Some estimates indicate that by 2030, there will be a shortfall of 100,000 geoscientists [1]. Many national priorities support the growth of geoscience industries, such as critical minerals and natural hazards. There are several challenges to addressing the shortage of geoscientists, including: a) decreasing undergraduate enrollment in many geoscience degree programs [2]; b) many students are not familiar with opportunities in geoscience careers or majors [1]; and c) many students (and the public) have negative impressions of extractive disciplines within the geosciences [3]. To identify effective strategies geoscience departments can use to attract more students to the growing fields in the geosciences, we analyzed more than 1700 survey responses from students in introductory college courses at one four-year university (4YC; 60% responses), two local two-year colleges (13%) and in science courses at two local high schools (27%). Survey results indicate students primarily explore potential majors with their guidance counselors or academic advisors (63.8% of students) and using university department websites (57.8%). Within digital sources such as websites, students prefer videos (58.5%), bulleted lists (51.9%), and photographs (51.6%). Using this feedback and needs determined from our public relations-style content analysis of multiple geoscience department websites, we have created a set of materials that departments can use in their student recruitment campaigns. The publicly available materials are designed to be modular for easy customization and editing in common software applications. Materials feature geoscience career information for use on websites and in social media and convey characteristics of modern geoscience careers to dispel student and public misperceptions. Community feedback is welcomed regarding desired materials or formats that geoscience programs need.
[1] Moss et al., 2025; [2] Stewart et al., 2023; [3] Rogers et al., 2024