5 U.S.C. § 9810 — Distinguished scholar appointment authority

(a) In this section—(1) “professional position” means a position in an occupational series that the Office of Personnel Management identifies as a position that (A) requires education and training in the occupation’s principles, concepts, and theories that usually can be gained only by completing a specified curriculum at a recognized college or university and (B) is covered by the Group Coverage Qualification Standard for Professional and Scientific Positions; and (2) “research position” means a position in a professional series that mainly involves scientific inquiry or investigation, or research-type exploratory development of a creative or scientific nature, where the knowledge needed to perform the work successfully is usually and mainly acquired through graduate study. (b) Subject to subsection (c), the Administration^* may appoint candidates directly, without applying section 3304(h) or sections 3309 through 3318, to publicly announced General Schedule professional competitive-service positions in the Administration if—(1) for a GS-7 position, the individual (A) received within 2 years before the appointment’s effective date, from an accredited institution authorized to grant baccalaureate degrees, a baccalaureate degree in a field whose degree and academic achievements meet OPM’s qualification standards for the position, and (B) earned a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale and at least 3.5 for courses in the field required for the position; (2) for a GS-9 position, the individual (A) received within that 2-year period, from an accredited institution authorized to grant graduate degrees, a graduate degree in a field whose degree meets OPM’s qualification standards at that grade for the position, and (B) earned a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale in graduate coursework in the field required for the position; (3) for a GS-11 position, the individual (A) received within that 2-year period, from an accredited institution authorized to grant graduate degrees, a graduate degree in a field whose degree meets OPM’s qualification standards at that grade for the position, and (B) earned a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale in graduate coursework in the field required for the position; or (4) for a research position at GS-12, the individual (A) received within that 2-year period, from an accredited institution authorized to grant graduate degrees, a graduate degree in a field whose degree meets OPM’s qualification standards at that grade for the position, and (B) earned a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale in graduate coursework in the field required for the position. (c) When making selections under this section, preference eligibles who meet the criteria for distinguished-scholar appointments must be considered before nonpreference eligibles. (d) An appointment made under this authority is a career-conditional appointment in the competitive civil service.