ROADMAPS INTO THE GEOSCIENCES (RIGS): AN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT CAREER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

Rising sophomore, junior, and senior level undergraduate STEM students face a critical juncture in their career path: deciding on a direction after graduation. Because geoscience typically is not highlighted as a serious scientific discipline at the high school level, many college STEM majors are pursuing undergraduate degrees without knowledge of the multitude of geoscience careers available to them. To counteract this alarming fact, Missouri University of Science and Technology (S&T), Southern Utah University, and Kutztown University, PA, hosted the NSF-funded undergraduate summer program Roadmaps into the Geosciences (RiGS) on the S&T campus, Rolla, MO from 2018-2022.

The program exposed ~60 STEM students, from diverse backgrounds, to a wide array of geoscience career paths, and highlighted the educational tracks and skills necessary to pursue those paths. Pre-program surveys of participants confirmed that students often lacked a clear understanding of the geoscience career pathways available to them and the significance of graduate degrees in pursuing various careers.

RiGS addressed these problems through a series of professional development lectures, training of advanced geoscience skills directly applicable to the job market, and job-shadowing and/or invited presentations by government agencies and the private sector. Exit surveys show that students generally feel better prepared for their post-baccalaureate career after attending the RiGS program. During this presentation we will share successful strategies that can be used by other universities to enhance student development for a successful transition into the post-baccalaureate geoscience workforce.