Climate Science, BS

The BS Climate Science program (formerly Meteorology, Climate Science concentration, BS), offered by the Department of Meteorology and Climate Science , is designed to prepare students for careers in emerging fields of climate change studies and mitigation, and related fields including energy and carbon management. Graduating students will be ready to begin careers in the private sector or in government, or in government agencies as a climatologist, sustainability consultant, renewable energy scientist, geoscientist, or will be ready to enter graduate programs in the atmospheric/climate sciences.

Program Learning Outcomes

Program Roadmaps

The 4-Year Roadmap is available online. Roadmaps should be used in consultation with the catalog and your advisor to identify additional requirements for completing the major (for example, course grade minimums). Associate Degrees (ADT) Pathways are also available online.

1. Complete the Baccalaureate Degree Requirements

Students must satisfy the specific degree requirements for their undergraduate major and fulfill the following University degree requirements:

Academic (program total units with an average 2.0 GPA - “C” or better)
General Education (GE) (34 Lower Division + 9 Upper Division)
American Institutions (AI) (0-6 units) (may be satisfied in GE Areas 3B, 4, UD 3, UD 4)
Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR) (3 units)
Physical Education (PE) (0-2 units)
Units in Residence (30 units, including 24 upper division and 12 in major)
Upper Division Units (40 units, including 12 upper div in major for BA, 18 upper div in major for BS)
Undergraduate Policies & Procedures
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Information about the Commencement Ceremony and Conferral of the Degree

Exceptions for University Graduation Requirements including exemptions and waivers, are approved for specific majors and on a case-by-case evaluation only.

Summary of Degree Units

Core Lower Division GE: 15 (13 units may be satisfied by major coursework: Areas 1B, 5A, 5B, 5C, 2)

6 required units of American Institutions/US123 may be satisfied by selecting applicable GE courses in Areas 3B and/or 4

Upper Division GE: 6 (3 units may be satisfied by major coursework: UD Areas 2or5)

Physical Education: 2

GWAR/WID: 0 (3 units satisfied by METR 100W )

Major Preparation: 20

Major Requirements: 68

University Electives: 3

Total: 120

2. Major Preparation (20 units)

BIOL 31 - Principles of Biology II 4 unit(s) (GE Area 5B and 5C / Formerly Area B2 and B3)
CHEM 1A - General Chemistry 5 unit(s) (GE Area 5A and 5C / Formerly Area B1 and B3)
MATH 30 - Calculus I 3 unit(s) (GE Area 2 / Formerly Area B4)
PHYS 2A - Fundamentals of Physics 4 unit(s) (GE Area 5A and 5C / Formerly Area B1 and B3)
PHYS 2B - Fundamentals of Physics 4 unit(s) (GE Area 5A and 5C / Formerly Area B1 and B3)

3. Major Requirements (68 units)

Core Courses (53 units)

COMM 146F - Communication and the Environment 4 unit(s)
ENVS 1 - Introduction to Environmental Issues 3 unit(s) (GE Area 1B / Formerly Area A3)
ENVS 119 - Energy and the Environment 3 unit(s) (GE UD Area 2/5 / Formerly Area R)
ENVS 133 - Sustainable Energy Strategies 3 unit(s)
GEOL 3 - Planet Earth 3 unit(s) (GE Area 5A / Formerly Area B1)
ISE 103 - Life Cycle Engineering 3 unit(s)
METR 12 - Global Warming: Science and Solutions 3 unit(s) (GE Area 5A / Formerly Area B1)
METR 40 - Weather Seminar 1 unit(s)
METR 50 - AI-Powered Programming for Science and Society I 2 unit(s)
METR 51 - AI-Powered Programming for Science and Society II 2 unit(s)
METR 60 - Meteorology and Climate Science I 3 unit(s)
METR 61 - Meteorology and Climate Science II 2 unit(s)
METR 100W - Writing Workshop: Meteorological Reports 3 unit(s) (WID)
METR 123 - Advanced Climatology 3 unit(s)
METR 135 - The Global Carbon Cycle 3 unit(s)
METR 136 - Applied Statistics and Analysis in Meteorology 3 unit(s)
METR 163 - Meteorological Instrumentation 3 unit(s)
METR 173 - Global Climate Modeling 3 unit(s)
METR 174 - Climate Change Capstone 3 unit(s)

Major Electives (15 units)

Students may use 3 units of METR 168A to satisfy the elective. Complete the other 12 units from:

ENVS 107 - Introduction to Environmental Economics and Policy 4 unit(s)
ENVS 116 - Solar Energy Analysis 3 unit(s)
ENVS 124 - Introduction to Environmental Law 3 unit(s)
ENVS 128 - Water Resource Management 3 unit(s)
ENVS 130 - Energy Policy Analysis 3 unit(s)
ENVS 132 - Solar Home Design 3 unit(s)
GEOG 120 - Food Supply and Agricultural Systems 3 unit(s)
GEOG 124 - Special Topics in Geography 3 unit(s)
GEOG 130 - Natural Resources 3 unit(s)
GEOG 70 - Introduction to Geographic Information Systems 4 unit(s)
GEOG 171 - Advanced Geographic Information Systems 4 unit(s)
GEOG 181 - Introduction to Remote Sensing 3 unit(s)
GEOG 182 - Programming for GIS 3 unit(s)
METR 131 - Air Pollution Meteorology 3 unit(s)

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