GeoFORCE Progress Report 2010
In its 6th year, the GeoFORCE program is meeting its primary objective to engage a large and diverse group of students in science education and increase the percentage of minorities pursuing science, technology, engineering and math degrees. The program now has over 500 high school students and nearly 200 college students from Texas.
The demographics are 60 percent Hispanic, 19 percent Caucasian, 15 percent African American, 5 percent Asian and 1 percent Native American. From this year's student participants, 61 percent are planning to major in a science, technology, engineering or math degree. This number includes 19 percent who are aiming for earth science degrees and 9 percent who are planning to study engineering.
Students participate in summer field session, or "academies." Field trips last from two to six days and include study at the University of Texas campus, Mount Saint Helens, Florida Keys, Guadalupe Mountains, and the Grand Canyon. Each event includes a detailed guidebook, and the students take quizzes each evening and a final exam. A minimum score of 80 must be achieved to continue in the program.
