Introduction
“We need more young people in the HGS” is a common refrain from HGS members. The challenge of attracting and retaining a younger generation of geologists into professional organizations starts with attracting students at colleges and universities. Professors from geoscience departments at University of Houston (UH), University of Houston-Downtown (UHD), Rice University (Rice), Sam Houston State University (SHSU), Stephen F. Austin University (SFASU), and Lone Star College University Park (LSC) report that students are increasingly focused on pursuing Environmental Science, Planetary Geology, Atmospheric Sciences. Many of these departments have seen sharp drops in overall enrollment and steep declines in students interested in pursuing Oil and Gas.
To attract students, departments are shifting focus to offer more courses in Environmental Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Science, Planetary, Geothermal and others. While departments say they continue to focus on core geoscience skill sets, the coursework is tailored to better resonate with the interests of today’s students. Furthermore, SHSU, SFASU and Rice have even changed the names of their departments to better attract students.
Graduated students are finding employment in a range of geoscience disciplines. Workers entering the workforce with an undergraduate degree are finding employment in environmental consulting or government regulatory agencies. Oil and Gas continues to be a significant source of employment for MS and PhD students, but an increasing number are finding employment with companies and agencies that focus on planetary science and data analytics.
Students say environmental science is more attractive than oil and gas
The environment, sustainability and water resources are the topics that most interest current students, explains Kenneth Johnson, Associate Professor in the Department of Natural Sciences at UHD. This sentiment is echoed by Julia Wellner, Associate Professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at UH. Wellner says that more undergraduates are choosing to major in Environmental Science rather than Geology or Geophysics. Bryn Benford, Professor at LSC says that her students want to “focus on the health of the planet.” Benford says, “Despite being in Houston, they don’t want to talk about Oil and Gas.”
“Students just want to make a difference in whatever they are doing. They want to know how they can help communities,” says Julie Bloxson, Assistant Professor at SFASU Department of Earth Sciences and Geologic Resources. Bloxson says that most of the undergraduates studying geosciences at SFASU believe they can help make a difference by focusing on environmental science issues. Despite Texas’ energy-rich economy and widespread Oil and Gas Industry employment, it can be difficult for students to overcome a stigma attached to Oil and Gas. However, Bloxson, who teaches a mandatory senior-level course on Economic Geology, says that when students are exposed to Petroleum Geology they generally find it interesting.
Geology departments are losing enrollment
David Moss, Assistant Professor of Geology at SHSU Department of Environmental and Geosciences, is the principal researcher on a recent study funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that focused on understanding high school students’ perceptions of Geology and introducing students and teachers to Geology. Moss says that over 400 students from over 20 Texas high schools were surveyed. Although analysis is ongoing, students ranked a career in Geology as their lowest choice. Moss says that students equate a career in Geology with a career in Oil and Gas, and both careers are at the bottom of the students’ lists. One of the reasons for the lack of interest in Geology may be a result of many high schools not offering Geology or Earth Science courses. “More concerning,” says Moss, “is that if a Geology or Earth Science course is offered, it may be part of a non-college-bound track.”
Johnson says that the UHD Department of Natural Sciences has seen a “steady decrease in number of students enrolled” over the past decade. He says that his department had approximately 140 students enrolled before 2014, but that number dropped to about 70 students enrolled this fall. Pat Harris, Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental and Geosciences at SHSU shares a similar decrease in enrollment numbers. Over his 12 years at SHSU, Harris has seen enrollment in the Geology major drop from approximately 120 to approximately 60 students. Meanwhile, SHSU’s Environmental Science Major has increased to approximately 75 enrolled students.
Tom Lapen, Professor and Chair of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at UH, says that his department has also experienced a decrease in undergraduate students. Lapen recalls having 200 students in a mineralogy course in 2013. That number dropped to just over 20 students in recent years. Data from UH supports a continuing decrease in the number of PhD students in Geology or Geophysics. While PhDs in Geology decreased 27% and Geophysics decreased 81% year-over-year, the number of PhD students in Atmospheric Sciences increased 60%.
Both Johnson and Lapen explain that the numbers of enrolled students in their departments tend to follow oil price. The recent oil price downturn in 2020-21 is partly to blame for reduced enrollment. Bloxson at SFASU says that her department saw a significant decrease in students during the COVID-19 pandemic, consistent with decrease in college and university enrollment nationwide.
