EASYS-BS - Earth Systems (BS)
Download as PDF
Program Overview
The Earth Systems Program is an interdisciplinary environmental science major. Students learn about and independently investigate complex environmental problems caused by human activities in conjunction with natural changes in the Earth system. Earth Systems majors become skilled in those areas of science, economics, and policy needed to tackle the world’s most pressing social-environmental problems, becoming part of a generation of scientists, professionals, and citizens who approach and solve problems systematically and interdisciplinary.
For students to effectively contribute to solutions for such problems, their training and understanding must be broad and deep. To this end, Earth Systems students take fundamental courses in ecology, calculus, chemistry, geology, physics, economics, policy, and statistics. After completing breadth training, they concentrate on advanced work in one of six focus areas: biology, energy, environmental economics and policy, land systems, sustainable food and agriculture, or oceanography and climate. Subplans are designed to support focus and rigor but include flexibility for specialization. Examples of specialized foci have included but are not limited to environment and human health, sustainable agriculture, energy economics, sustainable development, business and the environment, and marine policy. Along with formal course requirements, Earth Systems students complete a 1-unit (270-hour) internship. The internship provides a hands-on academic experience working on a supervised field, laboratory, government, or private sector project. For courses taken for a letter grade, students must earn a D- or better to have it satisfy a requirement.
Beginning Autumn 2024-2025
-All students must complete EARTHSYS 260- Internship and EARTHSYS 260A-Internship Preparation Workshops.
-An exception for EARTHSYS 260A may be made for students who have already completed their internship prior to Autumn 2024-2025
Minimum Units in the Program
Minimum University Units
All courses must be taken for a letter grade.
Students may not double count EARTHSYS 115.
EARTHSYS 111 no longer offered.
Creating effective solutions to socio-environmental challenges requires competency in interrogating problems and their potential solutions in light of ethical, justice, and human rights considerations. To support the development of this competency, students are required to take a minimum of one course that provides an opportunity to do at least one of the following:
Apply a holistic understanding of frameworks, histories, and theories from environmental justice, environmental human rights, or environmental ethics to the problematization of socio-environmental challenges across multiple disciplines.
Develop the capacity to support and integrate frameworks from environmental justice, environmental human rights, or environmental ethics within institutions, organizations, and places of employment as part of one’s career.
Translate and communicate environmental justice or environmental human rights knowledge from communities, stakeholders, academia, and others to diverse audiences, including decision-makers.
Creating effective solutions to socio-environmental challenges requires competency in interrogating problems and their potential solutions in light of ethical, justice, and human rights considerations.
Must be taken for a letter grade.
New Internship Workshop Requirement
Beginning Autumn 2024-2025:
All students must complete EARTHSYS 260 and EARTHSYS 260A.
An exception for EARTHSYS 260A may be made for students who have already completed their internship prior to the 2024-2025 Academic Year.
EARTHSYS 260 and 260A do not need to be taken for a letter grade.
Oceans 182H fulfills WIM requirements for those students pursuing the Oceans, Climate, and Atmosphere subplan.
Another designated WIM course in a related department can also fulfill this requirement but must be approved by an advisor. Your WIM course may not also count toward your subplan or electives if counted as a WIM.
All students must take either EARTHSYS 210A OR EARTHSYS 210B.
Honors Program in Earth Systems & Earth Systems Thesis Workshop
During the senior year, honors students enroll in 1-9 units of EARTHSYS 199: Honors Program in Earth Systems within the thesis advisor’s section (please contact Earth Systems if your advisor is not listed). These units can be split among quarters, but may not substitute for any other required parts of the Earth Systems Curriculum. Completion of the honors thesis satisfies the program’s senior capstone requirement.
In addition, all senior honors students enroll in EARTHSYS 199A: Earth Systems Honors Workshop in Fall Quarter. EARTHSYS 199A comprises four workshop sessions (2 in fall, 1 each in winter and spring quarters)
Additional elective coursework is required to complete the Notation in Science Communication; see NSC Overview for more details. NSC courses, both required and elective, may not be counted towards the breadth or depth requirements if used to fulfill the Earth Systems Capstone requirement.
