Information and Policies
Introduction
The B.S. major in microbiology is designed for students interested in careers in biomedical, environmental, and basic science fields in both industry and academia. Students are required to take introductory biology and chemistry, microbiology lecture and lab, biochemistry, computational tools, and additional courses directly relevant to microbiology. As a unique feature of this program, students also take a microbiology course with a focus on evaluating relevant scientific articles.
Academic Advising for the Program
Students are encouraged to seek out advising and assistance in planning their academic career to ensure completion of their major in a timely manner. For advising assistance, please contact the microbiology major advisor at microadvising@ucsc.edu.
All students interested in the Microbiology B.S. degree should read this catalog to learn more details about the major.
Program Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete the microbiology major will be able to:
- Demonstrate conceptual understanding of the following areas: biology of microbial cells: cell structure, function, and metabolic pathways; microbial ecology: microbial communities and the impact of microbes on humans and the environment; microbial evolution: genomics and genetics, including mobile genetic elements.
- Apply the basic principles of chemistry and quantitative reasoning to solve problems in microbiology.
- Generate hypotheses, design experiments, and evaluate data.
- Display proficiency in microbiology laboratory skills.
- Use effective oral and written language skills to communicate scientific data and ideas, including with other disciplines.
- Analyze, interpret, and evaluate a range of scientific literature in microbiology.
- Display proficiency in fundamental bioinformatic skills needed to investigate gene function and understand the general methods utilized in the field of microbial genomics.
Getting Started in the Major: Frosh
Students pursuing the microbiology major begin with General Chemistry. Both the CHEM 3A/CHEM 3B/CHEM 3C series (with associated labs CHEM 3BL/CHEM 3CL) and the advanced CHEM 4A/CHEM 4B series (with associated labs CHEM 4AL/CHEM 4BL) fully satisfy the general chemistry prerequisites of any major declaration or required/elective classes for programs in the Physical and Biological Sciences (PBSci) Division. Students should also begin in Math 11A , Math 16A, or MATH 19A as soon as they can upon completion of the Mathematics Placement assessment.
Students are required to complete a Mathematics Placement assessment in ALEKS PPL to enroll in their first math course at UC Santa Cruz. Microbiology majors are expected and encouraged to work in the learning modules in ALEKS PPL to be able to enroll in MATH 16A; in order to enroll in MATH 16A, you need to have an ALEKS PPL result of 70 or above, which translates to a math placement score of 300 in your student record at UC Santa Cruz.
If you’ve successfully completed a transferable college-level pre-calculus or calculus course, or have a sufficiently high Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) Calculus test score, you can satisfy your Math Placement requirement simply by submitting your grade or score to UCSC. See the General Catalog for AP and IBH score equivalencies.
Transfer Information and Policy
General information about transferring to UC Santa Cruz can be found on the Transfer Preparation Advising website. Students planning to transfer to UC Santa Cruz from a California community college should reference assist.org to determine which courses are equivalent to required and recommended pre-transfer courses.
Transfer Admission Screening Policy
METX encourages applications from transfer students in the biological sciences. The department has a major qualification policy that limits program access to students who have successfully completed a subset of foundational coursework.
For more information on qualifying for the major as a transfer applicant, see the Getting Started as a Transfer Student webpage.
The following courses or their equivalents are required prior to transfer/entry to UCSC. Completion of these courses with a grade of C or higher satisfies the qualification for this major.
The following courses
| | Either these courses | |
| CHEM 3A | General Chemistry | 5 |
| CHEM 3B | General Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEM 3C | General Chemistry | 3 |
| | or these courses | |
| CHEM 4A | Advanced General Chemistry: Molecular Structure and Reactivity | 5 |
| CHEM 4B | Advanced General Chemistry: Molecular Structure and Reactivity | 5 |
And these courses
Plus
One of the following calculus or equivalent courses
| MATH 11A | Calculus with Applications | 5 |
| MATH 19A | Calculus for Science, Engineering, and Mathematics | 5 |
Prior to transfer
In addition, the following courses are recommended prior to transfer to ensure timely graduation. Students who only complete the minimum required transfer coursework for the major will likely need more than two years to complete the microbiology B.S.
