STEMSEAS: An Innovative Approach to Filling the Exposure Gap for Students from Diverse Communities

The community of geoscience in the U.S. remains far less diverse than both the population at large and other science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. A likely contributing factor is the homogeneity of the pool of mentors/role models available both within the workforce and in the U.S. professoriate. Another probable factor is lack of exposure among U.S. student populations; i.e., differing access to engaging career options in STEM. The STEMSEAS program utilizes transits of UNOLS vessels to provide undergraduates with seagoing experience and exposure to science analyses and careers in the geosciences and ocean sciences. Here we report on our experiences from 3 years of work on the project. Since the inception of STEMSEAS we have sailed 76 undergraduate students on 8 transits using five different UNOLS vessels. Survey data suggest that seagoing experiences are transformative for our student participants, and demographic data reveal substantial interest from diverse student populations. In 2018 alone we sailed 70% female students, 50% first generation college students, 14% African American/Black students and 31% Hispanic/Latino students. In addition, because we are committed to helping students bridge key junctures in their studies, 37% of our participants joined STEMSEAS as community college students. Post-transit surveys reveal that the vast majority of students rate the experience as transformative and life-changing.