Environmental Studies/Biology Combined Major B.A.

Information and Policies

Introduction

This course of study provides students with the basic tools of biological science and sufficient understanding of resource conservation, conservation biology, and concerns about environmental sustainability to apply these tools to environmental problems.

Students interested in the available concentrations should choose to pursue the environmental studies B.A. degree. This does not apply to students who declared a combined major and concentration in agroecology and sustainable food systems prior to 2019.

Academic Advising for the Program

Advising is one way to make the most of your university experience. The advising system at UC Santa Cruz is amazing, and we encourage you to use it often. Ask questions, seek advice, and make decisions that work best for you.

To receive advising for this major, contact envsadvi@ucsc.edu. Additional information for prospective transfer students can be found in the Transfer Information and Policy section.

Program Learning Outcomes

Students graduating with a B.A. degree in environmental studies/biology combined will be able to:

• Identify the societal (social, political, economic and ethical) agents and structures that contribute to environmental change. (social science competency)

• Describe the structure and functioning of major physical and ecological components of the earth’s systems. (natural science competency)

• Access and analyze a complex literature addressing specific topics in environmental studies, and evaluate the usefulness and limitations of individual sources of information. (analytic thinking)

• Demonstrate effective oral and written communication skills. (communication skills).

Major Qualification Policy and Declaration Process

Major Qualification

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

All of the following:

Determining qualification

• Students who complete all the qualification courses with a 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 non-letter grades in any of the qualification courses for the environmental studies/biology combined B.A. major will not be eligible to declare until a grade of C or better has been assigned.

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

Appeal Process

Students who are not qualified 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.

How to Declare a Major

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.

Transfer Information and Policy

Transfer Admission Screening Policy

Students who apply for transfer admission to the major are required to have taken the equivalents of the following courses with a C grade (2.0) or better by the end of the spring term for students planning to enter in the fall:

All of the following

Plus one of the following

Plus one of the following options

ENVS 25; or ECON 1 and a course in national or international politics ; or ECON 2 and a course in national or international politics

Recommended Courses

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

And the following course

GPA Requirement

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

General Education Courses

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.

Getting Started at UCSC as a Transfer Student

Transfer students pursuing environmental studies majors are encouraged to transfer in the fall quarter. Transfer students should enroll in STAT 7 and STAT 7L during the summer or fall quarter in order to take ENVS 100 and ENVS 100L in winter or spring quarter of their first year. Transfer students can formally declare their major once qualification courses are successfully completed, 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 advisor, 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.

Letter Grade Policy

All requirements for the environmental studies/biology combined major must be taken for a letter grade.

Course Substitution Policy

Students pursuing the Environmental Studies/Biology Combined Major cannot substitute courses to count toward their upper division electives.

Study Abroad

Students in environmental studies are encouraged to participate in Study Abroad programs and other off-campus programs. Students who are interested in these programs shall note the following policies:

• Students planning to study abroad must be declared in their major prior to
  studying abroad.
• Students must have their courses they plan to take abroad reviewed and
  approved by Environmental Studies Advising.
• Environmental studies/biology combined majors cannot petition their courses
  taken abroad for upper division course substitution.
• For more information on EAP, please visit the UC Education Abroad Program
  website.

Honors

Departmental Honors. Students must have a 3.5 grade point average (GPA) in all courses used to satisfy the environmental studies upper-division requirements. 

Senior Comprehensive Honors. Only applicable to a senior thesis, senior internship, or individual work in a senior seminar. Honors must be awarded by the student’s faculty sponsor, and a second faculty member (chosen by the student’s faculty advisor) must concur.

Highest Departmental Honors. Students must have a 3.75 grade point average (GPA) in in all courses used to satisfy the environmental studies upper-division requirements and must also receive senior comprehensive honors (see above). Students must fulfill all requirements for honors from environmental studies/biology combined.

Requirements and Planners

Course Requirements

Lower-Division Courses

Biology and mathematics courses may require placement examinations. See the course descriptions for prerequisite information.

All of the following courses

Plus one of the following

Plus one of the following

One of the following:

Or take a placement exam:

Take the Math Placement Exam (MPE) with a score of 300 or higher or take the AP Calculus exam with a score of 3 or higher.

