FRESHMAN YEAR TO GEOSCIENCE CAREER: GEOPATHS STRATEGIES TO NURTURE URBAN UNDERGRADUATES FOR GEOSCIENCE CAREERS AND GRADUATE SCHOOL

The STEM pipeline is unable to produce sufficient geoscientists in the next decade for the predicted national need. National surveys identify key points at which obstacles impede completion of undergraduate Geoscience degrees, including declaring a major, finishing the degree, and preparing for life after college. A National Science Foundation GEOPATHS award to Queens College (BA/BS-MA/MS) and LaGuardia and Queensborough community colleges (AA, AS) of the City University of New York is helping urban students, many from groups underrepresented in STEM disciplines, overcome these obstacles. Our goal is to increase the number of urban students who complete a Geology or Environmental Science major, and to prepare them to compete for positions in geoscience graduate school and industry. Our strategies are to:

- Make a geoscience major more attractive by informing freshmen about predicted job openings and salaries and helping to overcome misperceptions about the geosciences among minority groups. This point is crucial for community college students who must choose a major in their first semester.

- Ease the transition from Associates to Bachelors institutions by combining new majors in a multi-campus geoscience learning community, with academic and social activities during the academic year that integrate faculty and students from the three campuses.

- Overcome the nationally identified “calculus roadblock” by offering free calculus tutoring.

- Most of our students work 20-40 hours per week at jobs unrelated to their career goals. Paid service learning opportunities will give students, geoscience-related jobs on-campus (e.g. in-class assistants and tutors in introductory classes; assisting with faculty research) that will simultaneously reinforce their understanding of important concepts.

- Provide scaffolded career counseling throughout the undergraduate experience in collaboration with the Career Counseling Office and initiate a Geoscience Peer Advising program at the three campuses.

- Hone the skills needed to search and apply for the most suitable graduate school or employment opportunity: writing résumés and application letters, developing interview skills and strategies.

- Guarantee admission to the Queens College MS in Applied Environmental Sciences to students who maintain a 3.0 GPA.