U.S. Office of Personnel Mgt.

United States Office of Personnel Management

Operating Manual

Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions

Individual Occupational Requirements for

GS-406:    Agricultural Extension Series


The text below is extracted verbatim from Section IV-B of the Operating Manual for Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions (p.IV-B-58), but contains minor edits to conform to web-page requirements.

Use these individual occupational requirements in conjunction with the "Group Coverage Qualification Standard for Professional and Scientific Positions."


Basic Requirements:

  1. Degree: major in agriculture, home economics, agricultural economics, entomology, soil science, plant science, animal science, or other biological or social science field related to the position to be filled.
    OR
  2. Combination of education and experience--courses equivalent to a major, or a combination of related courses totaling at least 24 semester hours, in one or more of the fields listed in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
    OR
  3. Experience--four years of appropriate work experience that demonstrated that the applicant acquired a thorough knowledge of the subject-matter field of the position to be filled equivalent to that which would have been acquired through completion of a 4-year course of study as described in A above.

Evaluation of Education: Education in nonaccredited institutions will be accepted to the extent that the State university or a land-grant institution in the State in which the institution is located will credit the course work toward a degree. Graduate education in the same or a directly related specialty area as the position to be filled will be accepted for specialist positions up to the GS-11 level.

Evaluation of Experience: Specialized experience, particularly at the higher levels, must have provided knowledge of the theories and principles of extension educational programs. Such experience will usually have been gained in an extension setting or similar function involving programs that provide technical information and research results for practical application.

Updated 06 November 1998