All students must also pick one of the following options to complete the capstone requirement:
EARTHSYS 210P
EARTHSYS 199 (HONORS)
NOTATION IN SCIENCE COMMUNICATION (NSC)
Students pursuing Honors in Earth Systems will not be required to complete Earthsys 210P. Instead, they will need to enroll in a minimum of two units of Earthsys 199.
Foundational courses do not need to be taken for a letter grade.
All other courses must be taken for a letter grade.
Chemistry requirement may be fulfilled by program-approved CHEM course, such as 31A & 31B, CHEM 31E, or CHEM AP Exam score of 5. CHEM 31E was formerly CHEM 31M. AP Chart
*MATH 21 is a pre-req for both CME 100 and MATH 51
Additional information regarding the required pre-req for MATH 51.
See Math Placement webpage for more information
6 total subcategory courses are required. All must be taken for a letter grade (3-5 units each), unless a letter grade is not an option.
EARTHSYS 105A and EARTHSYS105B count as 1 subcategory course.
EARTHSYS 144 is required.
Foundational courses do not need to be taken for a letter grade.
All other courses must be taken for a letter grade.
Please note Math 21 is a pre-requisite for CME 100 and Math 51.
*Chemistry requirement may be fulfilled by program-approved CHEM course, such as 31A & 31B, CHEM 31E, or CHEM AP Exam score of 5. CHEM 31E was formerly CHEM 31M. AP Chart
Must take 7 courses total, 3-5 units each.
Must be taken for a letter grade, unless a letter grade is not an option.
You may not double count courses if they appear in more than one subcategory.
Must take 4 additional courses from the sub-categories below (at least one from each of Energy Resource and Technology, Energy Policy Economics and Entrepreneurship, and Sustainable Energy and Development. Methods subcategory is optional).
Courses taken to fulfill ‘Energy Fundamentals, Engineering, or Energy Sources’ may not double-count for subcategories below.
Foundational courses do not need to be taken for a letter grade.
All other courses must be taken for a letter grade.
Foundational courses do not need to be taken for a letter grade.
All other courses must be taken for a letter grade.
*Chemistry requirement may be fulfilled by program-approved CHEM course, such as 31A & 31B, CHEM 31E, or CHEM AP Exam score of 5. CHEM 31E was formerly CHEM 31M. AP Chart
Please note Math 21 is a pre-requisite for CME 100 and Math 51.
Must take 6 courses total, 3-5 units each.
Must be taken for a letter grade, unless a letter grade is not an option.
Foundational courses do not need to be taken for a letter grade.
All other courses must be taken for a letter grade.
*may test out or petition to have AP Computer Science A credit satisfy the courses listed above. View the AP Chart for more information.
*MATH 21 is a pre-req for both CME 100 and MATH 51
Additional information regarding the required pre-req for MATH 51.
See Math Placement webpage for more information.
Choose at least 1 course in each of the three subcategories, a total of 5 is required, for 15-22 units.
2 of the required 5 subcategory courses must be a skills/methods courses. Please see note below each section for skills/methods courses.
All courses must be a minimum of 3 units and taken for a letter grade, unless a letter grade is not an option.
Skills/Methods:
ESS 268
2 of the required 5 subcategory courses must be a skills/methods courses.
Students must take EARTHSYS 195 for 3 units.
Skills/Methods:
CS 106B
EARTHSYS 141
EARTHSYS 142
EARTHSYS 144
EARTHSYS 145
EARTHSYS 153
ESS 268
2 of the required 5 subcategory courses must be a skills/methods courses.
Foundational courses do not need to be taken for a letter grade.
All other courses must be taken for a letter grade.
*MATH 21 is a pre-req for both CME 100 and MATH 51
Additional information regarding the required pre-req for MATH 51.
See Math Placement webpage for more information
*The Chemistry requirement may be fulfilled by program-approved CHEM course, such as 31A & 31B, CHEM 31E, or CHEM AP Exam score of 5. CHEM 31E was formerly CHEM 31M. View the AP Chart for additional information. |
Must take 6 courses total, at least one course from each subcategory, 3-5 units each.
