FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 23, 2018

 

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) is pleased to announce the publication of Status of Recent Geoscience Graduates 2017. This report details the results of AGI's Geoscience Student Exit Survey for academic year 2016-2017, documenting trends in geoscience coursework, student experiences, and the immediate career plans of the new graduates. This is the fifth consecutive year of this survey and report, and with this release, consistent trends have emerged about the experiences of postsecondary geoscience students.

 

AGI's Geoscience Student Exit Survey details responses from this year's graduates as well as in selected analyses, time-series or aggregated responses detailing identified trends. The aggregated responses are visualized in several ways, including a Sankey diagram which shows the flow of students through the higher education system while underscoring the value of field experiences, research, and internships as stepping stones to employment.

 

Over the past five years, this report has shown that geoscience graduates at all degree levels tend to receive a strong technical background in the geosciences, but in 2017, hiring of recent graduates at graduation was at its lowest for all degree levels in the last five years. This year also had the highest percentage of master's graduates planning to work on an additional graduate degree instead of entering the workforce. A number of factors may be attributed to these changes, including a slow recovery in the resources industries and the displacement of some jobs with automation.

 

Status of Recent Geosciences Graduates 2017 is available online as a free download from AGI at https://www.americangeosciences.org/workforce/reports. A print version can be purchased from Amazon.com for $15 at http://a.co/gXhh6oV.

 

The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) is a nonprofit federation of 52 scientific and professional associations that represents more than 260,000 geoscientists. Founded in 1948, AGI provides information services to geoscientists, serves as a voice of shared interests in the profession, plays a major role in strengthening geoscience education, and strives to increase public awareness of the vital role the geosciences play in society's use of resources, resiliency to natural hazards, and interaction with the environment.

 

AGI is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to serving the geoscience community and addressing the needs of society. AGI headquarters are in Alexandria, Virginia.

 

The American Geosciences Institute represents and serves the geoscience community by providing collaborative leadership and information to connect Earth, science, and people.

 

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AGI Contact:

Joseph Lilek

571.483.5445

 

 

 

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