To qualify to declare the environmental studies/economics combined major, students must complete the specific courses listed below, or their approved equivalents.

One of the following:

Plus one of the following

Plus all of the following

Plus one of the following options

Determining qualification

• Students who complete all the qualification courses with a grade of P, or letter grade of C or better are eligible to declare a major.

• Students who have received one grade of C-, D+, D, D-, or F in one of the qualification courses taken at UC Santa Cruz will only be eligible to declare after successfully completing the same or an equivalent course with a letter grade of C or better.

• Students with two or more grades of C-, D+, D, D-, or F in the qualification courses taken at UC Santa Cruz are not eligible to declare.

• Students with AP credit for any of the qualification course(s) are eligible to declare after successfully completing the remaining qualification courses.

• Students must attend an Environmental Studies Department declaration workshop when requesting to declare the major.

Students who are not eligible to declare the major may appeal this decision by submitting an appeal to qualify for the major within 15 days of the denial of the declaration. Within 15 days of receipt of the appeal, the department will notify the student and college of the decision. If a student has questions about the appeals process, they should contact envsadvi@ucsc.edu.

All students are required to attend one declaration workshop offered during the first three weeks of the quarter they are eligible to declare. Before students attend declaration workshops, they should check to see if they are eligible to declare using the major qualification page. Students wishing to declare within the Environmental Studies Department should visit the Environmental Studies Department website and follow the steps listed in the "how to declare" tab. Degree requirement sheets may be downloaded from the Environmental Studies Undergraduate Program Requirements page.

The following courses or their equivalents are required prior to transfer, by the end of the spring term for students planning to enter in the fall. To be considered for admission in the environmental studies majors, transfer students must pass the following courses or their equivalents of the following courses with a C (2.0) or better in these required courses:

One of the following:

ENVS 23 or a general chemistry course

Plus one of the following:

Plus the following:

ECON 1 or ECON 2 and a course in national or international politics

Plus one of the following:

Plus the following:

Recommended Courses

In addition, one of the following courses is recommended prior to transfer to ensure timely graduation. 

and all of the following courses

GPA Requirement

To be considered for admission in the environmental studies majors, transfer students must pass the following courses or their equivalents of the following courses with a C (2.0) or better in the required courses.

General Education (GEs)

Prospective students are encouraged to prioritize required and recommended major preparation, and may additionally complete courses that articulate to UC Santa Cruz general education requirements as time allows.

Transfer students pursuing environmental studies majors are encouraged to transfer in the fall quarter.

Transfer students should plan to enroll in ECON 100A or ECON 100M during the summer or fall quarter, and ECON 113 in the winter quarter in order to take ENVS 100 and ENVS 100L in spring quarter of their first year. Transfer students who have completed the screening requirements listed above can formally declare their major, following the steps in How to Declare a Major given above.

ENVS 25 and CHEM 1A are usually offered during Summer Session at UC Santa Cruz, and transfer students are encouraged to take them if they have not completed a substitute requirement or want a better understanding of the relevant material. If you are transferring, compare catalog descriptions, consult your current institution's adviser, and refer to the ASSIST website to determine equivalency. Prospective transfer students should review the transfer information.

Students who are proposed in a different major and have advanced standing when they come to UC Santa Cruz require permission from the department to change into the major. Contact envsadvi@ucsc.edu to request permission.