Must be taken for a letter grade, unless a letter grade is not an option.
You may not double count courses if they appear in more than one subcategory.
Recommended courses listed below each subcategory.
EARTHSYS 105A AND EARTHSYS 105B count as 1 course.
Recommended courses:
EARTHSYS 155
EARTHSYS 180
Recommended Course(s):
EARTHSYS 104
Students must take EARTHSYS 195 for 3 units.
Foundational courses do not need to be taken for a letter grade.
All other courses must be taken for a letter grade.
*The Chemistry requirement may be fulfilled by program-approved CHEM course, such as 31A & 31B, CHEM 31E, or CHEM AP Exam score of 5. CHEM 31E was formerly CHEM 31M. View the AP Chart for additional information. |
*May be fulfilled by completing both MATH 51 & MATH 52.
*MATH 21 is a pre-req for both CME 100 and MATH 51.
Additional information regarding the required pre-req for MATH 51.
See Math Placement webpage for more information.
Students must take EARTHSYS 195 for 3 units.
Choose 1 subcategory below and complete all courses within that subcategory.
An additional two courses are required from either the "Electives" subcategory or another subcategory of your choice.
Subcategory courses must be a minimum of 3 units and taken for a letter grade, unless a letter grade option is not available.
BOSP Australia- OSPAUSTL 10, 28, 32, 40, 50 (12 units):
Fulfills: Biology foundation (4), Human Dimensions (4), and one elective, for Marine Biology and Conservation and Oceanography subcategories.
Stanford at Sea - Earthsys 323/OCEANS 182H/ BIOHOPK 182H (16 units):
Fulfills: Biology foundation (4), WIM (4), Human Dimensions (4), and one elective, for Marine Biology and Conservation and Oceanography subcategories.
Wrigley Field Program in Hawaii- SUSTAIN 116, 117 and 118 (12 units):
Fulfills: Biology Foundation (4), Geology Foundation (4), and Human Dimensions (4) for all subcategories.
*BOSP and off-campus course offerings may change. Please see Earth Systems Student Services staff if you have questions about a course not listed.
Foundational courses do not need to be taken for a letter grade.
All other courses must be taken for a letter grade.
*The Chemistry requirement may be fulfilled by program-approved CHEM course, such as 31A & 31B, CHEM 31E, or CHEM AP Exam score of 5. CHEM 31E was formerly CHEM 31M. View the AP Chart for additional information.
*MATH 21 is a pre-req for both CME 100 and MATH 51.
Additional information regarding the required pre-req for MATH 51.
See Math Placement webpage for more information.
6 total subcategory courses are required. Subcategory courses must be a minimum of 3 units and taken for a letter grade, unless a letter grade option is not available.
Must complete 2 Biogeophysical Dimensions courses. EARTHSYS 155 is required and counts as 1 of 2 required courses.
Foundational courses do not need to be taken for a letter grade.
All other courses must be taken for a letter grade.
*may test out or petition to have AP Computer Science A credit satisfy the course listed above.
See Math Placement webpage for more information
Choose a second Planetary Science course or Environmental Science course from above OR choose one from this list of Additional Science courses.
Choose 3 courses, for 9-12 units. 1 course must focus on qualitative methods (*):
1 of the 3 required courses must focus on Qualitative Methods.
Qualitative Methods courses:
ANTHRO 91
CHPR 247
CSRE 146A
HUMBIO 82A
PEDS 202C
SOC 180A
URBANST 123B
Take 5 courses, at least 3 units in each subcategory, and a minimum of 15 units total across all subcategories.
Must complete a minimum of 3 units in each subcategory.
You may not double count courses that appear in more than one category/section.
Must complete a minimum of 3 units in each subcategory.
You may not double count courses that appear in more than one category/section.
Must complete a minimum of 3 units in each subcategory.
You may not double count courses that appear in more than one category/section.
Students must take EARTHSYS 195 for 3 units.
Subcategory courses must be taken for a letter grade, unless a letter grade option is not available.