Soil Science Certificate (CP14)

The Soil Science Certificate (SSC) program defines a group of courses offered by the Department of Agriculture, Geoscience, and Natural Resources that are formulated to meet the courses required to sit for the Fundamentals of Soil Science Exam administered by the Soil Science Society of America to be an Associate Professional Soil Scientist (BS degree in soil science or a related field with no work experience required) or a Certified Professional Soil Scientist (BS degree in soil science or a related field with 5 years of work experience). Passing the Fundamentals of Soil Science Exam is one of the requirements to be a licensed soil scientist in many states. Additional requirements to be licensed in Tennessee include working under the supervision of a licensed soil scientist for three years and passing a state exam. Information about becoming a licensed soil scientist in Tennessee can be found here: https://www.tn.gov/commerce/regboards/soil.html. Completing the SSC also meets the educational requirements for soil scientist positions within the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and similar positions in state agencies.

Students completing B.S. degree requirements in a soil science-related field such as agriculture, natural resources or environmental science, or who have already completed a bachelor’s degree are eligible to seek the certificate provided they have completed at least one semester of college-level mathematics.

The following courses, offered at The University of Tennessee at Martin, are required for the certificate. A minimum grade of C is required for each course taken for the Soil Science Certificate. The total number of credits for the certificate must be at least 18 credits, and at least two of the courses must include a laboratory or field-based component (these classes are marked with an * in the lists below).

Complete these two courses:

PLSC 110 - Introductory Plant and Soil Science Credit(s): 3
SOIL 210 - Soil Science Credit(s): 4

Choose one of the following courses:

SOIL 321 - Pedology Credit(s): 3
SOIL 401 - Research Participation Credit(s): 3
SOIL 412 - Soil Chemistry and Fertility Credit(s): 3
SOIL 420 - Soil Microbiology and Biochemistry Credit(s): 3

Choose 8 more credits from the following list that have not already been taken:

SOIL 250 - Soil and Landscape Evaluation Credit(s): 1
SOIL 301 - Special Problems [Topic Title] Credit(s): 1
SOIL 315 - Soil and Water Conservation Credit(s): 3
SOIL 321 - Pedology Credit(s): 3
SOIL 401 - Research Participation Credit(s): 3
SOIL 412 - Soil Chemistry and Fertility Credit(s): 3
SOIL 420 - Soil Microbiology and Biochemistry Credit(s): 3
SOIL 430 - Wetland Science Credit(s): 3
SOIL 440 - Soil Physics Credit(s): 3
Students seeking to use transfer credit from another institution for any of the courses listed should contact the certificate coordinator. No more than 6 hours of transfer credit may be applied to this certificate.