2020-2021 Pierce College Catalog 
    
    Mar 28, 2024  
2020-2021 Pierce College Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Environmental Science (AA-DTA) Course Map


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Created by Pierce faculty, this map outlines the initial coursework for this career field and for transfer to a four-year institution. It provides you a clear path to complete your degree by listing a specific set of courses relevant to your program and career. The map is designed with the appropriate number of credits and meets degree requirements. Courses are organized in a recommended sequence; please schedule accordingly. If a course is unavailable, select the next appropriate course within the sequence. If you want to change a course on this map you must speak with an advisor to assure you meet all degree requirements. For each course, a purpose statement explains how the content relates to your career field. On this map, there may be instances when you will be required to select a course from several options. Use these purpose statements and notes to choose the course that best aligns with your interests and needs. You will also find action items to complete to assure you progress and graduate on time. While this map is a great guide to courses required to complete an Associate in Arts - Direct Transfer Agreement (AA-DTA)  Degree, you are responsible for fulfilling all degree requirements. Questions? Your Success Network is ready to help you!

Important note about transfer: colleges and universities may change their requirements at any time, so this map is not a guarantee of transfer. You will need to check transfer requirements with your intended four-year school. 

1. College Success


  • Course purpose: A foundational course to explore and affirm a career choice and build upon the skills, knowledge, and resources that will support you at Pierce College and beyond.

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  • Note: The College Success course you select will depend on the Career Pathway Map you are following. Your advisor will assist you in selecting either the 3- or 5- credit version of the course. Should you choose to repeat a College Success course you must enroll in a College Success course with the same credit amount as the original course; a COLLG 110 course grade can only be replaced with a grade from another COLLG 110 course and a COLLG 115 course grade can only be replaced with a grade from another COLLG 115 course.

3. Chemistry Course Recommendation


Take one course each quarter until sequence is finished.

Action Item: Meet with Advisor


Use your Success Network!  In your first quarter, meet with your advisor to revisit your career and transfer path, make adjustments to your goals as needed, and plan for your next steps.  

4. Math Course Recommendation


Take one course each quarter until sequence is finished.

  • Course purpose: Environmental scientists often use calculus to quantitatively assess chemical, biological, and physical changes in the environment. In these courses you will learn to solve complex problems using a variety of high-level mathematical functions, including differential equations and integrals.

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  • Note: The math course you select will depend on the Career Pathway Map you are following, the transfer institution/degree that you select, and your math placement guidance. Your advisor will assist you in selecting the relevant 5 or 7 credit course(s) based upon co-requisite options.    

5. English Composition I


  • Course purpose: Clear and strategic written communication with others is a central feature of all careers connected to environmental science.

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  • Note: Your advisor will assist you in reviewing your Guided Self Placement and selecting either the 5-credit or the 7-credit co-requisite ENGL& 101 + ENGLC 101 course. 

6. Survey of Environmental Science


  • Course purpose: In this course you will learn what the major environmental problems on Earth are and how environmental scientists study those problems. Taking this course will therefore allow you to affirm and/or reassess your interest in the discipline.

7. Social Science Course Recommendation


Choose one

  • Course purpose: In order to study and solve environmental problems, environmental scientists must understand how human cultures and societies work. In this course you will learn to apply various analytical frameworks to the study of human social and cultural patterns.

  • Course purpose: In order to study and solve environmental problems, environmental scientists must understand how human cultures and societies work. In this  course you will learn about how geographers use spatial patterns to understand fundamental social, cultural, and environmental processes.

  • Course purpose: In order to study and solve environmental problems, environmental scientists must understand how human cultures and societies work. In this course you will learn about the geographic patterns produced through the interaction of economic, cultural, social, and political processes.

  • Course purpose: In order to study and solve environmental problems, environmental scientists must understand how human cultures and societies work. In this course you will learn about sociological approaches to the study of human interactions and social structures.

8. English Composition II


Action Item: Apply for Graduation


Way to go!  It is time to apply for graduation.  Visit the Pierce College Graduation website for details.  https://www.pierce.ctc.edu/graduation

9. Art Course Recommendation


Choose one

  • Course purpose: Environmental scientists must be able to effectively communicate in a variety of ways and with a wide range of audiences. This course will provide you with fundamental visual design concepts that will help you to present environmental information effectively.

  • Course purpose: Environmental scientists must be able to effectively communicate in a variety of ways and with a wide range of audiences. This course will provide you with instruction and practice in drawing, a skill that will help you to visually illustrate environmental concepts.

10. Microeconomics


  • Course purpose: Environmental scientists must understand economic factors that as major drivers of environmental change and environmental policy-making around the world. This course will prepare you to do so by providing you with an essential foundation in economics.

11. Political Science Course Recommendation


Choose one

  • Course purpose: Environmental scientists recognize political systems as drivers of environmental change and as integral parts of any solution to environmental problems. This course will help you to understand these issues by providing you with an essential foundation in political science.

  • Course purpose: Environmental scientists recognize political systems as drivers of environmental change and as integral parts of any solution to environmental problems. This course will provide you with the foundation for understanding the role of environmental law and environmental interest groups in environmental science.

  • Course purpose: Environmental scientists recognize political systems as drivers of environmental change and as integral parts of any solution to environmental problems. This course will provide you with a broad background of knowledge about the historical and present-day workings of the American government.

  • Course purpose: Environmental scientists recognize political systems as drivers of environmental change and as integral parts of any solution to environmental problems around the world. This course will provide you with an understanding of the complexities of federalism and the important role of state and local governments in environmental science.

12. Natural Science Course Recommendation


Choose one

  • Course purpose: Environmental scientists need to understand how Earth’s great planetary systems operate, including the lithosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere and atmosphere. While both of these courses will provide you with this knowledge, GEOL& 101 will provide you with a greater focus on the lithosphere, and GEOG 210 will provide you with a greater focus on Earth’s climate and weather patterns.

13. Philosophy Course Recommendation


Choose one

  • Course purpose: Because environmental scientists seek to use scientific knowledge in order to change the world around them, you must frequently consider the moral and ethical implications of their actions.

  • Course purpose: Because environmental scientists seek to use scientific knowledge in order to change the world around them, you must frequently consider the moral and ethical implications of their actions. In this course you will gain valuable practice applying ethical theories about right and wrong to ongoing disputes in the world.

  • Course purpose: There are many ways of knowing about the natural environment, so environmental scientists need to understand how their production of scientific knowledge differs from other forms of knowing nature. In this course you will learn how science works, how it changes, and what its shortcomings are.

14. Communications Course Recommendation


Choose one

  • Course purpose: Environmental scientists must be able to effectively communicate in a variety of ways and with a wide range of audiences. This course will provide you with valuable strategies for communicating more effectively within and across cultures.

  • Course purpose: Environmental scientists must be able to effectively communicate in a variety of ways and with a wide range of audiences. This course will provide you with valuable practice presenting oral information to a range of audiences.

Total Credits 93


15. Additional Recommended Courses


  • Course purpose: Environmental scientists must understand the basic physical processes that govern the movements of Earth’s atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. In this course you will learn about concepts such as energy, force, and work that are fundamental to the functioning of these Earth systems.

  • Course purpose: Environmental scientists require an in-depth understanding of the fundamental biological processes that allow living organisms to survive and thrive. This course will provide you with an overview of biology and introduce you to basic biological laboratory techniques. 

  • Course purpose: Statistics is an essential tool for data analysis in every branch of environmental science. This course will provide a fundamental understanding of statistics and prepare you for more complex statistical coursework.

Adjusted Total Credits 98


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