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U.S. Geoscience Degrees Granted (1973-2013) Percentage of Degrees Awarded to Underrepresented Minorities
35%
U.S. Federal Geoscience Funding (1973-2012) Bachelor’s Master’s Doctorate
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Degrees 8,000 12% Percentage of Federal Research Funding ABCgirPoioEhlcmnyouslpggitAiiulcutlnGEcMraeeeaalnarltSelogrchiSsiiSSeScScnencciicicienigeiemeeeceeannrnntiencnciccncececeessgese&sss Percentage of Degrees Awarded
7,000 Bachelor’s
6,000 Master’s
5,000
10%
Doctorate
4,000 8%
3,000
2,000 6%
1,000
1975 4%
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
A Year B
Figure 1. (A) GdeegorseceisenawcearddeegdreteosugnrdanertreedpbreyseyCneatrerdaammndeinrUoer.Sitt.iaefesld..De-raaWtlafoaunrndkdfifonigrgucoreefsg-ferFoosmicgieuthnreceeA1ams earipcearnceGnetoasgceieonfcteostIanl srteistueaterc(hWsiplseonnd,i2n0g1.4(aB)).
Percentage of
contracting. Student numbers in field camps are up nationwide, (both public and private), not exclusively by geoscience depart- GSA TODAY | www.geosociety.org/gsatoday
yet the number of universities offering field camps has declined by ments. Academia is just one of the professions in which geologists
60% since 1995 (Petcovic et al., 2014). Many universities offer find employment, and it is critical that we expose students to 37
anecdotal evidence that the number of applicants to geoscience other voices and perspectives early and often during their educa-
graduate programs is increasing, yet the number of funded grad- tion if we are to rebuild the geoscience workforce.
uate student positions available has not kept pace. The M.S. degree
is the “working” degree in the geosciences, but decades ago a trend ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
began to remove M.S. programs to focus exclusively on Ph.D.
programs, applying further pressure on the number of funded We thank G. Dickens (editor), J. Geissman, B. Thomas, and an anonymous
graduate student positions available. Increases in the number of reviewer for comments that significantly strengthened this manuscript.
students entering the upstream end of the geoscientist pipeline This work is the outcome of a 2014 International Geoscience Programme
must be matched by growth in opportunities for advanced and (IGCP) Project 591 Public Policy Symposium at the University of Iowa. Travel
graduate training downstream in the form of graduate funding, funding was provided by a Stanley Major Projects Award, International
mentorship, and field and research opportunities. Programs, University of Iowa.
Participation in the process of science (LaDue and Brown REFERENCES CITED
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Manuscript received 1 Feb. 2015; accepted 9 June 2015. ✸
