T153 Supporting and Advancing Geoscience Education Beyond 2020: Individual, Department, Program, and Institutional-Level Approaches to Student Success II

Wednesday, 28 October 2020
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Meeting Rooms

VISION AND CHANGE: WHAT GRADUATE GEOSCIENCE EDUCATION SHOULD ACCOMPLISH FOR M.S. AND PH.D. GRADUATES

Paper number: T153-5
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 2:30 PM – 2:45 PM

Authors

Abstract

Most geoscience employment options require at least the M.S. in most professional sectors, and the Ph.D. in research-intensive careers. A separate Summit initiative, “Universal skills for Geoscience Graduate Student Success in the Workforce”, brought together graduate-level geoscience employers, and later Heads, Chairs, and Program Directors from Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences graduate degree programs, toward identifying they key employment-critical skills and competencies for MS and Ph.D. level geoscience graduates, and addressing how these should be integrated into geoscience graduate programs nationally.

The menu of graduate-level critical competencies identified across all geoscience employment sectors aligns strongly with the foundational suite recognized for Bachelor’s students. Problem solving/critical thinking, teamwork/collaboration, leadership skills, and communication with diverse audiences were all identified as key professional skills that geoscience employers expected in their new graduate-level hires. As well, employers placed high value on project management skills, understanding business perspectives, and excellent scientific/professional ethics. In terms of content-focused competencies, employers expect deep core disciplinary knowledge (mastery in M.S. students, and expert-level in Ph.D.'s), the ability to do systems thinking, and extensive quantitative skills, including some computer programming. Employers also put a high priority on abilities in data analytics and data management, skills not stressed in the undergraduate Summit effort, reflecting the rapid growth of “big data” as a part of all geoscience fields. Entry-level graduate geoscientists were viewed as having excellent technical skills, but often lacked in professional competencies, in particular in interpersonal communication and teamwork/collaboration.

In discussing how to better instill professional competencies in MS and Ph.D. graduates, Heads and Chairs saw high value in co-curricular activities (internships, professional development workshops focused on career opportunities, resume writing, interviewing, etc.), and in Individual Development Plans (IDP's) as a means of helping graduate students reflect on their career options and make intentional choices of activities to support their professional ambitions.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 52, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2020AM-356653

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