COLLABORATIONS, JOINT FIELD TRIPS AND MAKING FRIENDS AS METHODS FOR INCREASING DIVERSITY IN GEOSIENCES

Students in the Environmental Sciences program at the University of Texas at Brownsville have transitioned to graduate school though research collaborations, field trips and summer programs. UT Brownsville is a Hispanic serving institution, thus the majority of the graduates are Hispanic. We have successfully transitioned graduates of the program into graduate school at other institutions (UT Austin, TAMU-Galveston, TAMU-Kingsville and TAMU-Corpus Christi) by building friendships with the students at the other schools. These students became friends during joint field trips on coastal geology, collaborative research projects between institutions, and summer research programs. We found that Hispanic students are interested in attending graduate school when they have established friendships with students at the other school.

Coastal geology field trips that compared the Brazos River Delta system with the Rio Grande delta system transitioned into collaborative research projects where students from two schools worked closely together in the field work and sampling. The students who worked together formed friendships that then led to graduate school. Students found that they were prepared to work with students from other schools and found that they had common interests.

Estuarine research collaborations led to groups of students finding common backgrounds and interests. These students discovered that there were opportunities in graduate school that they had not explored.

By using research and field trip collaborations there are many opportunities to help minority students transition into graduate school.