Environmental Studies


405 Interdisciplinary Sciences Building
(831) 459-2634
http://envs.ucsc.edu

Students pursue an interdisciplinary curriculum that combines course work in ecology and the social sciences. The fundamentals of environmental studies are offered through introductory courses on the ecological and
political-economic aspects of environmental issues and through the core course, Ecology and Society. Upper-
division areas of concentration have interdisciplinary curricula that draw on both ecology and the social sciences. The program emphasizes the integration of ecological knowledge with an understanding of social institutions and policies in ways that support the conservation of biodiversity, the practice of sustainable agriculture, and the careful management of other ecological and environmental systems. The faculty work on these issues at local, regional, and global levels. Current faculty research focuses on Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico, Malawi, Florida, Hawaii, Alaska, California, and the Monterey Bay region.

As a complement to classroom instruction and research, many courses have field components. The Environmental Studies Field and Internship Program helps qualified students find placements with government and educational agencies, community organizations, and private firms. In addition, students are encouraged to participate in faculty-directed research on specific problems. Environmental studies courses complement most majors on campus, and students from other majors are encouraged to take courses that are relevant to their interests.

Requirements for the Major

Prerequisites
Continuing UCSC students are required to complete six prerequisite courses. Environmental Studies 23, 24, 25, and Applied Mathematics and Statistics 5 or 7 (statistics) are to be completed before taking Environmental Studies 100/L, the core course. The two remaining prerequisites are to be completed no later than the junior year. Transfer students must complete seven prerequisite courses before transferring to UCSC (see also Transfer Students below). The courses listed here are examples of the course offerings at UCSC that satisfy the prerequisites. If you are transferring, compare catalog descriptions, consult your current institution’s adviser, and refer to the ASSIST web site, http://www.assist.org/default.htm, to determine equivalency. The specific prerequisites are as follows:

The Physical and Chemical Environment. A course introducing the basic physical and chemical processes that govern the structure and function of ecosystems, including climate and weather, soil types and their formation, and biogeochemical cycles (course 23). Transfer students must satisfy this prerequisite by completing a college-level introductory chemistry course.

General Ecology. An introduction to the basic concepts and methods of autecology, population ecology, biotic communities, and ecosystems (course 24).

Political Economy and the Environment. A course introducing environmental policy issues; key concepts in politics and economics; and the processes that have given rise to environmental issues, their social and political perception, and institutional responses (course 25). Transfer students must satisfy this prerequisite by completing an introductory political science or politics survey course (equivalent to Politics 20 or 70 at UCSC) and an introductory microeconomics or macroeconomics course (equivalent to Economics 1 or 2 at UCSC).

Cultural Anthropology/Sociology/Ethics. An introductory course covering national identities, culture, cultural diversity, social interactions, social change, or ethical issues (one course such as Anthropology 2 or Sociology 1 or 15 or Philosophy 21, 22, 24, 28, or 80G).

Precalculus. A course that prepares students for calculus, emphasizing algebra, graphs, functions, trigonometry, and conic sections (Mathematics 3 or a score on the math placement exam or College Board AP calculus exam sufficient to be placed into calculus).


Statistics. An introductory survey course including descriptive statistics, measures of location, variation, sampling estimation, hypothesis testing including correlation, chi-square techniques, and ANOVA (one course such as Engineering 5 or 7 or Economics 113).

Transfer Students
Students transferring to UCSC are expected to fulfill the prerequisites for the major by completing equivalent courses, with a grade of C or better, at another recognized institution before transferring to UCSC. The prerequisite in the physical and chemical environment (course 23) may be satisfied by completing a college-level introductory chemistry course if no course equivalent to course 23 is available. Two courses—one in politics, one in economics—are required to satisfy the political economy and the environment (course 25) prerequisite. Course 25 may be offered during Summer Session at UCSC and transfer students are encouraged to take it. Those students attending an institution not offering an acceptable general ecology course are urged to enroll in Summer Session at UCSC to complete this prerequisite (course 24); those not able to do so are allowed to take the course concurrently with course 100/L in the fall quarter.

