USING GEOSCIENCE RESEARCH INTERNSHIPS AS A BRIDGE FROM TWO-YEAR COLLEGE TO UNIVERSITY

The transition from two-year community college (2YC) to four-year university (4YC) is a critical educational transition that often functions more like a barrier than a bridge, especially for students without access to proficient mentoring or transfer counseling. 2YC students, many of whom are first generation college students and/or from underrepresented minority groups, represent a largely untapped pool for geoscience programs, so facilitating this critical educational transition should be prioritized in recruitment efforts. This study examines the impact of a geoscience research internship program at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) for 2YC students from Riverside City College (RCC). The program, designed to increase recruitment of earth science majors at both institutions, is one component of the Geoscientist Development (GEODE) Program and is funded through the National Science Foundation IUSE:GEOPATHS program. In three years, eight students participated in paid, ten-week internships. Of the eight students, three have transferred into the Earth Science major at UCR and the remaining five intend to do so within the next two years. The impact of the program was evaluated qualitatively through a series of interviews with participants. The interviews were analyzed using thematic content analysis rooted in a grounded theory framework. Common themes reported by participants include: 1) increased commitment to pursuing a geoscience major and career, 2) development of new technical research skills, and 3) growth in size and composition of students’ geoscience community. This study provides evidence that research internships for 2YC students can ease the transition into a 4YC geoscience program and increase the recruitment and retention of a diverse cohort of geoscience students.