"Geoscience, what a great subject! If I had known what it was when I was at school, maybe I would have been a geoscientist myself!"

- Prof Dame Angela McLean, UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser

Executive Summary

This is Geoscience is a public awareness campaign that celebrates geoscience, aiming to inspire and inform future geoscientists. The campaign refreshes the narrative around geoscience, highlighting its value to society and showcasing the opportunities a geoscience career offers.

The campaign expands on work The Geological Society has done to support geoscience primary and secondary geoscience education with teacher resources, classroom support materials, school workshops, family days, and a range of other outreach activities. It aligns with the work of University Geoscience UK, and the geoscience education community more broadly, and builds on the passion of individuals committed to ensuring the future of the subject.

As populations increase, and our demands of the Earth evolve, the need for geoscience expertise and research continues to grow. However, in the UK there has been a reduction in the provision of geoscience education in schools, and the provision of university level education is at risk due to changes in the funding landscape, with departments facing restructuring and, in some cases, the threat of closure. By fostering interest in geoscience education among students This is Geoscience aims to alleviate some of these pressures.

The starting point for the campaign is that young people thinking about potential careers may be unaware of, or have misconceptions about, geoscience due to lack of exposure. Therefore, the campaign focuses on embedding the term ‘geoscience’ more widely in the places where young people, and those who influence them, receive career information. Accompanied by bold and striking imagery, information explaining what geoscience means is central to the campaign, positioning the subject and potential careers as a relevant, meaningful, varied, accessible, and rewarding in a sector that contributes widely to both global and local environmental and social challenges.

The brand-new campaign website www.thisisgeoscience.com contains practical careers information, salary data, profiles showcasing the diversity of real-life geoscience professionals, and video interviews. It brings to life the diverse employment prospects for geoscientists, encompassing an array of skills and preferences. The campaign is intentionally inclusive, aiming to shift outdated stereotypes of geoscience and welcome a new generation into the sector. 

A key element of This is Geoscience is to supplement platforms that young people, parents, teachers and careers advisors already engage with; notably online careers-advice resources. We have partnered with the UK’s most popular careers information service, Unifrog, which serves 60% of all UK state schools with over 1.9 million students active on the platform, to update and expand their picture of a career in geoscience.

Positive and thoughtful messaging positioning geoscience as an accessible and attractive subject for potential students and their influences is a critical aspect of this campaign. Our long-term analysis of the geoscience education landscape shows that the number of accredited university courses has grown, with more students on geoscience programs in the last ten years compared with the previous ten. 

Research into the UK job market shows that demand for geoscience graduates is strong, with a diverse range of career types in many employment sectors on offer. The median salary in the UK for geoscience graduates is ~30% higher than the median figure for graduates as a whole, and there is considerable financial opportunity for those with postgraduate qualifications or more than five years' experience.

The geosciences are fundamentally global, and many of the challenges the sector faces in the UK are reflected internationally. This is Geoscience is intended to be used and amplified by partners throughout the world, in a bid to support the entire geoscience community. The brand kit, including font and colour palate, image library, custom design elements, and other assets have been assembled to be freely used and replicated. These campaign materials are intentionally free of organisational logos or affiliations in the hope this will maximise their reach and impact.

We developed This is Geoscience as a resource for the geoscience community of today and tomorrow. The campaign will run over several years and will evolve as we gain further insight, evaluate more data, and as it is adopted and shaped by the people who will contribute to its growth and success. The Geological Society is committed to working with partners to grow the campaign’s impact and influence, and will continue to advocate for the future of the subject.

Your role in the future of This is Geoscience

Help us better understand the geoscience pipeline

Our foundational This is Geoscience report contains key information and a wealth of newly collated and analysed data. However, to continue to build on this work, and maintain a clear and reliable picture of the prospects and perceptions of the geoscience sector going forward, we need support from the whole geoscience community.  

From building up a range of diverse and relatable career profiles, to collecting and sharing the latest employer information on skills, prospects and salaries – we want to hear from you. 

Contact us to explore how you can support us with: 

• Photographs and biographies for our latest suite of careers profiles – helping us raise awareness of what life as a modern geoscientist looks like. 

• Student enrolment and university department data – helping us build up an evolving picture of the geoscience offering in Higher Education.

• Employment information, such as data on recruitment, salaries, and sectors, as well as information about training and development initiatives and perceived skills gaps.

Engage with and share campaign materials

We have designed the This is Geoscience communications campaign to support the entire geoscience community to raise awareness and shift perceptions of what a geoscience career involves and encourage the next generation of geoscientists to believe that they have a home in the field. 

Help us by sharing the materials across your networks and organisations or sign up to be a campaign partner and receive updates and new assets for distribution as they become available. Contact us for further information. 

Support the future of geoscience

If you share our passion for inspiring the next generation, we’d welcome your support. Donations will help grow This is Geoscience and support the campaign's wider education and outreach activities – engaging young people, schools, and the public with the vital role of geoscience in society. 

To find out how your gift could make a difference, please contact admin@thisisgeoscience.com