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| Advising for the Ecology & Evolutionary Biology degree programs: |
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Getting Started in the Major
Declaring the Major
Letter Grade Policy
Qualification Policy
Disqualification Policy
Double Major Policy
Substitution & Transfer Credit Policy
Undergraduate Research
Writing Intensive (W) Requirement
Disciplinary Communication (DC) Requirement
Comprehensive (Senior Exit) Requirement
Honors in the Major
Career Exploration |
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| Getting Started in the Major: |
| This step-by-step guide to Getting Started in the Major will walk you through choosing a major, planning your course of study, which courses to take, how to declare the major and stay on track to graduation. |
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| Declaring the Major: |
| Instructions for declaring your major are specific to when you began your studies at UCSC and determine at what point in your academic career you are eligible to declare your major. |
| When can I declare my major? |
| Students are required to be formally declared in a major before enrolling in their third year (or equivalent). Transfer students are required to be declared in a major by the major declaration deadline in their second term of enrollment. |
| For students who began their studies at UCSC in Fall 2012: |
| Students may petition to declare their major once they have successfully completed, or currently have in progress, the courses required in the qualification policy (see below). For students in the biological sciences majors this will generally be in winter or spring of the sophomore year. |
| Declaration petitions must be submitted to PBSci Undergraduate Affairs prior to the declaration deadline established by the Registrar each quarter. |
For instructions on petitioning to declare, see our Declaration of Major Petition.
The Declaration of Major Petition can be used to declare a single major only.
Students declaring a double major, or a major/minor must meet with the biology undergraduate advisor and use the Petition for Major/Minor found on the UCSC Undergraduate Advising Center. |
| Students who began their studies at UCSC prior to Fall 2012, or transferred to UCSC in Fall 2012 or Winter 2013: |
| Students who began their studies at UCSC prior to fall 2012, or transferred in fall 2012 or winter 2013, have two options to become eligible to declare. |
| It is important to understand the new qualification policy, the disqualification policy, and catalog rights to determine which is your best choice. |
| You may elect the new Fall 2012 catalog year and petition to declare your major once you have successfully completed, or currently have in progress, the courses required in the qualification policy (see below). |
| Alternatively, you may elect a catalog year previous to Fall 2012, petition to declare, and be subject to the disqualification policy. You do not need to complete all of the courses within the disqualification policy prior to petitioning to declare. It is recommended you successfully complete at least one introductory biology course prior to petitioning to declare. |
| In either case, Declaration Petitions must be submitted to PBSci Undergraduate Affairs prior to the declaration deadline established by the Registrar each quarter. |
For instructions on petitioning to declare, see our Declaration of Major Petition.
The Declaration of Major Petition can be used to declare a single major only.
Students declaring a double major, or a major/minor must meet with the biology undergraduate advisor and use the Petition for Major/Minor found on the UCSC Undergraduate Advising Center. |
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| Letter Grade Policy: |
| For all students entering UCSC in fall 2001 and later, all courses used to satisfy any of the degree requirements must be taken for a letter grade. |
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| Qualification Policy: |
| The Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology has a qualification policy that applies to the following majors and minor: |
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Ecology & Evolutionary Biology BS
Marine Biology BS
Plant Sciences BS
Biology BA
Biology BA with Education concentration
Biology Minor |
| To qualify for any of the above majors, students must complete the following courses, or their equivalents, with a grade of C or better: |
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CHEM 1A, General Chemistry
CHEM 1B, General Chemistry
BIOE 20C, Ecology & Evolution
BIOL 20A, Cell & Molecular Biology
AND one of the following:
AMS 15A, Case-Study Calculus I
MATH 11A, Calculus with Applications
MATH
19A, Calculus for Science, Engineering, & Mathematics |
| Determining qualification: |
- Students who complete all the policy courses with a grade of C or better are qualified to declare.
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- Students may provisionally qualify in the quarter in which they are enrolled in the last of the policy courses; qualification will be provisional until all courses are completed with a grade of C or better.
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- Students who have received one grade of NP, D, or F in one of the policy courses will only be qualified to declare after successfully completing the same or an equivalent course with a grade of C or better.
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- Students with two or more grades of NP, D, or F in the policy courses are not qualified to declare.
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- The first withdrawal (W) from any of the policy courses will not factor into qualification; any subsequent withdrawal(s) in the policy courses will be counted as an F.
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- Students with non-grades (I, IP, DG, Z, AC, NC) in any of the policy courses will not be qualified to declare until a grade of C or better has been assigned.
