Introduction
Geologists, Geological Engineers, and other Geoscientists are legally-recognized
professionals in British Columbia (and in a growing number of other provincial
and territorial jurisdictions in Canada). To practice within these fields,
the law requires that you be duly and legally registered. Therefore, if
you plan to seek employment as a Geologist, Geoscientist, or Geological
Engineer in British Columbia, you will want to select a Program that would
meet the academic requirements for registration. These are reviewed in a short
guide for UBC-EOS students in geoscience as linked here.
Biologists are now also legally-recognized professionals in British Columbia. If you wish to seek employment as a Biologist and wish to register as a Professional Biologist, you will want to select a Program that would meet the academic requirements for registration.
Professional Biologists
The legislative authority to license professional biologists in BC is the College of Applied Biology (CAB). The address of the CAB is:
205-733 Johnson Street
Victoria BC V8W 3C7 Canada
Telephone: (250) 383-3306 | Fax: (250) 383-2400
www.cab-bc.org
Registered Professional Biologist (RPBio) status is an important qualification for biologists practicing in BC. Undergraduate and Graduate students may join the CAB as student biologists and biologists in training respectively, before they meet all of the requirements for RPBio status. For details, contact the CAB of BC at cab@cab-bc.org or visit their website at www.cab-bc.org for information regarding entrance requirements and qualifications for membership in the CAB of BC.
Professional Geoscientists and Professional Engineers
The governing body for registration in BC is The
Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British
Columbia. For additional details and updated information
regarding registration, contact the Association directly and request
a current version of either the GEOLOGICAL ENGINEERING SYLLABUS or
the GEOSCIENCE SYLLABUS at the address:
The ASSOCIATION of PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS and GEOSCIENTISTS of BRITISH COLUMBIA
200 - 4010 Regent Street
Burnaby BC V5C 6N2 Canada
Telephone: (604) 430-8035 | Toll Free Canada-wide: 1-888-430-8035 | Fax: (604) 430-8085
Registration for Science Graduates
Graduating students from the Faculty of Science can apply for registration
as a Professional Geoscientist or 'PGeo' in training (there are equivalent statuses for biologists - see links to CAB above).
Compared to registering as a professional engineer, registration as PGeo or RPBio are relatively new procedures. The rules and
regulations have only recently been formalized and may be subject to further
refinement. Also in contrast to P Eng, there is no official accreditation
of the programs at various institutions. Instead, the governing associations
provide lists of courses ('syllabus') that represent the minimum requirements
for eligibility for registration. According to the guidelines, the net
effect to students from UBC is that they will need to include certain elective
courses in their Program to ensure that they will be eligible to for registration
as PGeo or RPBio. There are four 'options' for PGeo registration (Geology, Geochemistry, Geophysics,
and Geotechnics) under which an applicant can be considered, each with
a different list of required subjects.
You may have heard somewhere that
Majors graduates cannot qualify for Professional Registration, but this
is NOT correct. You simply have to ensure you have chosen a suitable set of courses.
For specific registration requirements, consult the
APEGBC
syllabus. (PGeo) or the College of Applied Biology website at www.cab-bc.org.
Registration for Applied Science Graduates
The Geological Engineering Program at UBC is officially "accredited" by
the Association, so that all BASc graduates are eligible to apply for
registration as Professional Engineers or 'P Eng' in training (EIT).
The accreditation process involves a thorough evaluation of the Program,
including on-site visits, and is conducted at regular intervals (the
most recent evaluation was completed in late 2005). Registration as P
Eng has a long-established history in BC and Canada. Some Geological
Engineering students take additional Science courses which enable them
to qualify for a dual registration, P.Eng., P.Geo