Education and Core Competencies for Professional Hydrogeologists

Hydrogeologists may undergo initial education at the BS/BSc level as engineers, geoscientists or in another area of physical science. There is a need in the 21st Century to standardize the required competency profile of a professional hydrogeologist so that their professional certification is accepted internationally. This is particularly the case in free-trade areas such as North America and the European Union where cross border consulting is economically important. It is also important to foreign graduate students who will want to be assured that their academic qualification in hydrogeology will be accepted internationally.

The 1999 Bologna Accord in Europe and the American Society of Civil Engineer’s Body of Knowledge BOK2 report clearly indicate the growing acceptance of the BS/BSc degree as that of the engineer-in-training degree and that, in the words of the ASCE’s Committee on Academic Prerequisites for Professional Practice: “The outcome regarding specialized technical knowledge is best accomplished in a post-graduate program of study. By not including technical specialization in the undergraduate program of study, necessary breadth can be achieved without increasing the size of the curriculum.” Thus, in the USA, by 2025 admission to an 8-hour written examination in the principles and practice of engineering will require that an engineering intern have:

● A MSc degree in engineering from an accredited institution and 3 or more years of progressive experience, or

● A minimum of 30 additional appropriate credits from approved course providers plus 4 or more years of progressive experience.

Therefore the BS is the engineer-in-training degree and the MS is the professional engineer degree. The Bologna process has moved the EU nations towards a similar policy position with a first cycle/second cycle university system of 3+2 years leading to an MEng or MSc(Eng) degree. The geo-engineering community in the US and Europe have realized that they must respond to these developments and have established an international Joint Technical Committee on Education and Training (JTC3) to consider the competency profiles for these geo-engineering professions.

What will be the response by the IAH and by hydrogeologists in general to these initiatives and what should we expect of the core competency of hydrogeologists in the 21st century?