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Campus to Careers: The Career Paths of Alumni of Interdisciplinary Environmental Programs
Presented by:David Blockstein, Ph.D., National Council for Science and the Environment, Council of Environmental Deans and Directors
Presentation Outline
Lead Organizations: NCSE, CEDD and ECO
The Need for Academic Environmental Programs
Characteristics of Environmental Programs
The Environmental Sector
Federal Employment
Campus to Careers Study
NCSE ObjectivesTo promote science for the environmentTo enhance programs at academic institutions To catalyze and to advance science-based ideas from diverse communitiesTo communicate science-based information to the publicTo develop science-based solutions for environmental challenges
The Council of Environmental Deans and Directors (CEDD) is a professional association of deans of colleges of natural resources and the environment, directors of institutes of the environment and other academic environmental programs. There are presently 110 members nationwide.
Advance knowledge and learning in the interdisciplinary environmental sciences and studies. Improve academic environmental educational and research programs and facilities. Advance cooperative efforts among CEDD members, with other scientists, and with federal, tribal, state and local agencies.
CEDD Objectives
CEDD Planning Group on Workforce
http://www.ncseonline.org/CEDD/workforce
Task: Study the current and future job market for graduates of CEDD's institutions and programs. Determine how programs can improve the preparation of their students for environmental careers.
CEDD Planning Group on Workforce
Members:David Parker, Director of Career Development, Bren School of the Environment and
Management, University of California at Santa Barbara
Bill Winner, Program Director, Environmental Sciences Graduate Program, Oregon State University
Gwen Geidel, Associate Dean, School of the Environment, University of South Carolina
Jeff Cook, President, Environmental Careers Organization
Peter Otis, Director of Career Development, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University
Mitch Thomashow, Chair, Department of Environmental Studies, Antioch New England Graduate School
Joyce Berry, Associate Dean, College of Natural Resources, Colorado State University
Richard Rich, Director, Institute for Environmental and Energy Studies, Virginia Polytechnic Institute
The Environmental Careers Organization (ECO)
ECO's mission is to protect and enhance the environment through the development of diverse leaders, the promotion of careers, and the inspiration of individual action.
ECO accomplishes this through internships, career advice, career products, research and consulting.
Founded in 1972, ECO has placed nearly 7,500 college, graduate students and recent graduates in environmental internships in the public, private and nonprofit sectors.
The tragedy is that our graduates, steeped in traditional technical education, liberal arts, economics, and the humanities, are themselves too often emerging from our universities blind to reality – oblivious to the realities of a finite Earth.
Ray Anderson, ChairmanInterface Flooring Systems
Inc.
A Call for Systematic Change
NCSE National Conference, January, 2003
Environmental Science and Engineering for the 21st Century
“Environmental education and training should be science based, but should be given a renewed focus on preparing students for broad career horizons….” Environmental Science and Engineering for the
21st Century: The Role of the National Science Foundation, National Science Board, February 2000.
Complex Environmental Systems
“NSF’s goals in environmental education should be twofold: to prepare the future environmental workforce at many levels-researcher, teachers, resource managers, and technicians-and to raise the environmental literacy of the general public.”-From Complex Environmental Systems: Synthesis for Earth, Life and Society in the 21st Century, NSF Advisory Committee for Environmental Research and Education, January 2003.
Not All Are Created Equal:An Analysis of the Environmental
Programs/Departments inU.S. Academic Institutions Until May 2003
Aldemaro Romero* and Christina JonesEnvironmental Studies Program
Macalester College1600 Grand Ave., St. Paul, MN 55105-1899
USA
*Present address: Department of Biological Sciences, Arkansas State University, P.O.
Box 599, State University, AR 72467, USA, [email protected], http://www.macalester.edu/environmentalstudies/
MacEnvReview/equalarticle2003
n = 1061Source: Romero and Jones 2003
Higher Education Environmental programs added per year*
*14 programs in 1958; 1061 in 2003.Source: Romero and Jones 2003
Environmental Programs/Departments by Name
(2003)
n= 1257Source: Romero and Jones 2003
Types of Environmental Degrees Offered (May 2003)
Source: Romero and Jones 2003
UndergraduateCollege/University-wide = 41%Within a University College, Division or School =
44%Within a Department = 15%
GraduateCollege/University-wide = 39%Within a University College, Division or School =
35%Within a Department = 26%
Institutional Locationsof Environmental Programs
Source: Focht, W. Study of Environmental Deans' and Directors' Perspectives on Environmental Curricula (draft report from initial findings; Summer 2003)
Data Number
Number of Students 32,309
Number of 1998 graduates* 8,471
Number of 1999 graduates* 3.493
Number of 2000 graduates* 2,006
Number of 2001 graduates* 1,657
Number of 2002 graduates* 1,229
Full-time faculty 5,499
In Department/Program 2,396
Shared 4,284
Part-time 2,872
Vital Statistics of Programs/Departments of Survey
Respondents
Source: Romero and Jones 2003
*These are gross underestimations since the numbers depend upon the responses to interviews.
