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Several earth-science societies--the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, Geological Society of America, Seismological Society of America, American Geophysical Union, and American Geological Institute, for example--have adopted programs designed to increase the number of black, Spanish-surname, Indian-American, and other minority groups in the geosciences. These programs include (1) special efforts to motivate minority youths of precollege age to study geology and related sciences when they leave high school; (2) providing summer and part-time jobs in industrial, governmental, and academic geoscience programs for high school and college minority students; (3) encouraging undergraduate and graduate scholarships for minority geoscience students in colleges and universities; (4) giving rants to colleges and universities that make special efforts to train minority geoscientists; and (5) eventually finding professional jobs in the geosciences in oil and mining companies, state and federal geological surveys, universities, and other institutions for qualified graduates. The aim of these programs, as for all programs of geoscience education, is to provide a continuous flow of talented young people from all racial, ethnic, and economic backgrounds into geology, geophysics, and related geosciences.

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