We ask Grok? Why the Decline in Student Interest for the Geo (Earth) Sciences ?

Geosciences (encompassing fields like geology, geophysics, and Earth sciences) have experienced a steady global decline in student enrollment over the past decade, with particularly sharp drops in the U.S., Canada, UK, and Australia.  For instance, U.S. undergraduate enrollment peaked at around 32,000 students in 2015 but fell to just over 20,000 by 2021, a roughly 37% decrease.

Graduate programs have seen even steeper declines, dropping 27% in the 2019-2020 academic year alone. This trend has led to shrinking departments, program mergers, and even closures at some universities. While the decline predates the COVID-19 pandemic, external shocks like the pandemic and economic cycles have accelerated it. Below, I outline the key reasons based on analyses from geoscience organizations, academic studies, and educator reports.

Table 1: Key Reasons for Fewer Students Studying Geosciences.

Potential Paths Forward

To reverse this, experts recommend rebranding programs (e.g., emphasizing Earth sciences and climate resilience), boosting K-12 integration, targeted recruitment for underrepresented groups (e.g., women and minorities, who now make up a growing but still small share), and highlighting diverse careers beyond oil/gas, like hazard mitigation and renewable energy.

Some U.S. departments have stabilized by merging with environmental programs, and Australia's enrollment ticked up slightly post-2020 due to critical minerals demand.  This trend risks a workforce shortage, as geoscience jobs (projected to grow 5% by 2031 in the U.S.) outpace graduates. If you're a student or educator, resources like the American Geosciences Institute offer recruitment toolkits.

The Know Your H20 Team - Thoughts on the Subject

1. Failure in the K - 12 education program - failing to educate students in basic sciences, math, english, history, and civics has created a culture of young adults that are not really interested in seeking truth or an understanding of the world.  Step 1:  Bring back the requirement for the SAT exams. Step 2.  Support programs that fund the student and not the school district.  
    
2. Ideology - On many levels social and political ideology has replaced the scientific method and we are teaching the children the ethics of the ends justifies the means.   We are training social justice warriors and community organizers that promote climate change when they really know nothing about earth sciences, scientific method, or basic science.  Support school choice and charter schools. 
   
   
3. STEM programs that have not focused on the Earth Sciences.
    
4. Entry Level:  Increase the number of entry level positions and encourage mentoring programs.  There is not a lot of outreach in the K - 12 or even the 9 - 12 education programs.   
   
   
5. We need to figure out ways to help to reduce cost of the education programs, especially in the Earth Sciences and we need to promote education savings programs. 
   
   
6. Based on the most recent 2024–2025 data from surveys, college applications, Google search trends, YouTube/TikTok career content, and direct conversations with high school students (especially Gen Z and early Gen Alpha), here are the careers that today’s teens are actually aspiring to or seriously exploring — ranked roughly by popularity/interest level.  (Our we really giving these kids good advice).   I am happy to see the trades and nursing in the top 10, but "Influencer". (asked Grok)
   
   

Notable Trends Among 2024–2025 High Schoolers

• Massive shift away from traditional “safe” degrees (accounting, marketing, biology) unless they lead to clear high-paying roles.
  
  
• Huge interest in paths with little or no student debt (trades, CS (computer science ?) self-taught, military, certain healthcare roles).
  
  
• “Portfolio > Degree” mindset — many plan to build GitHubs, YouTube channels, or businesses in high school. (Is more of the website designers degrees gone wrong?)
  
  
• Girls dominate interest in healthcare & psychology; boys dominate CS (computer science ?), finance, trades, and content creation (???).
  
  
• Medicine and law are still desired but seen as “too long / too much debt” by many average students.
  
  

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