Environmental Biology, B.S.: 180 units

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Offered by: College of Science, Biological Sciences Department

Required Core Courses for Major
Elective Core Courses
Required Support Courses

Unrestricted Electives
General Education Requirements

The Environmental Biology major is designed for students who want to help solve the environmental problems threatening the organisms and life support systems of our planet. Students are able to specialize by selecting most of their upper-division courses from one of two clusters: 1) Ecology, Conservation, and Biodiversity and 2) Enviromental Microbiology and Biotechnology. The Ecology, Conservation, and Biodiversity cluster prepares students to identify and protect critical habitat, manage rare and endangered species, and design ecological preserves.The Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology cluster emphasizes laboratory research to assess water and air quality, transport and fate of pollutants, and environmental health in general. Eighteen units must be taken from one of these clusters (the student’s primary cluster) and an additional thirteen units from the other cluster. All students conduct an independent research project or complete an internship with a participating agency or private organization. This provides practical problem-solving experience to complement classroom, laboratory, and field studies.

Required Core Courses for Major: 36 units

Elective Core Courses: 31 units

At least 18 units from the primary cluster and the remaining 13 units from the other cluster (totaling to the required 31 units for Elective Core Courses). At least 15 units must be taken at the 400 or 500 level. See “Upper-Division Course Clusters” listed on the back of the curriculum sheet.

Upper-Division Course Clusters:

Cluster 1 - Ecology, Conservation, and Biodiversity:

Cluster 2 - Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology:

In addition:

Up to 4 units of BIO 441 and/or BIO 461 and 2 units of BIO 462 may count towards core electives.

*Note:

**500-level courses: No more than 13 units may be counted toward an undergraduate degree. Students must have senior standing and at least a 2.75 GPA. A special petition must be filed to receive undergraduate credit for graduate courses taken as a senior.

Required Support Courses: 69-72 units

Support Courses for Cluster 1:

The following major support courses should be used to satisfy the indicated GE requirements. If these courses are not used to satisfy GE, the total units to degree may be more than 180 units.

Support Courses for Cluster 2:

The following support courses should be used to satisfy the indicated GE requirements. If these courses are not used to satisfy GE, the total units to degree will be more than 180 units.

Unrestricted Electives: 0-4 units

Select a sufficient number of courses so that the total from “Required Support”, “GE”, and “Unrestricted Electives” is at least 113 units.

General Education Requirements: 68 units

Students should consult the Academic Programs website https://www.cpp.edu/~academic-programs/general-education-course-listings.shtml for current information regarding this requirement. Unless specific courses are stated under Support Courses, please refer to the list of approved courses under General Education Requirements, Areas A through E.

	Course	Term Taken	Grade
Area A. Communication and Critical Thinking (12 units)
1. Oral Communication
2. Written Communication
3. Critical Thinking
Area B. Mathematics and Natural Sciences (16 units)
1. Physical Science
2. Biological Science
3. Laboratory Activity
4. Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning
5. Science and Technology Synthesis
Area C. Humanities (16 units)
1. Visual and Performing Arts
2. Philosophy and Civilization
3. Literature and Foreign Languages
4. Humanities Synthesis
Area D. Social Sciences (20 units)
1. U.S. History, Constitution, and American Ideals a. United States History b. Introduction to American Government
2. History, Economics, and Political Science
3. Sociology, Anthropology, Ethnic and Gender Studies
4. Social Science Synthesis
Area E. Lifelong Understanding and Self-development (4 units)

For an alternative and interdisciplinary way to complete some of their GE requirements, students may choose the Interdisciplinary General Education program, see below.

Interdisciplinary General Education: 32 units

An alternate pattern for partial fulfillment of GE Areas A, C, D, and E available for students is the Interdisciplinary General Education (IGE) program. Students should see an advisor for specific GE coursework required by their major. Students must be exempt from or score at least 147 on the EPT to qualify for IGE. Please refer to the University Catalog General Education Program section for additional information.

How IGE fulfills General Education Requirements:

Year	Completion of IGE Courses	Satisfies GE Requirements
Freshman	IGE 120 , IGE 121 , IGE 122	A2 as well as any 2 courses from C1-C3
Sophomore	IGE 220 , IGE 221 , IGE 222	D1 (8 units) and D3
Junior	IGE 223 , IGE 224	D2 and Area E

American Institutions: 8 units

Courses that satisfy this requirement may also satisfy GE Area D1.

American Cultural Perspectives Requirement: 4 units

Refer to the University Catalog General Education Program section for a list of courses that satisfy this requirement. Course may also satisfy major, minor, GE, or unrestricted elective requirements.

Graduation Writing Test

All persons who receive undergraduate degrees from Cal Poly Pomona must pass the Graduation Writing Test (GWT). The test must be taken by the quarter following completion of 120 units for undergraduates.

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