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.
One of the following courses
| MATH 11B | Calculus with Applications | 5 |
| | OR | |
| MATH 19B | Calculus for Science, Engineering, and Mathematics | 5 |
Plus one of the following options
| | Either this course | |
| STAT 5 | Statistics | 5 |
| | or these courses | |
| STAT 7 | Statistical Methods for the Biological, Environmental, and Health Sciences | 5 |
| STAT 7L | Statistical Methods for the Biological, Environmental, and Health Sciences Laboratory | 2 |
Plus the following courses
Getting Started in the Major: Transfer Students
Transfer students must already be qualified at time of entry to UCSC to be accepted into the microbiology major. Any student who fails to meet these requirements may file an appeal for admission to the major, but admission is not guaranteed.
Transfer students should complete the required courses in microbiology (METX 100) and biochemistry (BIOL 100) by the end of their first year at UC Santa Cruz as they are prerequisites for other required courses.
Transfer students are strongly encouraged to meet with the microbiology major advisor in their first quarter. For assistance with advising, please contact microadvising@ucsc.edu.
Transfer students entering at the junior level who have satisfied the screening requirements can declare their major any time after coming to UCSC but are required to be declared in a major by the declaration deadline in their second term at UCSC. Any student who fails to meet these requirements may file an appeal for admission to the major, but admission is not guaranteed.
Transfer students who are proposed in a different major (other than microbiology) and have advanced standing when they come to UCSC require permission from the department to change into the major. Admission to the major is not guaranteed.
Major Qualification Policy and Declaration Process
Major Qualification
Students must complete the following qualification courses, or their equivalents, each with a grade of C or better.
Courses from the following
| | Either these courses | |
| CHEM 3A | General Chemistry | 5 |
| CHEM 3B | General Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEM 3C | General Chemistry | 3 |
| | or these courses | |
| CHEM 4A | Advanced General Chemistry: Molecular Structure and Reactivity | 5 |
| CHEM 4B | Advanced General Chemistry: Molecular Structure and Reactivity | 5 |
Plus these courses
Plus one of the following
| MATH 11A | Calculus with Applications | 5 |
| MATH 16A | Mathematics for Life Sciences | 5 |
| MATH 19A | Calculus for Science, Engineering, and Mathematics | 5 |
When pursuing major qualification, students should keep the following details in mind:
- Students who entered UC Santa Cruz as frosh who have two or more grades of NP, C-, D+, D, D-, or F in the policy courses are not qualified to declare.
- Students with exam credit for any of the major qualification courses need only pass the remaining courses.
Transfer students should also consult the Transfer Information and Policy above.
How to Declare a Major
Students may declare a major as early as they would like if they have decided which major to pursue and have satisfied prerequisites or qualification requirements for the major. Petition to declare your major as soon as you have met qualification requirements and/or reach your declaration deadline quarter, whichever comes first.
Per the UC Santa Cruz major declaration policy, students who enter UCSC as frosh are required to be formally declared in a major by the campus deadline in their sixth quarter and before enrolling in their third year (or equivalent). Upper-division junior transfer students are required to be declared in a major by the deadline in their second term at UCSC.
Students should petition to declare a microbiology major once they have completed all qualification courses and met the GPA requirements and have an official, signed, department-approved academic plan on file.
The Petition for Major/Minor declaration form can be accessed by going to MyUCSC and navigating to the Student Homepage and selecting the Undergraduate Student eForms tile > Petition for Major/Minor.
Students petitioning when the campus declaration deadline is imminent (i.e., in their sixth quarter, for students admitted as frosh, second quarter for junior transfer students), will either be approved, denied, or provided with conditions (e.g., completion of final qualification courses with certain grades), but will not be declared until all requirements have been met and satisfactory grades have been posted.
Each major/minor advising office has a process for declaring. For assistance with declaring the microbiology major, please contact microbiology major advisor at microadvising@ucsc.edu.
