WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY ENROLLMENTS ARE SO LOW IN HYDROGEOLOGY/HYDROLOGY PROGRAMS (Invited Presentation)

As part of our 2024 Birdsall-Dreiss-LaMoreaux and Darcy Distinguished Lecture Tours, we have been fortunate enough to visit over 25 institutions that offer versions of hydrogeology and/or hydrology programs. One common theme appears to be a decline in both graduate student numbers and undergraduate students enrolled in hydrogeology/hydrology courses. This seems to be linked to/with a reduction in teaching/researching/supervisory faculty in these disciplines. This decline is in contrast to existing students, who are doing amazing things and are as enthusiastic as ever.

We are puzzled by this downward spiral, and raise a number of questions:

1) Has our beloved discipline become too static and boring to interest students, with perhaps no exciting new challenges?

2) Have we strayed from classical physical hydrogeology and embraced too many associated fields, thus weakened the ability to teach core principles?

3) Do students not believe that earth science in general, and hydrogeology/hydrology in particular, will be critical in a world undergoing climate change?

4) Are students not aware of the demand for hydrogeologists/hydrologists in industry, government, and academia?

5) Are there systematic barriers to participation in hydrogeology/hydrology, that we are not aware of?

We don’t know all the answers, but we have some ideas. Let’s discuss.