A New Bachelor Curriculum in Earth Sciences at Utrecht University, the Netherlands, in Response to the Needs of Society

Over the last 10 years, many universities worldwide have seen a decrease in enrolment in Earth Sciences bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes. Possible reasons for this decrease include the current image that secondary school students have of the Earth Sciences. Many of them consider the Earth Sciences as an old fashioned science, environmentally damaging and with insufficient emphasis on addressing societal problems. At Utrecht University, the Netherlands, the enrolment in the BSc Earth Sciences peaked in 2014 with an intake of 185, but has decreased since, in an irregular way, to 125 in 2022. For the current academic year, there has been a slight revival. A recent survey among 93 secondary school students confirmed that the Earth Sciences have an image problem, but also revealed low awareness of what the subject involves and what opportunities are available for graduates. Efforts are needed to change this. However, it is not a matter of simply improving publicity. We concluded that a modernization of our programme was also necessary, in order to reflect scientific advances of the last decades and the change in focus towards societal challenges, and to better prepare students for a professional career. As a result, we have constructed a fully integrated first year, including modular fieldwork covering topics across the full breadth of the Earth Sciences. After the first year, students choose one out of four ‘directions’. Each direction starts with its own set of foundation courses, followed by direction-related specialization electives. Seven skills learning lines are being implemented across the programme, providing the students with skills considered crucial for future Earth Sciences professionals. The students who started in September 2023 form the first cohort following the renewed BSc programme. Here we present the outline of the new programme and our first experiences. We address the issue of how to use our renewal in improving the image that secondary school students have of the Earth Sciences, expecting a positive effect on enrolment. More well-trained Earth Scientists are essential, not only to advance our science, but also to address the challenges society is faced with.