For most of the last 50 years, the fortunes of geoscience programs at the university level have waxed and waned with the health of the natural resources industries.  These industries, and petroleum in particular, have experience major boom and bust cycles, of which geoscience programs often mirrored.  This relationship began to change in the early 1990’s when many geosciences programs began to offer environmental concentrations.  This shift only lasted about five years before job opportunities began to decline in that field as well.  By the mid 1990s, for the first time, the fortunes of geo

Although geography is traditionally classified as a social science, the sub-discipline of physical geography is unique in that it overlaps with geoscience disciplines. In the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH), physical geographers are listed as “Other Social Scientists” whereas geoscientists have their own category. Despite this separation, the basic description of each occupation is very similar. Furthermore, GIS, which is commonly taught in geography departments, is listed as a recommended skill set for geoscientists in the OOH.

For the past several decades, community college students have comprised approximately one-third of the total college student population enrolled in credit courses within the United States. In 2008, underrepresented minority students comprised 33 percent of total community college enrollments, and earned 26 percent of all associate degrees.

Community colleges served over 7.5 million students in 2009, and have a more diverse student population than four-year institutions. In 2008, 58% of community college students were women and 33% of students were underrepresented minorities. Community colleges provide a large diverse pool of untapped talent for the geosciences and for all science and engineering disciplines. The most recent data from NSF's 2006 NSCRG database indicate that within the physical sciences, 43% of Bachelor's, 31% of Master's and 28% of Doctoral recipients had attended community college.

In 2011, the American Geological Institute (AGI) launched the first pilot of a National Geoscience Exit Survey in collaboration with 32 geoscience university departments. The survey collects data about demographics, high school and community college coursework, university degrees, financial aid, field and research experiences, internships, and when and why the student chose to pursue a geosciences degree.

Little is known about geology and geography terminal Master's degree programs' curricula, students' career paths and faculty mentoring and advising practices. With the recent reports indicating a great need for more trained geoscientists in the workforce, understanding these aspects about departments is important because they will inform our community about best practices on aligning programs with workforce demand.