Appeal Process
Students who are informed that they are not eligible to declare the major may appeal this decision by submitting an appeal form to the microbiology advisor at microadvising@ucsc.edu. The department will reply to appeals within 15 days of a completed appeal submission to the managing department faculty. To appeal for the Microbiology B.S., complete the Microbiology Major Appeal Form via DocuSign.
Note: The information you share in your appeal or with your advisors will be kept confidential and shared only with campus officials as required to serve you in an advising capacity or process your appeal. However, in limited circumstances, including those related to potential harm to yourself or others, sexual assault, and abuse, we may be required by law to report incidents you disclose to other need-to-know offices on campus such as the Title IX Office and/or University of California Police Department. If you are in need of support for any issues, please see the list of confidential and/or support resources.
Letter Grade Policy
All courses that are taken to satisfy any major requirement must be taken for a letter grade. Additionally, letter grades of C or higher must be attained to meet major and minor requirements for graduation.
Course Substitution Policy
At least half of the upper-division courses required for the major must be taken at UC Santa Cruz, not as transfer credits from another institution. Students are advised to contact the microbiology advisor before enrolling in any upper-division courses at other institutions to verify articulation. In particular, students must receive permission from the department to satisfy the BIOL 100 or METX 100 requirements with courses taken at other institutions.
Double Majors and Major/Minor Combinations Policy
Students interested in pursuing multiple majors within the biological sciences may NOT declare any combination of the following majors: microbiology B.S.; global and community health B.A. or B.S.; biology B.S.; biology B.A.; molecular, cell, and developmental biology B.S.; neuroscience B.S.; biochemistry and molecular biology B.S.; ecology and evolutionary biology B.S; marine biology B.S.; plant sciences B.S.
Pursuing a double major that includes the microbiology major is a highly individual decision and should be based on a student’s educational and career goals. Because the microbiology major itself is rigorous, it should be noted that completing a double major involving microbiology is difficult (though possible).
To declare a double major program, a student must obtain an academic plan showing that they are able to complete both degrees within the maximum number of quarters of enrollment available at UC Santa Cruz. Therefore, the steps for a student to pursue microbiology as a second major are as follows:
- Student must have an up-to-date and accurate major academic plan for their initial major.
- Student must make an appointment with the microbiology major advisor and send the link to their initial major academic plan to microadvising@ucsc.edu.
- The microbiology major advisor will review your major academic plan and will add the microbiology major courses the initial major academic plan, as necessary and if it is viable to do so per double unit counting, enrollment limitations, and time-to-degree guidelines.
- The microbiology major advisor will discuss the double major plan with the student during their scheduled appointment. If the plan is viable, it will be approved and signed by both the student and the second major advisor.
- Once the student has an approved and viable double major plan and qualifies for the major, the student must petition to declare chemistry as a second major using the Petition for Major/Minor form in MyUCSC.
Study Abroad
The UC Education Abroad Program (EAP) offers qualified students unique opportunities to broaden their educational horizons. The METX Department encourages interested students to participate. Many programs are in English-speaking countries or use English for advanced courses. Many programs offer small classes, extensive laboratories, and/or field research experience.
Students interested in studying abroad need to get an early start on their basic science requirements, including chemistry, mathematics, and introductory biology. Students interested in studying abroad should visit the UCEAP office as soon as possible to begin planning. They should also seek advice about their UCEAP plan for major courses at UC Santa Cruz from Chemistry Advising and/or a faculty advisor and receive their approval.
Honors Policy
Honors in the majors are awarded to graduating students whose academic performance in major-required coursework demonstrates excellence at a grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 or above. Highest honors are awarded to those students whose performance in major-required coursework demonstrates the highest level of excellence and results in a GPA of 3.8 or above.
Medical and Professional School Admission
Medical and professional school admissions requirements vary; students should verify that their coursework will satisfy the admissions requirements of the programs to which they plan to apply.
Students are strongly encouraged to review the Pre-Health section of the Career Success website to review preparation recommendations, prerequisite and other information about professional health education programs (medical school, dental school, etc.), and more important information to assist in preparation for a career in health sciences.
Students are urged to contact Career Success for assistance with the application process.