Conservation & Ecology Concentration
McCausland College of Arts and Sciences
School of Earth, Ocean and Environment
Bulletin Year: 2026-2027

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Semester One (17 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
!	ENGL 101	Critical Reading and Composition (CC-CMW)	3	C
	BIOL 101 & 101L or MSCI 101	Biological Principles I or The Ocean Environment (CC-SCI)	4
	ENVR 101 & 101L or GEOL 101 or GEOL 201 or GEOG 201	Intro. to the Environment or Introduction to the Earth or Observing the Earth (fall only) or Landform Geography (PR)	4	C
		UNIV 101 The Student in the University or Carolina Core Requirement3 (PR/CC)	3
		Carolina Core Requirement3 (CC)	3

Semester Two (16-17 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
!	ENGL 102	Rhetoric and Composition (CC-CMW, CC-INF)	3	C		C or better in ENGL 101
	MATH 122 or MATH 141	Calculus for Bus. Admin. & Soc. Sci. or Calculus I (CC-ARP)	3-4	C		C or better in MATH 111/111I/115 (MATH 122); C or better in MATH 112/115/116 (MATH 141); or through  placement exam
	BIOL 102 & 102L or MSCI 102	Biological Principles II or The Living Ocean (CC-SCI)	4
		Carolina Core Social Science (POLI 201 American National Government is strongly encouraged) (CC-GSS)	3
		Foreign Language4 or other Carolina Core Req.3 (CC-GFL)	3

Semester Three (17-18 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	MATH 142 or MATH 170 or MATH 172 or MATH 174	Calculus II or Finite Mathematics or Math. Modeling for the Life Sci. or Discrete Math. for Computer Sci. (CC-ARP)	3-4	C		See Bulletin listing
	ENVR 201	Environmental Science & Policy I (fall only) (MR, CC-INT)	4	C
	CHEM 111 & 111L or CHEM 141 & 141L	General Chemistry I or Principles of Chemistry I (PR)	4	C		C or higher in MATH 111 or higher (or by placement into MATH 115 or higher) (CHEM 111 & Lab); C or higher in MATH 111 or by placement into MATH 115 or higher MATH; C or higher in CHEM 141L (CHEM 141 & Lab)
		Social Science (CR)	3
		Foreign Language4 or other Carolina Core Req.3 (CC-GFL)	3

Semester Four (17 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	ENVR 202	Envr. Science & Policy II (spring only) (MR, CC-INT)	4	C
	CHEM 112 & 112L or CHEM 142 & 142L	General Chemistry II or Principles of Chemistry II (PR)	4	C		C or higher in MATH 111 or higher MATH (or by placement score into MATH 115 or higher); C or higher in CHEM 111L or CHEM 141L (CHEM 112 & Lab); C or higher in MATH 115 (or by placement score into MATH 141 or higher); C or higher in CHEM 141 or CHEM 112; C or higher in CHEM 142L (CHEM 142 & Lab)
		Carolina Core Requirement3 or Elective5 (CC/PR)	3
		History6 (CR)	3
		Foreign Language4 or Carolina Core Req.3 (CR/CC)	3

Semester Five (14 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
		Environmental Science Major Course7 (MR)	3	C
	PHYS 201 & 201L or PHYS 211 & 211L	General Physics I or Essentials of Physics I (PR)	4	C		C or better in MATH 111/111I/112/115/116/122/141 or by placement into MATH 122, 141 or higher (PHYS 201); C or better in MATH 141 (PHYS 211)
		Environmental Science Major Course7 (MR)	4	C
		Carolina Core Requirement3 or Elective5 (CC/PR)	3

Semester Six (16 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
		Environmental Science Major Course7 (MR)	3	C
		Environmental Science Major Course7 (MR)	4	C
	CSCE 106 or higher-level CSCE course or MSCI 305 or MSCI 509	Scientific Applications Programming or higher-level CSCE course or Ocean Data Analysis or MATLAB-Based Data Analysis in Ocean Sciences (CR)	3			See Bulletin listing
	STAT 515	Statistical Methods I (CR)	3			C or better in MATH 112/115/122 or 141; or both C or better in STAT 110 or higher and in MATH 111; or through placement exam
	Elective5	Elective (PR)	3

