For city dwelling students with limited exposure to the Great Outdoors, recruiting students to dedicate themselves to a multiyear environmental science curriculum can be a challenge.

That’s where a program called STEM Force comes into attract students to consider working in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics based career focusing on environmental issues.

STEM Force is designed by researchers with the University of Texas. They are trying to measure how field based support added to classroom experience in geosciences impacts a student’s choice to seek out STEM majors in college and STEM careers after college.

“STEM force is working with Green Tech to recruit students,” Green Tech academy coordinator Kenyata Williams said. “These geology courses are very related to environmental and Earth space science classes we have here.”

Biology, Physics, and Chemistry are science classes that all students must take in the 4 years they’re here in high school. Starting next year students who pursue the geoscience major will take new classes.

Each grade will take it’s own geoscience class. Freshman will take Energy and Natural Resource Technology, sophomores will take the Scientific Research Division class. Juniors will take either Aquatic Science or AP Environmental Science, and seniors will take the Earth Space Science class — which is also known as Earth, Wind, and Fire — or the AP Environmental Science/Aquatic Science class.

“I am very pleased to be a part of this team adding another major within the GreenTech course stream to expose students to my favorite scientific field,” science teacher Matt Stricklen said.

A new Environmental Science Course, tentatively called Scientific Research and Design has been developed in conjunction with the new major. In this course, stu- dents will be investigating environmental sustainability issues found on campus and in South Austin. They will also be designing and implementing solutions to these problems

“I would like to say that in addition to the STEM Force program, our offerings in Geosciences have increased across the board and would like to remind incoming seniors that our OnRamps Earth, Wind and Fire course, which offers UT science credit is a great choice for a 4th year science,” Stricklen said

The goals of the program are aimed at increasing both the number and the diversity of high school graduates who enter STEM fields based on their exposure to geosciences.

“It gives kids a stronger background in geology and environmental science,” Williams said.

STEM Force is a UT designed research program that is all about measuring how field based support added to classroom experience in geosciences impacts a student’s choice to seek out STEM majors in college and STEM careers after college.

Along with these courses, an internship is being developed with Drillinginfo, a company that has offered to help students use real world data to “analyze the economics of resources from discovery to disposal.