Analysis of Core Requirements for Undergraduate Programs (n = 60)
Total (%)
Env. Science (%)
Env. Studies (%)
Nat. Resources (%)
Natural Sciences
Biology 70 79 50 64
Chemistry 67 83 39 55
Organic Chemistry 17 38 0 9
Geology/Earth Sciences
50 67 33 36
Ecology 53 54 39 64
Quantitatives
Calculus 48 63 17 45
Statistics 63 58 50 55
Economics and Policy
Env. Economics 25 13 6 45
Environmental Policy 42 33 33 36
Additional Requirements
Synthetic Course 32 21 50 9
Internship 22 38 11 9
Final Project 53 38 67 36
Concentrations? 62 58 50 55
From: Manning, K. 1999. Consortium on Environmental Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: Insights from the White Oak Symposium. Center for Resource Economics/Island Press.
Employment By Occupation 2000 and Projected 2010
Occupation Employment (in thousands) Change
2000 2010 Number Percentage
Biological Scientists 73 88 15 21.0
Conservation Scientists
16 18 2 8.3
Forest Conservation 20 22 1 3.9
Other Life Scientists 28 33 4 15.9
Chemists 84 100 16 19.1
Environmental Scientists
64 78 14 22.3
Geoscientists 25 30 5 18.1
Hydrologists 8 10 2 25.7
Economists 22 26 4 18.5
Env. Protection Techs
27 34 7 24.5
Projected growth of environmental science occupations
Source: ECO 2002, Complete Guide to Environmental Careers
Important and emerging eco-careers
1. Pollution prevention/waste reduction specialist 2. Conservation biologist/ecosystems manager3. Environmental information technology/GIS4. “Dual track” environmental manager5. Global climate change researcher6. Renewable energy and energy management7. “Smart growth” urban planner8. Policy integration specialist9. Community organizer10. Fundraiser, “rainmaker”, dealmaker11. Environmental economist12. Environmental health specialist
Source: ECO 2002
Environmental careers in 2002
Federal government 191,000
State government: 185,000
Local government: 400,000
Environmental industry: 790,000
All other 125,000
Total 1,691,000Source: ECO 2002
Federal Government Employment Trends: 2003
Agency Full/Part Time Employees
Projection
Forest Service 42,653 Some growth
Army Corps 34,367 Down
National Parks 23,898 Down
EPA 18,633 Down
Energy 16,067 Some growth
NRCS 12,188 Some growth
NOAA 11,980 Down
BLM 11,688 Some growth
USGS 10,170 Down
Fish and Wildlife 9,323 Some growth
Source: ECO 2002
Federal Natural Resources Agencies Confront an Aging Workforce and Challenges to Their Future Roles
Renewable Natural Resources Foundation Conference on Personnel Trends, Education Policy and Evolving Roles of Federal and State Natural Resources Agencies
Over 80 delegates from 25 states and numerous natural resource disciplines
In association with American Association for the Advancement of Science
October 2003
Emerging Demographic Trends
“Graying of the Green Workforce”Agency leadership and science capacity most affected DOI, Forest Service, and EPA will lose over
half SES members by 2007 Key functions also impacted:
Interior Dept.—61% of its program managers
Forest Service—81% of its entomologists and 49% of its foresters
EPA—45% of its toxicologists, and ~30% of its environmental specialists
Lost institutional memory Difficulty in maintaining core scientific competencies
Source: RNRF 2003
From Campus to Careers:
A Study of Career Paths taken by Alumni of Interdisciplinary Environmental Programs at the Baccalaureate, Masters and Doctoral Levels
Campus to Careers Project Context
CEDD members need information about the job market and career paths for graduates
Lack of quality data problematic
CEDD members want to use curricula to address career needs
Planning Group on the Workforce formed
Goals and ObjectivesDevelop baseline and longitudinal data on the career paths of alumni
Identify career successes and challenges for alumni
Create a standardized methodology for ongoing tracking
Disseminate study results to students, programs, employers, and other stakeholders
Desired Project Outcomes Accurate data regarding the career paths of graduates
Identification of alumni career successes and challenges, perceptions of how well programs prepared alumni for workforce, further education and scholarship
Informed faculty discussions and decisions regarding curricula and support services to improve the career outcomes of their graduates
Information to assist increasing the diversity of students in environmental programs and workforce
Continuous improvement of all aspects of environmental programs
Desired Project Outcomes cont.
Information for current and prospective interdisciplinary students about available career opportunities, their requirements, and how to obtain them
Methodology for ongoing tracking, including taxonomy of fields and programs
Data provided to academic programs, current and future students, and other stakeholders Reports Facilitated meetings
Project ActivitiesThe Planning Group on the Workforce has discussed
the following activities as a way to further refine the
project, gather data and ensure data gets back to programs.
Alumni (1994-04) Career Path Survey
Longitudinal Study
Career Roundtables
Pilot Study
Alumni Career Path Survey
Survey alumni of interdisciplinary environmental studies programs from 1994-2004
Baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral levels
Work products: Comprehensive report for environmental
programs Student guide Report summary for employers and other
stakeholders
Alumni Study OutcomesThe demographic profile of graduates
Educational and professional career progression
How well their education prepared alumni for careers
What programs and students should do differently
Recommended changes to curriculum and teaching methods
How alumni view the delicate balance among higher education’s many goals
Longitudinal Study: Class of 2005
Baseline shortly after graduation
Annual tracking through 2014
Comprehensive reports first, fifth and tenth years
Shorter report “updates” with comparative tables other years
Student guides
Pilot Study Create web-based survey instrument
Pilot with Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, University of South Carolina School of the Environment, UCSB Bren School of Environmental Science and Management
Analyze existing data and report key findings
Identify data gaps
Use this information to design larger surveys
Group Discussion
Concept
Methodology
Partners
Funding
Next Actions