For several years in the 1970s and early 1980s, enrollment in the geosciences had climbed steadily to a peak of 36,000 in 1983. In less than a decade, however, that number has dropped by almost two-thirds, with 1990 figures from the American Geological Institute (AGI) Student Enrollment Survey showing a total of 13,055 geoscience undergraduates.
Even so, geologists believe their field is beginning to grow again. "It looks like the decline has bottomed out," says Arnold Silverman, program manager for education and human resources in NSF's division of earth sciences. "We see a turnaround coming in undergraduate enrollment."
The geosciences--geology, geophysics, hydrology, mineralogy, earth science, oceanography, geological engineering, paleontology--traditionally have been more volatile than most disciplines in response to fluctuations in the national economy. And the 1980s were not a good time for fields that prepare graduates for jobs in the energy resources industry.
For example, earth sciences was the ...