What are departments doing to reverse enrollment trends?
Colleges and universities are developing creative ways to recruit and retain new Geology and Geophysics students. Some departments are focusing on re-branding to shift focus to earth science or environmental science. Last year, SFASU rebranded their geoscience department to the Department of Earth Sciences and Geologic Resources. SHSU recently rebranded to the Department of Environmental and Geosciences. Despite the name changes at SFASU and SHSU, the course offerings have not substantively changed.
Rice University has changed their name three times over the past 15 years, starting with Geology and Geophysics Department, then re-branding to Earth Science, and then re-branding approximately five years ago to be the Department of Earth, Environment and Planetary Sciences (EEPS). In addition to name changes, Rice has also expanded the number of entry-level geoscience courses they offer. Julia Morgan, Professor and Chair of the EEPS department at Rice University, says her department realized that Physical Geology may not be attractive to all students, so they now offer introductory courses on natural disasters, planetary science, climate science, a field-based earth science course, and a course called “Earth, Environment and Society.” Morgan says that Energy Transition, Environmental Science, and Planetary Science are significant draws for Rice students, so the department plans to expand their faculty in these areas over the next few years. Like Rice, other departments are broadening the entry point to Geology to attract more students. Benford says, “Students try Environmental Science, and they get pulled into more traditional Geology courses.”
Lapen says that UH has re-focused their department to include offerings in machine learning, artificial intelligence and Python programming. In addition, existing courses are being re-tooled to focus on future energy challenges related to energy security, clean energy, and environmental science. Lapen says that the Geophysics courses at UH are focused on developing transferrable skills that can be applied to a wide range of Geology disciplines, including critical minerals, planetary science, environmental science, and others. Johnson echoes that a similar shift has occurred at UHD, where they now offer new courses in data analytics and Geographic Information Systems.
Where are students going after graduation?
Despite the reluctance of students to pursue traditional Geology or Geophysics study paths, oil and gas continues to be a primary source of employment opportunities for students who graduate with a degree in Geology or Geophysics.
Of the schools interviewed for this article, only UH systematically tracks employment for graduated MS and PhD students. For academic year 2022, UH reports 82% of the students earning a MS and 100% of the students earning a PhD in Geology or Geophysics (37 total) are currently employed. Nearly 30 of those graduated students found employment in the Energy Industry, primarily in Oil and Gas. The remaining employed students continued in academia; one student became a data scientist for Walmart. Among the five students who graduated with a degree in Atmospheric Science, four continued on in academia in post-doctoral programs at national labs and one became an air quality specialist for a consulting company.
Although UH did not provide quantitative data on students who find employment with an undergraduate degree, Wellner describes that many undergraduates proceed to work for state or federal agencies such as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), Army Corps of Engineers, United States Department of Agriculture, United States Geologic Survey or the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management. Other undergraduates find employment with environmental consulting companies.
The qualitative insights from other Houston-area colleges and universities are similar to the quantitative data from UH. Graduates of Rice are “taking full advantage of what Houston has to offer,” says Morgan. Recent Rice graduates have taken positions at local environmental consulting companies, several have research positions with NASA or other planetary institutes, and others are working in Oil and Gas. Many Rice PhD graduates seek research, postdoctoral, or academic positions elsewhere. Johnson says that in addition to finding employment with independent Oil and Gas companies, many UHD graduates go to work for TCEQ or for environmental consulting firms. Bloxson says that of her five most recent graduated students, two found employment in mining, one is employed in environmental consulting, one is employed in Oil and Gas, and one left Geology.
What can HGS do to attract students?
Bloxson and Harris both say that the scholarship opportunities that HGS currently provides are vital for their students. Furthermore, Bloxson says that increased scholarships for travel would be a great addition. SFASU allocates a total of only $600 in annual travel conference expenses, which is insufficient to support more than one student traveling to a conference. Wellner agrees that scholarships are important to UH students and wants to see scholarship criteria expanded to include environmental science, to reflect the changing interests of their student population.
Harris and Mills say that networking and career path discussions are helpful for their students at SHSU. Harris recently helped a group of students to attend a HGS dinner meeting and believes that students found value in hearing from more senior professionals. Mills says that providing examples of Geology and Geophysics career paths is another important way to retain students.