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| Students who do not meet the qualification policy criteria may appeal by writing a letter to the Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Curriculum Chair. For more information about the appeal process, see our Disqualification/Qualification Appeal Process. |
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| Disqualification Policy: |
| Students who receive more than one non-passing grade in the following introductory requirements will not be permitted to major in any of the Biological Sciences majors: |
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BIOL 20A Cell & Molecular Biology
BIOE 20B Development & Physiology
BIOE 20C Ecology & Evolution
CHEM 1A General Chemistry
CHEM 1B General Chemistry
CHEM 1C General Chemistry
MATH 11A Calculus with Applications
MATH 11B Calculus with Applications
MATH 19A Calculus for Science, Engineering, & Mathematics
MATH 19B Calculus for Science, Engineering, & Mathematics |
| Students will be assessed for disqualification after grades are submitted each quarter and at the end of summer session. |
| Students may appeal their disqualification - for instructions see Disqualification Appeal Process. |
| A student whose disqualification appeal was denied may, no earlier than three months from the date of the disqualification, petition to be reinstated. This application will be considered only if there is substantial new evidence that the student is capable of making normal progress in the major. |
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| Double Major Policy: |
| Students interested in pursuing multiple majors within the biological sciences may NOT declare the following combination of majors: |
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General Biology (BA, BS, bioeducation concentration, or minor) and any other biological sciences major. |
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Any combination of two EEB majors (Ecology & Evolution, Marine Biology, Plant Sciences, or Environmental Studies/Biology combined major). |
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An Molecular, Cell & Developmental Biology and Neuroscience major. |
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An Molecular, Cell & Developmental Biology and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology major. |
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A Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Neuroscience major. |
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A Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Human Biology major. |
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| Substitution & Transfer Credit Policy: |
| At least half of the upper-division courses (numbered 100–190) required for each major must be taken through the biological sciences program at UCSC, not as transfer credits from another department or institution. Transfer students are advised to contact an advisor before enrolling in numerous upper-division courses at other institutions. For more information, see the Transferring Credit section of the Advising Index. |
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| Undergraduate Research: |
| Students interested in doing undergraduate research with a faculy mentor should follow the instructions for arranging a faculty sponsor and enrolling to do research for academic credit found on our EEB Undergraduate Research page. |
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| Writing Intensive (W) Requirement: |
| EEB offers the following courses that qualify for writing intensive credit: |
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BIOE 141L Behavioral Ecology Field Course
BIOE 145L Field Methods in Plant Ecology
BIOE 150L Ecological Field Methods Lab
BIOE 151B Ecology & Conservation in Practice Field Quarter
BIOE 158L Marine Ecology Laboratory
BIOE 159A Marine Ecology Field Quarter
BIOE 161L Kelp Forest Ecology Lab |
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| Disciplinary Communication (DC) Requirement: |
| The new general education Disciplinary Communication (DC) requirement replaced the former Writing Intensive (W) requirement effective Fall 2009. EEB and general biology majors satisfy the DC requirement by successfully completing BIOE 107 Ecology or BIOE 108 Marine Ecology, and BIOE 109 Evolution. |
| Note: The DC requirement must be taken at UCSC and cannot be transferred from another institution. If you have taken one of the above courses at another institution, i.e. through Education Abroad, please contact advising. |
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| Comprehensive (Senior Exit) Requirement: |
| All students must complete a comprehensive requirement to graduate. For biological sciences majors, this requirement can be satisfied in one of the following ways... |
| - passing course 190, Senior Seminar (only offered in Spring Quarter) |
- by receiving a passing grade in an internship, independent research laboratory or field course:
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BIOE 114L Field Methods in Herpetological Research
BIOE 141L Behavioral Ecology Field Course
BIOE 145L Field Methods in Plant Ecology
BIOE 150L Ecological Field Methods
BIOE 151 Ecology & Conservation in Practice Field Quarter
BIOE 155L Freshwater Ecology Lab
BIOE 158L Marine Ecology Lab
BIOE 159 Marine Ecology Field Quarter
BIOE 161L Kelp Forest Ecology Lab
BIOE 183 Undergraduate Research in EEB
BIOL 100L Advanced Biochemistry Lab
BIOL 105L Eukaryotic Genetics Lab
BIOL 105M Microbial Genetics Lab
BIOL 109L Yeast Molecular Genetics Lab
BIOL 110L Cell Biology Lab
BIOL 111L Immunology Lab
BIOL 115L Eukaryotic Molecular Biology Lab
BIOL 119L Microbiology Lab (also METX 119L)
BIOL 120L Development Lab
BIOL 121L Environmental Phage Biology Lab
BIOL 178L Protocols in Stem Cell Biology
BIOL 186L Undergraduate Research in MCD Biology
BIOL 186R Undergraduate Research in MCD Biology
BIOL 187L Molecular Biotechnology Lab
BIOL 189 Health Sciences Internship
BIOC 110L Advanced Biochemistry Lab
BME 122 Environmental Virus Bioinformatics Lab |
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| - by completing a senior thesis |
| - by acheiving a graduate record exam (GRE) score at or above the 50th percentile on the biology subject test or the biochemistry, cell and molecular biology subject test* |
| - by acheiving a medical college admissions test (MCAT) score at or above the 50th percentile on the biological science section* |
| *Scores must be submitted to Undergraduate Affairs before the last day of the graduating quarter |
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| Honors in the Major: |
| Honors are awarded to graduating students whose academic performance demonstrates excellence and results in a GPA of 3.5 or above. Highest honors are awarded to students who demonstrate the highest level of excellence and earn a GPA of 3.8 or above. |
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| Career Exploration: |
| For an overview of all the career possibilities available to students with a biological sciences major, see our Career Exploration information. |
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| ANY QUESTIONS?: Contact biologyadvising@ucsc.edu |
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