Upper-Division Requirements
Students are required to complete nine upper-division courses, including course 100/L and a senior comprehensive course. For students who have limited time, the department also offers three combined majors: one with biology, one with Earth sciences, and one with economics. If students choose to select a set of related courses from another discipline, they should do so in consultation with a faculty adviser.

Comprehensive Requirement
Students satisfy the senior comprehensive requirement by completing one of the following:

Senior capstone (course 190)

Senior thesis (course 195A or 195B)

Senior seminar (a course from the 196 series)

Senior Internship (course 183B)

Students who wish to complete the senior thesis or senior internship option must make a formal application to a faculty mentor by the last quarter of their junior year before enrolling in a senior thesis or senior internship independent study course (183B, 195A, or 195B).

Major Disqualification Policy

The Environmental Studies Department considers courses 23, 24, 25, and 100/L to be the core of the program. Students who have failed two of these courses will be disqualified from the major and barred from enrollment in all upper-division environmental studies courses. Students who have failed the same course (of these four core courses) twice will likewise be barred from enrollment in all upper-division courses. Students who have failed course 100/L may be admitted to upper-division courses by exception only; they must present their case in writing to the department chair in order to be allowed to remain enrolled in any upper-division environmental studies courses in which they have advance enrolled. The department also reserves the right to disqualify from the major students who fail three or more upper-division environmental studies elective courses.

Students who feel that there were extenuating circumstances surrounding their failure of a course for the second time may appeal their disqualification within the appeal period by submitting a letter to the chair of the Environmental Studies Department. This appeal must be filed no later than 15 days from the date the disqualification notification was mailed, or the 10th day of classes in the quarter of their disqualification, whichever is later. The department will subsequently notify the student, the college, and the Office of the Registrar of the decision no later than 15 days after the filing of the appeal.

Requirements for the Combined Majors

Environmental Studies/Biology
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.

Prerequisites

Biology 20A and 20B

Environmental Studies 24 (or Biology 20C or 150)

Environmental Studies 25

Anthropology 2 or Philosophy 21, 22, 24, 28, or 80G or Sociology 1 or 15

Precalculus (Mathematics 3 or a score on the math placement exam or the College

Board AP calculus exam sufficient to be placed into calculus)

Applied Mathematics and Statistics 5 or 7

Chemistry 1B/M and 1C/N and 108A/L and 108B/M

Two courses in physics or computer science, either Physics 7A/L and 7B/M or two courses from Computer Science 12A, 12B, 60G or 60N, 80B, and 80G.

Upper-Division Requirements

Environmental Studies 100/L

Biology 105
Six upper-division courses, three in biology and three in environmental studies. One of the six must be a laboratory course, and one of the three environmental studies courses should be based in the social sciences. These upper-division courses should be selected in pursuit of a coherent plan of study, such as agroecology-botany, conservation biology-zoology, resource management-ecology, environmental education-animal behavior, or environmental policy-marine studies, among others.

Comprehensive Requirement

Students satisfy the senior comprehensive requirement by completing the following:

• for environmental studies, one of the options for environmental studies majors (see Comprehensive Requirement above);

• for biological sciences, either pass the biology comprehensive examination, achieve a score at or above the 50th percentile on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Biology Subject Test, achieve a score at or above the 50th percentile on the MCAT biological science section, or complete a senior essay.

Declaration Process for the Environmental Studies/Biology Combined Major

Students must complete the following prerequisites before declaring the environmental studies/biology combined major: precalculus (Mathematics 3 or a score on the math placement exam sufficient to be placed into calculus), general chemistry (Chemistry 1B/M and 1C/N), organic chemistry (Chemistry 108A/L and 108B/M), and introductory biology with lab (Biology 20A, 20B, and 20L). Biology 20C is not required for this combined major. See the Biological Sciences section of this catalog for more information.

Disqualification Policy for the Environmental Studies/Biology Combined Major

All environmental studies/biology combined majors are covered by the biology and environmental studies major disqualification policies, which limit the number of times a student may receive a No Pass, D, and/or F in the introductory biology sequence and the environmental studies core courses and still remain a combined major and which also limit the number of times a student may receive a No Pass, D, and/or F in upper-division biology and environmental studies courses. Students should refer to the Biological Sciences section and the Major Disqualification Policy section above for more information.

