You’ve invested in outreach. You’ve opened your doors. You’ve offered scholarships. And yet – year after year – the applicant pool remains stubbornly homogeneous. Only one per cent of UK environmental professionals are from ethnic minority backgrounds. But you’ve invited them in. So why aren’t more students walking through the door?
Because the issue doesn’t start at university entry. It’s rooted in structural inequalities that begin long before students even consider applying. Below are four systemic, practical ways universities can begin to dismantle them.
Be clear about career pathways
For many students, particularly those from racially minoritised or lower-income backgrounds, choosing a university degree is a high-stakes decision. The course they choose must promise stable job prospects, financial security and social mobility.
Law, medicine, engineering: these fields tell a clear story: work hard, get your degree and you’re on your way. Environmental science? The story is murkier. And that’s a problem.
Despite the climate emergency, environmental science is often seen as vague or niche. For first-generation students, it can feel like a luxury they can’t afford. Universities need to rewrite that narrative.
Environmental science leads to careers in urban planning, energy, consulting, data science, policy, law and public health. It’s deeply connected to justice, innovation and the economy. That relevance must be loud and visible. Not just in course brochures but across curriculum design, outreach efforts and career support.
As one sixth-form student put it: “Wait, you mean this is an actual job? I’ve cleaned rivers, planted trees, and yes – given up chicken nuggets for the planet. I thought it was just something I cared about.” Make the career paths clear. The impact visible. And the subject irresistible.
Open more admission routes
Kazuri loves everything about weather monitoring and climate geoengineering. She volunteers in her community, excels at school and dreams of studying geophysics. So, she chooses geography, psychology and sociology at A level. These are subjects that fuel her passion and curiosity.
But when she applies for a BSc in geophysics, she’s hit with a harsh reality: it’s too late. Without A-level maths, the door is firmly closed.
That one subject choice, made years earlier, now blocks her path.
It’s not just what subjects students take, it’s also the type of pathway they follow that can block their way into higher education. Many students from racially minoritised backgrounds choose business and technology education council (BTEC) or access diplomas by preference.
Some colleges that teach these vocational pathways don’t offer environmental science or any similar variant such as geography or earth sciences. This means students often don’t even know these fields exist as options. This lack of clear, accessible pathways keeps many talented students from ever seeing themselves in environmental science. It’s time to rethink what “ready” really means.
Universities can help by accepting a wider range of qualifications, embracing contextual admissions and offering foundation years to bridge gaps. They can create lateral entry points from related degrees, giving students a second chance.
But it shouldn’t stop there. We need to start much earlier, in helping students build their environmental science pathways long before they pick their A levels so a single subject choice doesn’t shut down a whole future. Kazuri’s passion deserves a path, not a dead end.
Guide students through complex choices
The environmental sector offers many exciting opportunities. But to students, it can feel like an overwhelming maze without a clear map. With more than 260 higher education providers in the UK and tens of thousands of degree courses available, students often choose what seems easiest rather than what’s most meaningful. Environmental science, with its complexity and uncertain career paths, is often overlooked.
One-off taster days or generic STEM fairs can break the ice but they rarely provide the sustained support students need to make informed decisions. Students require ongoing, personal and clear guidance.
Universities should co-design long-term partnerships with schools and colleges. These relationships should last years, not days. They should include:
- Real-world, subject-linked projects: monitoring local flood risk, tracking air quality, mapping biodiversity, and so on
- Gamified storytelling tools: interactive apps showing how subject choices affect future pathways, such as what doors close if maths is dropped in year 9
- Social mobility toolkits: clear breakdowns of how subject selection links to degree eligibility and career opportunities
- Mentoring: consistent, supportive relationships with university students or professionals from similar backgrounds
- Equity-focused evaluation: data tracking who participates, who progresses and where students drop out. This should be broken down by race, class and region.
No single university can tackle this alone. We need regional ecosystems: partnerships between schools, local authorities, employers, community groups and universities. By addressing interconnected barriers such as complexity, socio-economic challenges and limited subject availability, we can reshape the entire pipeline from the ground up.
Build identity through visibility
Getting into university is a win. But for many students, staying there is the real challenge. Black, Asian, and minority ethnic students in environmental science often feel invisible – or worse, isolated. Representation matters. When students hear from professionals who share their background, it breaks down assumptions and builds belief.
Invite undergraduates, postgraduates and early career scientists to outreach activities. Let them share their stories, including how they got started, what they struggled with and what keeps them going. As one year 12 student put it: “The moment I saw a Black woman talk about her work on climate change, something clicked. It was the first time I thought: I could do this too.”
This isn’t just about inspiration. It’s about identity, retention and success. Pair students with mentors. Design workshops rooted in lived experience. Create belonging from the first touchpoint through to graduation.
The key takeaway: inviting students to enrol in an environmental science degree isn’t enough if they can’t find their way in or feel like they don’t belong. It’s our responsibility to clear the path, guide them forward and create spaces where everyone sees themselves reflected. Otherwise, the environmental science profession will keep drawing from the same narrow pool.
Abby Onencan is associate professor in environmental science and widening participation academic lead in the University of East Anglia’s School of Environmental Sciences.
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