of the majors shown in A above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The quality of the combination of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate possession of the knowledge, skills, and abilities comparable to those normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major in the appropriate field.
Research Physicist, GS-1310, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Degree: physics; or related degree that included at least 24 semester hours in physics; or
B. Combination of education and experience--courses equivalent to a major in physics totaling at least 24 semester hours, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
In either A or B above, the courses must have included a fundamental course in general physics and, in addition, courses in any two of the following: electricity and magnetism, heat, light, mechanics, modern physics, and sound.
Research Physiologist, GS-413, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor’s or higher degree from an accredited college or university with a major in one of the basic animal sciences or physiology; or a related discipline or field of science that included at least 24 semester hours in the basic animal sciences, or which 10 semester hours were in animal physiology.
Research Soil Scientist, GS-470, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor^rsquo;s or higher degree from an accredited college or university with a major in soil science or a closely related discipline that included 30 semester hours or equivalent in biological, physical, or earth sciences, with a minimum of 15 semester hours in such subjects as soil genesis, pedology, soil chemistry, soil physics, and soil fertility.
B. Combination of education or experience – education equivalent to a major in soil science or a related discipline that included at least 30 semester hours in the biological, physical, or earth sciences. At least 15 of these semester hours must have been in areas specific in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
USGS Mendenhall Posdoctoral Research Program
U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://geology.usgs.gov/postdoc/2006/qualifications.html
Direct inquiries to Rama K. Kotra at rkotra@usgs.gov
Maintained by Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellowship Program Web Team
Last modified: 10:05:34 Wed 25 Aug 2004
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