Environmental Studies/Earth Sciences

This course of study provides students with the basic tools of Earth sciences and environmental studies needed to address environmental problems.

Lower-Division Requirements

Applied Mathematics and Statistics 5 or 7

Mathematics 11A-B (or 19A-B)

Chemistry 1B/M and 1C/N

Physics 6A/L and 6B/M (or 5A/L and 5B/M)

Earth Sciences 20/L (or 5/L or 10/L)

Environmental Studies 24 and 25

Anthropology 2 or Philosophy 21, 22, 24, 28, or 80G or Sociology 1 or 15.

Upper-Division Requirements

Earth Sciences 110A/L, 110B/M, or 110C/N

Environmental Studies 100/L

Three additional upper-division environmental studies courses, including at least one course based in the social sciences

Three additional upper-division Earth sciences courses

The upper-division courses should be selected in pursuit of a coherent plan of study, such as water policy-hydrology, restoration ecology-geochemistry, agroecology-soil physical processes, or environmental policy-climate change, among others, in consultation with faculty from both the Environmental Studies and Earth Sciences Departments.

Comprehensive Requirement

Students satisfy their senior comprehensive requirement in environmental studies or Earth sciences by completing one of the following:

Environmental Studies 190

A 196-series course

A 183B senior internship

Earth Sciences 188A-B

A senior thesis with faculty readers from both departments and enrollment in Environmental Studies 195A or 195B or Earth Sciences 195.

Environmental Studies/Economics

This major is intended to provide students with the basic tools of economic analysis and an understanding of the mechanics of resource production, conservation, and use, in both ecological and economic terms.

Lower-Division Requirements

Economics 1, 2, 11A, 11B

Environmental Studies 23, 24, 25

Anthropology 2 or Philosophy 21, 22, 24, 28, or 80G or
Sociology 1 or 15.

Upper-Division Requirements

Economics 100A

Economics 113

Environmental Studies 100/L

Six elective courses from the following, with at least three courses from each discipline:

Economics 100B, 120, 134, 140, 150, 152, 153, 160, 169, 170, 175, and 189

Environmental Studies 110, 115A, 120, 122, 123, 130A/L, 130B, 140, 141, 149, 151, 152, 156, 158, 160, 164, 165, and 172. One of the three environmental studies electives must be based in the natural sciences.

Comprehensive Requirement

Students satisfy the senior comprehensive requirement by completing the following:

• for environmental studies, one of the options for environmental studies majors (see Comprehensive Requirement above);

• for economics, pass those portions of the economics comprehensive examination administered in Economics 100A and 113.

Graduate Program

Human societies rest on an ecological foundation and are sustained by ecosystem processes, biological diversity, and genetic resources. Current threats to this foundation imperil societies’ well-being, challenging us to maintain the integrity, diversity, and resilience of existing ecological and agricultural systems and of the human societies that depend on them. Environmental problems are among the most serious of current issues. As these problems become more acute, the challenge of harmonizing societies’ environmental practices and choices with ecological sustainability, economic necessity, social justice, democratic participation, and human well-being will require increasing numbers of people prepared to respond to both ecological and social problems. This poses a historic challenge to graduate training and requires increasing numbers of skilled professionals able to address complex social and ecological problems from an interdisciplinary viewpoint.

The program at UC Santa Cruz draws from two areas of knowledge: ecology and social science. Our interests in ecology range from conservation biology (the maintenance of biodiversity in wild ecosystems, where we seek strong limits on human impacts on other species) to agroecology (where ecological knowledge is used to inform human management of nature for the production of natural products for human use in ways that are environmentally benign). Our interests in the social sciences bridge the dimension between environmental policy analysis (which looks for the best management strategies within the frame of existing social institutions and practices) and political economy of the environment (which examines the deeper social processes through which the institutions that structure our social and ecological agendas have been constructed). Historically, these have been independent fields; UCSC’s program is one of the first to link them.

