SOARS®: An Overview of the Program and Its First 8 Years

Abstract

JANUARY 2004 | n 1996, a new program, Significant Opportunities in Atmospheric Research and Science (SOARS®), was established to help retain and eventually increase the number of participants from underrepresented minority groups in the atmospheric and related sciences. The need for such a program is demonstrated by various studies, which indicate that although the numbers of women and minorities pursuing bachelor’s degrees in science and engineering have increased, the overall percentages of African American, Hispanic, and American Indian students in science and engineering remain low relative to their proportion of the U.S. population. The differences between science and engineering participation and percentage of U.S. population become even more pronounced at the graduate level (see Fig. 1). Recent National Science Foundation studies (NSF 2000, 2002) indicate that minorities receive only a small percentage of master’s and doctoral degrees awarded in science and engineering. African Americans accounted for 3% of all science and engineering doctorates in 2000—constant from 3% in 1997 and up from 2% in 1975—while receiving approximately 7% of the doctoral degrees awarded in other fields. Hispanics received 3% of the science and engineering doctorates awarded in 2000, compared to 4% in 1997 and 1% in 1975. American Indians received only 0.3% of the science and engineering doctorates awarded in 2000, compared to 0.4% in 1997 and 0.1% in 1975 (NSF 2000, 2002). These numbers are similar to the percentages of minorities currently participating in the scientific workforce (see Fig. 2). The NSF (2000, 2002) studies also report that although women completed 47% of all bachelor’s degrees in science and engineering in 1997, they accounted for only about 40% of science and engineering master’s degrees and 33% of all science and engineering doctoral degrees. By contrast, women earned apSOARS