Land Surveying and Geomatics Certification (LSGC) Program

The Land Surveying and Geomatics Certification (LSGC) program defines a group of courses offered by the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Department of Engineering, and the Department of Geology, Geography and Physics that are formulated to meet the Tennessee Board of Examiners for Land Surveyors (TBELS) requirements to apply for licensure as a Professional Land Surveyor (PLS). 

Students completing B.S. degree requirements in a science-based undergraduate curriculum and taking 24 semester hours of surveying-specific course work are qualified to apply for licensure as a PLS by the TBELS under Category B (TCA 62-18-109).  Completion of the licensure process requires passing all exams as specified by the TBELS along with having two years of work experience under a licensed surveyor.  

The TBELS further defines course work meeting Category B criteria as 24 semester hours of acceptable courses relating directly to surveying.  Courses are selected from a grouping of courses by the TBELS designated as List I, II, or III.  A minimum of 18 hours must be equivalent to courses from List I and the remainder from List II or III.   The TBELS maintains a list of pre-approved courses (List I, II, and III) on its website (http://www.state.tn.us/commerce/boards/surveyors/).   

The following courses, offered at the University of Tennessee at Martin, are formulated to meet the TBELS criteria for a Category B application process.

 

List I Courses (Minimum of 18 hours required)

Required

• ENGR 350  Principles of Land Surveying and Geomatics (3
• AGET 354 Advanced Land Surveying & Geomatics  (3)
• AGET 454  Land Surveying with GPS  (3)
• AGET 456  Boundary Control and Legal Principles  (3)
• AGET 458  Subdivision Site Planning and Development  (3)

Electives  (Choose minimum of one)

• ENGR 352  Transportation Engineering (3)
• ENGR 490  Special Topics – Surveying Projects (3)
• GEOG 471  Cartography (3)

List II Courses (Minimum of 6 hours required)

Required

• AGET 220 Surveying and Soil and Water Engineering (3)

Electives  (Choose minimum of one)

• AGET 482 Precision Tech. for Agri. and Natural Resources (3)
• ENGR 353 Hydraulics and Hydrology (3)
• GEOG 310 Principles of Geographic Information Systems (3)
• GEOG 364 Introduction to Remote Sensing (3)
• GEOG 410 Geographic Info Systems: Modeling and Applications (3)
• PLSC 341 Dendrology and Forest Ecology (3)
• SOIL 210  Soil Science (4)*

Qualification:  It is the applicant’s responsibility to meet all TBELS requirements for licensure.  License requirements are specified on the TBELS website and applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the TBELS Director at (615) 741-3611 to coordinate all aspects of the application process.  The University of Tennessee at Martin does not warrant or guarantee that students completing the LSGC program will be granted permission to sit for the Fundamentals of Land Surveying examination.  The TBELS has the sole authority to approve or disapprove an application for PLS licensure. 

*  Awaiting TBELS approval