Graduates of the program are expected to be informed in all of these fields, to have deep intellectual strength in their area of specialty, and to have made substantial contributions toward the understanding of an environmental problem. We expect our doctoral students to be as skilled and intellectually rigorous within their research emphases as are students emerging from more traditional programs—but also to possess the knowledge needed to understand, analyze, and communicate in different but highly relevant fields of study. This expectation of intellectual breadth as well as disciplinary depth is a central tenet of our doctoral program.

Given the strong interdisciplinary focus of the environmental studies Ph.D. program, study in other fields is encouraged. The environmental studies faculty have a wide range of research interests, and some are affiliated with other departments on campus. Graduate students in environmental studies may currently obtain a parenthetical notation on the environmental studies Ph.D. diploma indicating that they have specialized in sociology or Latin American and Latino studies. The specific requirements are subject to the approval of the student’s advisory committee, which is comprised of faculty members from both departments. Parentheticals in several other areas of study are currently being explored and may be offered in the future.

Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree
The interdisciplinary nature of the core curriculum requires rigorous preparation at the undergraduate level. Success in the program depends on well-developed skills in critical reading and mathematical reasoning. Students are expected to have had at least one course in statistical analysis; calculus is useful in many areas of the program and essential to independent work in some. Preparation in these areas is best accomplished by course work. In addition, all students should have a strong understanding of basic ecology and genetics, macro- and microeconomics, politics, and political economy, either from prior course work or independent reading.

For admission to the program, students must have completed a bachelor’s degree or equivalent in a related disciplinary field. Students with degrees in interdisciplinary fields such as environmental studies should have disciplinary course work equivalent to a double major or a master’s degree in an appropriate field. Superior scholarship, capacity to carry out independent research, and commitment to disciplinary integration must be demonstrated in the statement of purpose, course work, GRE General Test score, and letters of recommendation. The GRE Subject Test (in a discipline of the student’s choice) is strongly recommended. Other considerations for admission include grades, evaluations, publications, professional or extramural experience, and completion of more than one degree (second bachelor’s or master’s). In addition to the application materials, students should submit a substantial written project (undergraduate or master’s), where possible. Prospective students should also contact faculty directly to inquire about specific course requirements and sponsorship.

The graduate curriculum gives explicit attention to the need to provide students with the analytical tools, research methods, and project design capabilities required to undertake integrative, interdisciplinary research on environmental problems. These skills are essential to all environmental studies graduate students, whether they pursue careers in the academy or other professional arenas. The concern to train graduate students in the methodological principles and practice of interdisciplinary research is the central purpose of the curriculum. In their first year, students are required to complete core courses 201A-B, 201M, and 201N, as well as the department’s interdisciplinary research seminar (290/L) and attend lab group meetings (292). An upper-division or graduate-level course in quantitative methods is required by the time the student takes the prequalifying exam. The course should provide training in research design and the selection of appropriate quantitative tools for research and analysis. Examples of appropriate courses for fulfilling this requirement are available from the graduate program coordinator. In the fall and winter quarters of the second year, students are required to take a minimum of two area specialization courses, at least one of which must be in the natural sciences (220 or 230) and one in the social sciences (210 or 240), as well as the department’s interdisciplinary research seminar (290/L) and attend lab group meetings (292). Depending on the student’s preparation, interests, and intentions, his or her adviser may suggest or require additional course work.

By the end of winter quarter of their third year, students take exams designed to measure depth in their disciplinary and interdisciplinary areas of expertise; these areas are defined by the student and the examining committee. Also during the course of their third year, students prepare and present a dissertation research proposal and take an oral candidacy exam in which they defend the proposal and are examined on subjects related to their research area. In addition, before advancing to candidacy, students are required to serve as teaching assistants in undergraduate courses for two quarters unless they can demonstrate equivalent experience. If a student’s research is conducted in a non-English-speaking country, a language exam testing reading and speaking competence in the language of that area must also be passed before advancement to candidacy. To satisfy the requirements for a Ph.D., the student must present a dissertation that makes a significant scholarly contribution to the topic studied. The typical duration of the doctoral program is four to six years.