Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science
The Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science is designed for students intending to prepare for graduate school or direct entry into a career as an environmental scientist or environmental manager in industry or government. Entry to the major presupposes prior coursework comprising the high school equivalents of two years of algebra, one year of plane geometry, one-half year of trigonometry, one year of biology, and one year of physics and/or chemistry.
The Environmental Science curriculum comprises a core providing a foundation of science and methods courses—introductory earth systems and environmental science, biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics—as well as distributed electives in environmental science, environmental management, and analytical methods, and a capstone proseminar. ENV 205 provides introductory research design, statistical and geospatial methods. Geospatial methods are then further developed in GEOG 603, which is a prerequisite for all advanced GIS classes. The GWAR course (ENV 500GW) focuses on the physical and human dimensions of climate change, providing a rich source of topics for composition at the upper-division level.
Electives are distributed into three areas:
- Environmental Systems, including investigations of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, pedosphere (soils), environmental chemistry, and the biosphere;
- Environmental Management of managed lands and waters, natural resources, threatened species and livable environment; and
- Analytical Methods, including geographic information science, statistical analysis, and field-based environmental analysis methods.
Through choices in each area, students can tailor their program in a variety of ways, to focus on water, soils and agriculture, biotic systems, restoration science, coastal systems, bioclimatology, pollution management, protected land management, water resources management, or others. The capstone course, ENV 690, prepares students for careers and graduate study.
Program Learning Outcomes
- Students will investigate environmental systems from an interdisciplinary perspective including interactions between systems and interactions with human activities.
- Students will critically evaluate environmental plans, and strategies as well as resource management practices with respect to environmental sustainability and social justice.
- Students will utilize GIScience techniques to investigate environmental questions.
- Students will conduct field based sampling and/or observational studies, analyze results and critically evaluate the method.
- Students will design, conduct and report on independent research projects using appropriate and well-developed methods.
Environmental Science (B.S.) – 70 units minimum
Students are advised that the CR grade is acceptable in any two courses to be counted for the major. No more than one course counted toward major requirements may be completed with a grade less than a C-.
Foundation Requirements (27-31 units)
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Select One: | 3 | |
| The World of Plants | ||
| Animal Diversity | ||
| Principles of Ecology | ||
| Select One: | 3-4 | |
| General Chemistry I | ||
| Chemistry for Energy and the Environment | ||
| Select One: | 3-4 | |
| Our Dynamic Earth Lecture and Lab | ||
| Environmental Geology | ||
| Our Physical Environment | ||
| Select One: | 3 | |
| Environmental Studies | ||
| The Human Environment | ||
| ENV 205 | Our Environment Through Data | 3 |
| GEOG 160 | Introduction to Environmental Science | 4 |
| Select One: | 4-6 | |
| Prelude to Calculus I and Prelude to Calculus II | ||
| Pre-Calculus | ||
| Select One: | 4 | |
| General Physics I and General Physics I Laboratory | ||
| General Physics with Calculus I and General Physics with Calculus I Laboratory | ||
Core Requirements (12-13 units)
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| ENVS 450 | Environmental Law and Policy | 3 |
| ENV 500GW | Physical and Human Dimensions of Climate Change - GWAR | 3 |
| GEOG 603 | Introduction to Geographic Information Systems | 3 |
| Select One: | 3-4 | |
| Biostatistics | ||
| Environmental Data Science | ||
| Calculus I | ||
Capstone (3 units)
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| ENV 690 | Capstone Seminar | 3 |
Topical Areas (28-32 units)
Choose course(s) from each area to meet the total units indicated on the right. Meet with an advisor to select courses that best align with your career goals. Courses used to meet core requirements can't be double counted for the topical areas.
Environmental Systems (11-12 units)
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| CHEM 380 | Chemistry Behind Environmental Pollution | 3 |
| ERTH 400 | Atmosphere and Oceans in the Earth System | 3 |
| or GEOG 313 | Earth's Climate System | |
| ERTH 410 | Earthquakes and Volcanoes | 3 |
| ERTH 425 | Geomorphology | 4 |
| or GEOG 312 | Geography of Landforms | |
| ERTH 500 | Earth and Life Through Time | 3 |
| ERTH 515 | Sedimentary Materials and Environments | 4 |
| ERTH 535 | Planetary Climate Change | 4 |
| GEOG 314 | Bioclimatology | 4 |
| GEOG 316 | Biogeography | 4 |
| GEOG 317 | Soils | 4 |
| GEOG 342/ERTH 442 | Surface Water Hydrology | 4 |
| GEOG 644 | Water Quality | 3 |
Environmental Management (10-12 units)
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| ENVS 470 | Climate Politics and Policy | 3 |
| ENVS 480 | Climate Change Adaptation and Justice | 3 |
| GEOG 427 | Agriculture and Food Supply | 4 |
| GEOG/ERTH 642 | Watershed Assessment and Restoration | 4 |
| GEOG 647 | Geography of Water Resources | 4 |
| GEOG 648 | Management of National Parks and Protected Areas | 4 |
| GEOG/USP 652 | Environmental Impact Analysis | 4 |
| GEOG/ENVS 657 | Natural Resource Management: Biotic Resources | 4 |
| GEOG/USP 658 | Land-Use Planning | 4 |
| GEOG 666 | Geography of Garbage: Recycling and Waste Reduction | 3 |
