Contact Information

Sharon L. Kanfoush, Ph.D.
Program Chair
176 Gordon Science Center

(315) 792-3134

Geoscience at Utica College
School of Arts and Sciences    Utica College Bachelor's Degree


Bachelor's Program in Geoscience

Bachelor of Science    Bachelor of Arts

UC students hunting fossils on a field expedition.Career Prospects


The geosciences have undergone a fundamental shift in areas of employment opportunity, with an increase in environmentally applied areas such as hydrology. There is also a growing need for geoscience specialists in education. 
  • Environmentally Applied Fields - Relative to other fields of employment, the Bureau of Labor projects job opportunities in hydrology and environmental science will grow much faster than average. For more information on these emerging trends, visit the Bureau of Labor Statistics Web site at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos050.htm#outlook

  • Education - There is a national need for earth science teachers. The National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) predicted in 1999 a need for over 1.7 million new teachers in the ensuing decade to fill positions in all disciplines (Source: National Center for Education Statistics report http://nces.ed.gov/pubs99/1999026.pdf ). With the National Science Teachers Association reporting that in 1998 earth science teachers made up 4% of all teachers, this translated to a need for 68,000 new earth science teachers over that time period.

    The shortage is made worse by the prevalence of high school "out-of-field" teaching - teaching a subject area without having a major and certification in that subject. The problem is particularly acute in earth science. According to NCES2, fully 79% of students were taught by out-of-field teachers*. 
      

Learn more.

  Science Programs at Utica College

* Ingersoll, R., 1999. The Problem of Underqualified Teachers in American Secondary Schools. Educational Researcher, 28(2): 26–37.


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