Uneven increases in racial diversity of US geoscience undergraduates

Abstract

Over the past 20 years, the proportion of US geoscience undergraduate degree recipients from marginalized racial groups has increased about threefold, more than for graduate degrees. Much of this progress currently is concentrated at relatively few universities.National, departmental and individual efforts in geoscience departments across the United States have resulted in programs designed to broaden participation and support students from diverse racial and ethnic groups. Among these efforts, programs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities 1,2 , Minority Serving Institutions 3,4 , and community colleges 5 have engaged many marginalized students. Faculty have investigated and adopted effective strategies for building inclusive learning environments 6,7 and programs 8,9 . Furthermore, research on broadening participation and supporting all students' success was identified as a grand challenge of geoscience education research 10 . Here we investigate how and where these numerous efforts have affected the racial and ethnic demographics of US geoscience students who receive undergraduate degrees, to complement earlier work on doctorates 11 .Trends in the race and ethnicity of students receiving geoscience Ph.D. degrees were found 11 to have made "No Progress in Diversity in 40 Years." These findings powerfully signaled a need to work together as a community to transform how we do our science, teach and mentor students, and increase the diversity of students completing geoscience degrees. A report from the American Geoscience Institute (AGI) on "Diversity in the Geosciences" summarized national, workforce, and education trends by gender, race, and ethnicity. Using the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 12 on degree completion, the report showed that from 2010 to 2019, Black/African Americans, Hispanic/Latinx, and Native American/Alaska Natives receiving bachelor's degrees increased from 9% to 16%, masters 7% to 10%, and doctorates 6% to 7% 13 .We explore in more detail the race and ethnicity trends for students receiving geoscience bachelor's degrees in the US over the past 20 years. We acknowledge that such an accounting is only one measure of progress. Less readily quantifiable indicators such as belonging, individual experiences, and educational or occupational paths may further reflect progress or a lack thereof. Moreover, here we focus on racial and ethnic diversity; however, we acknowledge that the geosciences would benefit from further examining other aspects of diversity, including the intersectionality of identities 14 . Twenty-year trendsThe combined percentage of geoscience bachelor's degrees received by students-of-color and Hispanic/Latino students increased by about a factor-3 from 7%-of a total of 4239 degrees

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