• Professional Membership
  Professional members are individuals who meet the educational, professional experience, publications, and professional conduct requirements, and have passed a professional examination, as prescribed by the Board of Registration. Applicants approved by the Board are certified as a Professional Hydrologist-Surface Water, Hydrologist-Groundwater, and Hydrologist-Water Quality. Retired professional members may continue their membership as an emeritus member.
  
• Hydrologic Technician
  Technician members are individuals that require at a minimum one year practical experience under the supervision of a professional hydrologist or senior level hydrologic technician or an Associate or Bachelor of Science degree with a minimum of 12 hours of water related coursework. To achieve the Level I through Level III certification, an applicant must pass a 100-question multiple-choice test. (More)
  
• Associate Membership/Hydrologist-In-Training
  Individuals who meet the educational requirements but do not meet the experience and/or publications requirements, may become an Associate member until they qualify for certification. Individuals who are eligible to become an Associate member may choose to take the Fundamentals Examination and become a Hydrologist-In-Training until they meet the experience requirements and then qualify by taking and passing the Principles and Practice Examination. Students who are enrolled full time and are pursuing a degree in hydrology, hydrogeology, the natural or physical sciences, or engineering may become a Student member.
  
  
• Student Membership
  
  
• Institutional and Corporate Membership
  Organizations interested in becoming Institutional or Corporate member of AIH can meet the requirements by giving satisfactory evidence of their professional qualifications, certifying that at least one senior member is a certified Professional Hydrologist with AIH, and pledge to uphold the Code of Ethics and the Constitution of the Institute. Organizations that meet the above requirements but do not employ a member of AIH can become a Corporate Affiliate member.
  
  
  

AIH certifies individuals whose credentials are evaluated by a panel of nationally recognized and respected scientists and professionals. This evaluation involves a review of the applicant's education, the quality and extent of professional experience, professional conduct, and an examination. The applicant must:

1. Meet the following educational requirements:
   • Graduate with a Bachelor's degree or higher in hydrology, hydrogeology, physical or natural sciences, or engineering, including the completion of 5 semester or 8 quarter hours each in chemistry, physics, and calculus and 25 semester or 37 quarter hours in hydrology/hydrogeology related courses.

     List of accepted hydrology education courses

   
   
2. Have five years experience in professional hydrological or hydrogeological work after the award of a Bachelor's, Master's, or a Doctor's degree.
   • Credit is given for academic or teaching experience for one-half of each year after graduation.
   • Full-time work at a research institute may be substituted for professional experience and part-time consulting work may be considered if done for an established consulting firm.
   • Technician level work, sales experience, trainee and orientation time is not considered full-time professional experience.
   
   
3. Perform substantive original investigations in some phase of the hydrological sciences. The results must be published in professional, institute, or consulting firm publications, or agency reports. The publication requirement may be waived for individuals rendering superior service through teaching and/or administrative and technical work.
   
   
4. Provide the names and current mailing addresses of five referees who have present knowledge of the applicant's qualifications, integrity, and professional conduct.
   
   
5. Be reviewed and approved by the AIH Board of Registration. The review covers the applicant's education, experience, publication record, public conduct, and the relative and demonstrated possession of knowledge, skills, and competence in hydrology and hydrogeology.
   
   
6. Have a passing grade on an examination designed to determine the applicant's knowledge of hydrology and hydrogeology. The examination will establish the ability to apply the knowledge and understanding of basic hydrological principles to find solutions to practical problems.

Applicants who meet the educational requirements, but do not meet the experience and/or publication requirements, can become Associate Members or if Part I of the exam is taken and passed, can become H/HG/HGW/HWQ-In-Training Members until they qualify for professional status.

If all the requirements are met, the applicant will be certified and registered as a Professional Hydrologist (H), Professional Hydrogeologist (HG), Professional Hydrologist (Ground Water) (HGW), or Professional Hydrologist (Water Quality) (HWQ). The certificate must be renewed annually. Re-certification must be done every five years.

In the year 2002, AIH began using certification examinations developed cooperatively with the Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing (DRL). An AIH applicant passing the examinations is also qualified as a candidate for registration as a professional hydrologist with the state of Wisconsin. DRL web site under applicant services, under Hydrologist.

Refer to Examinations page for more details



Examinations are given on the second Friday in the months of May and November each year.

Exceptions:

According to the Rules and Regulations of the Board of Registration, every applicant must take both the fundamentals and practice examinations. Eligibility to take the examinations are determined by the Board of Registration following careful evaluation of the application and supporting evidence. However, there are exceptions for AIH certification (There are no exceptions for licensure in Wisconsin):

1. Applicants who meet the educational requirements and have at least ten years of professional experience solving practical problems in some aspect of the hydrological sciences may be exempt from the fundamentals exam. The applicant's expertise must be shown through reports or publications, and approved by the Board of Registration and the Executive Committee.
   
   
2. Registered Professional Engineers or Registered Geologists who meet all of the educational requirements, provide evidence of practical investigations (reports, publications, etc.) in some aspect of the hydrological sciences, and are approved by the Board of Registration and the Executive Committee, may be certified without examination.
   
   
3. Applicants who meet the educational requirements and have at least ten years of professional experience solving practical problems in some aspect of the hydrological sciences, may be certified without examination if they have a sponsoring letter from a member or state section of AIH. A sponsored application must be approved by the Board of Registration and the Executive Committee.

Suggested Exam References

Anderson and Woessner, Applied Groundwater Modeling
Black, Watershed Hydrology
Chow, Maidment, and Mays, Applied Hydrology
Dominico and Schwartz, Physical and Chemical Hydrogeology
Driscoll, Ground Water and Wells
Dunne and Leopold, Water in Environmental Planning
Fetter, Applied Hydrogeology
Fetter, Contaminant Hydrogeology
Freeze and Cherry, Groundwater
Gifford, Renard, and Hadley, Rangeland Hydrology
Haan, Barfield, and Hayes, Design Hydrology and Sedimentology for Small Catchments
Hjelmfelt and Cassidy, Hydrology for Engineers and Planners
Linsley, Kohler, and Paulhus, Hydrology for Engineers
Shaw, Hydrology in Practice
Todd, Ground Water Hydrology
Viessman and Lewis, Introduction to Hydrology
Wetzel, Limnology

According to American Institute of Hydrology bylaws, every fifth year, all professional members must be re-certified by the Board of Registration. Recertification must include a current resume with your experience, education, achievements, professional registrations, organization memberships, and a listing of your training, conference attendance, work history, and publications for the past 5 years. In Wisconsin, license renewal is every two years.

New Recertification Form