(a) An applicant must have graduated from a course of study from an accredited university or program in one of the following disciplines of geoscience that consists of at least four years of study and includes at least 30 semester hours or 45 quarter hours of credit in geoscience, of which at least 20 semester hours or 30 quarter hours of credit must be in upper-level college courses in that discipline:
  (1) Geology or sub-discipline of geology including but not limited to engineering geology, petroleum geology, hydrogeology, and environmental geology;
  (2) Geophysics; or
  (3) Soil science.
(b) Educational Equivalent. An applicant who has not met the education requirement as set forth in subsection (a) of this section may satisfy the education requirement by having satisfactorily completed other equivalent educational requirements as determined by the Appointed Board.
  (1) An applicant has satisfactorily completed other equivalent educational opportunities if the applicant has obtained a four year college or university degree or higher in any field and has completed at least 30 semester hours or 45 quarter hours of credit in geoscience, of which at least 20 semester hours or 30 quarter hours of credit is in upper-level college courses in geoscience.
  (2) The Appointed Board may also determine that an individual applicant has satisfactorily completed other equivalent educational requirements after reviewing the applicant's educational credentials.
(c) An official transcript (including either grades or mark sheets and proof that the degree was conferred) shall be provided for the degree(s) utilized to meet the educational requirements for licensure. Official or notarized copies of transcripts shall be submitted to the TBPG. Official transcripts shall be forwarded directly to the TBPG office by the respective registrars. The applicant is responsible for ordering and paying for all such transcripts. Additional academic information including but not limited to grades and transfer credit shall be submitted to the TBPG at the request of the Executive Director.
(d) If transcripts cannot be transmitted directly to the TBPG from the issuing institution, the Executive Director may recommend alternatives to the Appointed Board for its approval. Such alternatives may include validating transcripts in the applicant's possession through an Appointed Board-approved commercial evaluation service.
(e) Degrees and coursework earned at foreign universities shall be acceptable if the degree conferred and coursework have been determined by a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) to be equivalent to a degree conferred by or coursework completed in an accredited institution or program. It is the applicant's responsibility to have degrees and coursework so evaluated. The commercial evaluation of a degree shall be accepted in lieu of an official transcript only if the credential evaluation service has indicated that the credential evaluation was based on a verified official academic record or transcript.
(f) The relevance to the licensing requirements of academic courses, the titles of which are not self-explanatory, must be substantiated through course descriptions in official school catalogs, bulletins, syllabi, or by other means.
(g) The Board staff shall accept no coursework which an applicant's transcript indicates was not completed with a passing grade or for credit.
(h) In evaluating two or more sets of transcripts from a single applicant, the Board staff shall consider a quarter hour of academic credit as two-thirds of a semester hour.

Source Note: The provisions of this §851.25 adopted to be effective December 15, 2010, 35 TexReg 10695; amended to be effective February 15, 2013, 38 TexReg 644; amended to be effective December 11, 2014, 39 TexReg 9539; amended to be effective September 25, 2017, 42 TexReg 5143; amended to be effective October 31, 2018, 43 TexReg 7140