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 three clusters. The Conservation Biology cluster prepares students to identify and protect critical habitat, manage rare and endangered species, and design ecological preserves. The Ecosystem Ecology and Management cluster equips students to conduct ecological field research, manage natural resources on public and private lands, and assess environmental impacts of proposed actions. 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 two clusters. Students selecting the Conservation Biology cluster or the Ecosystem Ecology and Management cluster take a two-course sequence in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). 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 any of the three clusters (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 – Conservation Biology:

Cluster 2 – Ecosystem Ecology and Management:

Cluster 3 – 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 a 2.75 GPA, have senior standing, and file a special petition to receive undergraduate (or graduate) credit for graduate courses taken as a senior.

Required Support Courses: 72-73 units

Support Courses for Clusters 1 and 2:

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 3:

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: 0-1 unit

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.

Area A. Communication and Critical Thinking (12 units)

Oral Communication
Written Communication
Critical Thinking

Area B. Mathematics and Natural Sciences (16 units)

Physical Science
Biological Science
Laboratory Activity
Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning
Science and Technology Synthesis

Area C. Humanities (16 units)

Visual and Performing Arts
Philosophy and Civilization
Literature and Foreign Languages
Humanities Synthesis

Area D. Social Sciences (20 units)

U.S. History, Constitution, and American Ideals
History, Economics, and Political Science
Sociology, Anthropology, Ethnic and Gender Studies
Social Science Synthesis

Area E. Lifelong Understanding and Self-development (4 units)