FAQs

Questions About Scheduling

Here is a sample student schedule for an ENVS major:

Fall Spring

1st Year

  • Intro to ENVS w/ Lab (ENVS110 & ENVS110L)
  • Foundational Chemistry (CHEM111/112 or CHEM150/150L)
  • A Rhetoric Course (RHETXXX)
  • 1st Year Seminar Course (Look for FYS in Course Title)

1st Year

  • Environmental Data Analysis (ENVS250)
  • Foundational Chemistry (CHEM113/114 or CHEM151/151L)
  • A Rhetoric Course (RHETXXX)
  • Core Course (Complete Core A-2 if Needed)

 

2nd Year

  • Air & Water w/ Lab (ENVS212 & ENVS212L)
  • Foundational Biology (BIOL105 & BIOL105L)
  • Core Course
  • 1st Semester Foreign Language Course

2nd Year

  • Ecology & Human Impacts w/ Lab (ENVS210 & ENVS210L)
  • Foundational Biology (BIOL106 & BIOL106L)
  • Core Course
  • 2nd Semester Foreign Language Course

3rd Year

  • ENVS3XX Course
  • Physics (PHYS100/100L or PHYS110/110L)
  • Core or Elective Course
  • Note: This Semester can be Alternate Study Abroad Semester, if Desired

3rd Year

  • ENVS3XX Course
  • Core Course
  • Core or Elective Course
  • Note: This Semester is the Typical Semester for Study Abroad, if Desired

 

4th Year

  • ENVS3XX Course
  • Remaining Core Course

 

 

 

4th Year

  • ENVS3XX Course
  • Methods of Environmental Monitoring w/ Lab (ENVS410 & ENVS410L)
  • Remaining Core Course

First-year students majoring in Environmental Science typically take ENVS110 & ENVS110L during their first semester, followed by ENVS250 during their second semester.

In their second year, ENVS majors typically take ENVS210 & ENVS210L as well ENVS212 & ENVS212L. Second-year students should also plan to take their supporting Biology courses during this time. 

After taking the foundational ENVS courses (110, 110L, 210, 210L, 212, 212L, 250), ENVS majors will typically begin taking upper-division electives in the Environmental Science program. The department offers electives in a variety of environmental fields that change each semester. Examples of some past electives can be found here, and electives for each semester will be listed on MyUSF before registration. 

If you have questions about which electives will help you pursue your interests and fulfill your goals, please contact your major advisor.

If you have recently transferred into the Environmental Science major from a different major or school, please talk to your major advisor in order to determine which courses you should take in the future.

Typically, the department will list two sections for ENVS410L on MyUSF, each taught by one of the professors who are joint-teaching the lecture portion of the course. This is done for internal scheduling purposes only. Similar to how the ENVS410 lecture portion is taught by both professors listed, the lab sections will also be taught jointly by those same professors. The listed lab sections will meet at the same place, be held at the same time, and be taught by the same professors - essentially functioning as one, whole lab section.

Yes! Environmental Science majors may take one (1) of their four (4) upper-division electives outside of the ENVS department. However, please consult with your advisor to make sure that the course will be approved.

If you are interested in taking a course listed in the Master's of Science in Environmental Management (MSEM) program, please contact your major advisor first. After speaking with your advisor, you will need to contact the MSEM program at msem@usfca.edu to be manually added to your desired course.

Please note that MSEM students have priority in registering for these courses, so ENVS students may be unable to register for them if they are full.