Plus all of the following

Plus all of the following

Plus one of the following options in physics

Upper-Division Courses

Students are required to complete nine upper-division courses and the senior comprehensive requirement. Three of the nine upper-division courses must be the following courses (ENVS 100 and ENVS 100L is considered a single course).

Electives

The remaining six upper-division elective courses include three in ecology and evolutionary biology (ecology and evolutionary biology courses numbered BIOE 107-BIOE 188) and three in environmental studies (environmental studies courses numbered ENVS 101-ENVS 179).

One of the six electives must be a laboratory course; laboratory courses are upper-division courses in BIOE or ENVS that carry 5 credits and have a “L” in their course number. 

Additionally, one of the three environmental studies courses electives must be based in the social sciences selected from the following upper-division courses:

One lab-based course

One of the six electives must be a laboratory course; laboratory courses are upper-division courses in BIOE or ENVS that carry 5 credits and have a “L” in their course number. In order to fulfill the lab-based requirement students must take the lecture and lab. Students must take the concurrent lecture and lab of one of the following: 

A list of all courses offered by the Environmental Studies Department is available in the courses section of the catalog. A list of which upper-division courses offered in the current year by the Environmental Studies Department are based in the natural sciences and in the social sciences is available on the department website.

Students wishing to pursue an advanced degree in the pure or applied sciences are strongly encouraged to complete the organic chemistry series as well. 

These upper-division elective courses should be selected in pursuit of a coherent plan of study, chosen in consultation with faculty sponsors from both the Biological Sciences and Environmental Studies Departments. None of the three environmental studies upper-division courses can be an environmental studies internship, individual study, or substitution course.

Disciplinary Communication (DC) Requirement

Students of every major must satisfy that major's upper-division Disciplinary Communication (DC) requirement. The DC requirement for the environmental studies/biology combined major is satisfied by completing:

The DC requirement in environmental studies/biology combined is satisfied by completing

Plus one of the following

Where two-credit lab courses have to be taken concurrently with a 5-credit lecture course, the combination counts as one course.

Comprehensive Requirement

The senior comprehensive may be satisfied by completing one of the options listed below. All courses used to satisfy the senior comprehensive requirement must be taken for a letter grade.

Before enrolling in the senior thesis or senior internship option, students must formally apply to work with a particular faculty mentor very early in their thesis or project preparation. The senior thesis and senior internship option require careful planning, additional independent research, and at least a two-quarter commitment.

Students with advanced skills in one of the graduate focal areas may also take a graduate seminar by invitation from the instructor.

Planners

The following are two sample academic plans for students pursuing the environmental studies/biology combined B.A. major. Plan One is for incoming frosh and Plan Two is for incoming transfer students.

Plan One for Incoming Frosh

*This course is also offered in the spring term.

This plan does not explicitly show the required lab course among the ENVS or BIOE electives. 

Students completing this major will have satisfied the SI, IN, PE-E, IS, and PR-E general education requirements. In addition, they will need to fulfill all remaining university, college, and general education requirements.

Students interested in taking the senior thesis or senior internship as their comprehensive requirement must take ENVS 195A (thesis) or ENVS 183A (internship) in the quarter before completing ENVS 195B (thesis) or ENVS 183B (internship). Both the senior thesis and senior internship are two consecutive quarter commitments. 

Plan Two for Incoming Transfer Students

*This course is also offered in the spring term.

This plan does not include the required lab based course. Students must complete the lab-based requirement with the courses listed in the course requirements. 

This planner assumes that a student has completed all required lower-division courses—including UCSC or community college general education requirements—with the exception of STAT 7 and STAT 7L, which is only offered at UC Santa Cruz.

Students interested in taking the senior thesis or senior internship as their comprehensive requirement must take ENVS 195A (thesis) or ENVS 183A (internship)  in the quarter before completing ENVS 195B (thesis) or ENVS 183B (internship). Both the senior thesis and senior internship are two consecutive quarter commitments. 

A transfer student who has completed the requirements for the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) before matriculating at UC Santa Cruz, with at most two course requirements left to complete, is allowed to satisfy IGETC in lieu of the UCSC general education requirements.