Semester Seven (15 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
		Environmental Science Major Course7 (MR)	3	C
		Environmental Science Major Course7 (MR)	3	C
		Elective5(PR)	3
		Elective5(PR)	3
		Humanities or Fine Arts (CR)	3

Semester Eight (14-16 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
		Environmental Science Major Course7 (MR)	2	C
		Elective5(PR)	3
		Elective5(PR)	3
		Elective5(PR)	3
		Elective5(PR)	3
		Elective5 (only if needed to meet hours to graduate) (PR)	0-2

Graduation Requirements Summary

Minimum Total Hours	Minimum Major Requirements Hours	College & Program Requirements Hours	Carolina Core Hours	Minimum Institutional GPA
128	30	52-66	32-46	2.000

1. Regardless of individual course grades, students must maintain a minimum 2.000 cumulative GPA.
2. Some colleges require a minimum GPA for major courses. Courses indicated in this column are included in the major GPA for this program of study.
3. The Carolina Core provides the common core of knowledge, skill and academic experience for all Carolina undergraduate students.
4. Students in the McCausland College of Arts and Sciences are required to demonstrate proficiency in one foreign language equivalent to the 122 course through course credit or the corresponding foreign language placement score.
5. No courses of a remedial, developmental, skill-acquiring, or vocational nature may apply as credit toward degrees in the McCausland College of Arts and Sciences. The McCausland College of Arts and Sciences allows the use of the Pass-Fail option on elective courses. Further clarification on inapplicable courses can be obtained from the McCausland College of Arts and Sciences.
6. The McCausland College of Arts and Sciences requires one U.S. History and one non-U.S. History course, both of which must be chosen from the approved Carolina Core GHS courses. Whichever is not fulfilled through the Carolina Core GHS requirement must be fulfilled through this college requirement.
7. Environmental Science Major Courses (22-27 hours):
   1. Interdisciplinary Breadth Requirement (7-8 hours), choose 2 categories from Geography Category: GEOG 202 or GEOL 335; Geology Category: GEOL 310 or 315; Biology/ENHS Category: BIOL 301 or ENHS 660.
   2. Culminating Experience (2-4 hours), choose one of the following: ENVR 480; ENVR 460 or MSCI 460; any 500+ level major elective course; or ENVR/GEOL/MSCI 495.
   3. Concentration course (13-15 hours):
      1. Science Concepts (10-12 hours): BIOL 301, 301L, 420, 510, 526, 527, 528, 534, 536, 537, 538, 570, 571, 572, 574, 599; ENVR 316; MSCI 311, 575, 577, 578; GEOG 348.
      2. Environment & Society (3 hours): ENVR 322, 331, 517, 534, 538, 540; GEOG 370, 516, 566, 570; MSCI 390; POLI 478.

Program Notes

• Courses identified as “critical” must be completed in the student’s first 60 semester hours of work in order for these courses to be credited toward graduation.
• All undergraduate students must take a 3-credit course or its equivalent with a passing grade that covers the founding documents. This course may fulfill any requirement in the program of study. Courses that meet this requirement are listed in the academic bulletin. 
• Environmental Science majors may enroll in a major course a maximum of twice to earn the required grade of C or higher. For the purposes of progression, withdrawal with a W does not constitute enrollment.
• The last 30 credit hours toward your degree must be earned in residence at the University of South Carolina-Columbia.

Code Definitions

University Requirements: Bachelor’s degree-seeking students must meet Carolina Core (general education) requirements.

Code	Definition
CC	Carolina Core
CC-AIU	Carolina Core – Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding
CC-ARP	Carolina Core – Analytical Reasoning and Problem-Solving
CC-CMS	Carolina Core – Effective, Engaged, and Persuasive Communication: Spoken Component
CC-CMW	Carolina Core – Effective, Engaged, and Persuasive Communication: Written Component
CC-GFL	Carolina Core – Global Citizenship and Multicultural Understanding: Foreign Language
CC-GHS	Carolina Core – Historical Thinking
CC-GSS	Carolina Core – Social Sciences
CC-INF	Carolina Core – Information Literacy
CC-INT	Carolina Core – Integrative Course
CC-SCI	Carolina Core – Scientific Literacy
CC-VSR	Carolina Core – Values, Ethics, and Social Responsibility
CR	College Requirement
MR	Major Requirement
PR	Program Requirement