Analytical Methods (7-8 units)
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 458 | Biostatistics | 4 |
| GEOG 602 | Field Methods in Environmental Science & Physical Geography | 4 |
| GEOG 604 | Environmental Data Science | 3 |
| GEOG 610 | Remote Sensing of the Environment I | 4 |
| GEOG 611 | Remote Sensing of the Environment II | 4 |
| GEOG 620 | Geographical Information Systems | 4 |
| GEOG 621 | Geographic Information Systems for Environmental Analysis | 4 |
| GEOG 625 | Programming for Geographic Information Science | 3 |
General Education Requirements
| Requirement | Course Level | Units | Area Designation |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Composition | LD | 3 | 1A |
| Critical Thinking | LD | 3 | 1B |
| Oral Communication | LD | 3 | 1C |
| Mathematical Concepts and Quantitative Reasoning | LD | 3 | 2 |
| Arts | LD | 3 | 3A |
| Humanities | LD | 3 | 3B |
| Social and Behavioral Sciences* | LD | 6 | 4 |
| Physical Science | LD | 3 | 5A |
| Biological Science | LD | 3 | 5B |
| Laboratory | LD | 1 | 5C |
| Ethnic Studies | LD or UD | 3 | 6 |
| Science or Math/Quantitative Reasoning | UD | 3 | 5UD or 2UD |
| Arts or Humanities | UD | 3 | 3UD |
| Social and Behavioral Sciences | UD | 3 | 4UD |
| *Students will fulfill USH through their Area 4 courses | |||
| SF State Studies | |||
| Courses certified as meeting the SF State Studies requirements may be upper or lower division in General Education (GE), a major or minor, or an elective. | |||
| American Ethnic and Racial Minorities | LD or UD | 3 | AERM |
| Environmental Sustainability and Climate Action | LD or UD | 3 | ESCA |
| Global Perspectives | LD or UD | 3 | GP |
| Social Justice | LD or UD | 3 | SJ |
| American Institutions | |||
| US and California Government | LD or UD | 3 | USG/CSLG |
Note: LD = Lower-Division; UD = Upper-Division.
First-Time Student Roadmap (4 Year)
The roadmaps presented in this Bulletin are intended as suggested plans of study and do not replace meeting with an advisor. For a more personalized roadmap, please use the Degree Planner tool found in your Student Center.
Students should use their Pathway/Category to determine which roadmap to follow. For directions on how to view your Pathway/Category, visit how to find your pathway. Questions? Contact Gator Smart Start.
First-Time Student Roadmap – QR Pathway 1/2
First-Time Student Roadmap – QR Pathway 3/4
Transfer Student Roadmap (2 Year)
For students with an AS-T in Environmental Science.
ENVS ADT Roadmap
General Advising Information for Transfer Students
- Before transfer, complete as many lower-division requirements or electives for this major as possible.
- The following courses are not required for admission but are required for graduation. Students are strongly encouraged to complete these units before transfer; doing so will provide more flexibility in course selection after transfer.
- a course in U.S. History
- a course in U.S. & California Government
For information about satisfying the requirements described in (1) and (2) above at a California Community College (CCC), please visit http://www.assist.org. Check any geographically accessible CCCs; sometimes, options include more than one college. Use ASSIST to determine:
- Which courses at a CCC satisfy any lower-division major requirements for this major;
- Which courses at a CCC satisfy CSU GE, US History, and US & CA Government requirements.
Remedial courses are not transferable and do not apply to the minimum 60 semester units/90 quarter units required for admission.
Additional units for courses that are repeated do not apply to the minimum 60 units required for upper-division transfer (for example, if a course was not passed on the first attempt or was taken to earn a better grade).
Before leaving the last California Community College of attendance, obtain a summary of completion of lower-division General Education units (IGETC or CSU GE Breadth). This is often referred to as a GE certification worksheet. SF State does not require delivery of this certification to Admissions, but students should retain this document for verifying degree progress after transfer.
Credit for Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or College-Level Examination Program courses: AP/IB/CLEP credit is not automatically transferred from the previous institution. Units are transferred only when an official score report is delivered to SF State. Credit is based on the academic year during which exams were taken. Refer to the University Bulletin in effect during the year of AP/IB/CLEP examination(s) for details regarding the award of credit for AP/IB/CLEP.
Students pursuing majors in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines often defer 6-9 units of lower-division General Education in Areas C and D until after transfer to focus on preparation courses for the major. This advice does not apply to students pursuing associate degree completion before transfer.
Transferring From Institutions Other Than CCCs or CSUs
Review SF State's lower-division General Education requirements. Note that, as described below, the four basic skills courses required for admission meet GE Areas 1A/A2, 1B/A3, 1C/A1, and 2/B4 in the SF State GE pattern. Courses that fulfill the remaining areas of SF State’s lower-division GE pattern are available at most two-year and four-year colleges and universities.
Of the four required basic skills courses, a course in critical thinking (1B/A3) may not be widely offered outside the CCC and CSU systems. Students should attempt to identify and take an appropriate course no later than the term of application to the CSU. To review more information about the 1B/A3 requirement, please visit bulletin.sfsu.edu/undergraduate-education/general-education/lower-division/#AAEL.
Waiting until after transfer to take a single course at SF State that meets both US and CA/local government requirements may be an appropriate option, particularly if transferring from outside of California.