From exclusion to engagement: advancing student success in environmental science

Numerous well-documented contextual and structural barriers exclude undergraduates from some populations, contributing to their status as underrepresented minorities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. In addition to these barriers, environmental science presents challenges that can further exclude students from some populations. This paper reviews related categories of exclusionary barriers and outlines solutions based on the literature and the author’s experience running student success programs. This study emphasizes the challenges and rewards offered by fieldwork, which is fundamental for attraction, retention, and success of students across many facets of environmental science. Transformative impacts on students and, over time, on the culture of institutions themselves can be made if programming is provided in a scaffolded, integrated manner and includes (i) active recruiting into preparatory coursework to prepare undergraduates for research experiences; (ii) individual or group-based undergraduate research experiences with faculty trained in sustaining practices centered on students’ individual backgrounds, situations, and goals; and (iii) transition support for students to move toward their next steps.