Seminar Series – Dr. Craig Nichol: Supporting Students Towards Careers and Professionalism in the Earth and Environmental Sciences

Dr. Craig Nichol, The University of British Columbia

Supporting Students Towards Careers and Professionalism in the Earth and Environmental Sciences

Modern Earth science related departments typically encompass a broad suite of disciplines, often including geographic, atmospheric, oceanographic and environmental sciences.   Students may have little exposure to these fields prior to arriving at university.  Departments can structure recruiting, first year information and service courses to help students understand the different sub-fields, and the diversity of careers available.   Early exposure can help recruitment, diversity and retention.  Students within programs benefit from ongoing exposure to career skills, workplace examples, and professional competencies integrated across program teaching, included in specific career courses, or accessible as self-paced material in the learning management system.  Program alumni can be a key resource for both students and faculty.

Geoscience is a subset of the Earth sciences that requires a license to practice in some jurisdictions in order to safeguard the public.  Programs have choice about whether they align a program to the geoscience licensing requirements, or maintain a diverse Earth Science program.  In return, students deserve public facing information about program character, course offerings, and licensure processes to support their career choices.  Students and departments benefit from being purposeful about maintaining a relationship with licensing bodies at the state and national level.

A coordinated department strategy includes valuing the efforts of department champions. Getting started can be simple as a wide variety of resources have already been created to directly engage students, or to help departments provide students with the tools for careers and licensure success.

Host: Megan Plenge