Continuing Education & Professional Learning

Elevate your career with GSA’s dynamic continuing education opportunities. Keep your certifications up-to-date and fuel your passion for lifelong learning!

Learn more about our opportunities

Earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and Professional Development Hours (PDHs) with GSA. Our instructional experiences are widely recognized units of measure for your ongoing professional growth.

1.0 CEU = 10 PDHs in an organized continuing education experience under responsible sponsorship, capable direction, and qualified instruction.
1 PDH = 1 contact hour (minimum 50 minutes) of instruction or presentation.

How to Earn CEUs/PDHs with GSA

Conferences & Meetings

Attend or help organize events such as GSA Connects, Section Meetings, Penrose Conferences, Thompson Field Forums, and other approved meetings.

Publications

Publish, peer-review, or edit qualifying scholarly works.

Mentoring & Committees

Serve on committees or provide sturctured mentorship.

All CEUs and PDHs are calculated using the standard conversion model outlined above.

Professional Learning Pathways

GSA’s Professional Learning Pathways organize CEU-eligible activities into focused thematic tracks aligned with specific areas of professional practice.

Pathways help participants:

Identify relevant sessions, courses, field trips, and webinars
Strategically build depth in a focused topic area
Track cumulative CEUs/PDHs within a defined competency theme
Demonstrate sustained professional development over time

Participation in a Professional Learning Pathway does not alter CEU/PDH calculations. CEUs and PDHs are awarded based on contact hours in qualifying activities.

Pathways provide structure and intentionality to continuing education planning while preserving standard CEU accounting practices.

Documentation & Credentials

GSA provides both participation documents and select achievement-based credentials. These are distinct.

1. CEU/PDH Attendance Documentation

CEU/PDH documentation verifies participation in an individual activity and confirms the number of contact hours completed.

This documentation may be submitted to certification or licensure boards, subject to their requirements.

How to access attendance documentation:

GSA Connects & GSA Section Meetings: Download from the event website after the conference.
Short Courses & Field Trips: Download after completing the activity and submitting the evaluation.
Webinars: Attendance documentation is emailed within one to two business days.
Other Activities: Email excel@geosociety.org to request verification.

Attendee documents confirm contact hours earned. It is not a credential.

2. Professional Learning Pathway Progress

Participants who engage in multiple CEU-eligible activities within a designated pathway may track cumulative CEUs/PDHs aligned to that theme.

Pathway participation allows individuals to document:

Total CEUs/PDHs earned within a focused topic area
Breadth across activity types (sessions, courses, field experiences, etc.)
Sustained engagement in professional development

Individuals remain responsible for retaining documentation of their CEU/PDH participation.

3. GSA Certificates (When Offered)

Select Professional Learning Pathways may offer a GSA Certificate upon completion of defined participation requirements.

A GSA Certificate represents documented achievement across multiple CEU-eligible activities within a structured pathway.

Certificate requirements may include:

A higher minimum threshold of cumulative CEUs/PDHs
Participation across defined activity categories and deliverables
Completion of required components within a designated timeframe

GSA Certificates:

Recognize structured professional learning within a defined pathway
Are distinct from CEU/PDH attendance documentation
Do not constitute academic credit
Do not represent professional certification or state licensure

Specific certificate criteria are described on each pathway webpage.

Credits Breakdown

Meetings/Events	½ Day	1 Day	1.5 Days	2 Days	3 Days	4 Days
GSA Connects	—	0.8 CEUs 8 PDHs	—	1.6 CEUs 16 PDHs	2.4 CEUs 24 PDHs	3.2 CEUs 32 PDHs
Section Meetings	—	0.8 CEUs 8 PDHs	1.2 CEUs 12 PDHs	1.6 CEUs 16 PDHs	2.4 CEUs 24 PDHs	—
Field Trips (participating)	0.4 CEUs 4 PDHs	0.8 CEUs 8 PDHs	1.2 CEUs 12 PDHs	1.6 CEUs 16 PDHs	2.4 CEUs 24 PDHs	3.2 CEUs 32 PDHs
Short Courses (attending)	0.4 CEUs 4 PDHs	0.8 CEUs 8 PDHs	1.2 CEUs 12 PDHs	1.6 CEUs 16 PDHs	—	—
Field Trips* (leading)	0.8 CEUs 8 PDHs	1.6 CEUs 16 PDHs	2 CEUs 20 PDHs	2.4 CEUs 24 PDHs	3.2 CEUs 32 PDHs	4 CEUs 40 PDHs
Short Courses* (teaching)	0.8 CEUs 8 PDHs	1.6 CEUs 16 PDHs	2 CEUs 20 PDHs	2.4 CEUs 24 PDHs	—	—

*Leading or teaching a short course/field trip provides CEUs/PDHs at twice the rate due to the increased time and effort.

Other Opportunities	1 Hour
Webinars (attending)	0.1 CEU 1 PDH
Webinars (leading)	0.2 CEUs 2 PDHs
Peer-Review a Publication** (journal article, paper, geological map, book, textbook, etc.)	16 PDHs per publication
Peer-Review a Blog Post or Article on GSA’s website**	5 PDHs per post
Committee Service	10 PDHs per year

**Work must be published before PDHs can be issued.

Keep Track

Each individual is responsible for keeping their own continuing education records and submitting them to their certification or licensure board. GSA retains participation records for seven years to assist with verification when requested. Participants pursuing pathway-based certificates should retain documentation of all qualifying activities.

Know the Limits

While GSA provides CEU and PDH documentation, we cannot guarantee acceptance by all certification or licensure boards. Requirements vary by state and profession.

Some boards may limit CEUs/PDHs earned through committee service or may not accept repeated activities. For example, certain states may only recognize CEUs from approved organizations.

GSA does not offer CEUs/PDHs for self-study or non-sponsored activities. GSA does not offer academic credit. If you wish to pursue academic credit for a GSA activity, please make arrangements directly with your institution.