Program Overview

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Environmental Science — Marine Science Emphasis, BS

Introduction

The marine emphasis connects knowledge about marine processes to broader systems such as climate, terrestrial and freshwater systems, and human communities and activities. Marine Science is a highly interdisciplinary field that seeks to understand the processes that shape our oceans and coasts. We incorporate the tools and insights of physical, chemical, biological, and geological sciences to better understand marine systems and how they interact with local and global processes and support communities.

Students can select courses in oceanography, environmental chemistry, ecology, and toxicology to build an understanding of the various human impacts on the ocean. The major includes a capstone course, where students integrate concepts from environmental science and ocean science to address marine environmental problems. It also includes an internship, senior thesis or project, or foreign study that enables students to gain experience in their chosen field.

How is the Environmental Science Major - Marine Science Emphasis different from other marine options like MACS or Marine Biology?

The points in why you may want to consider this emphasis (below) are also the key differences between this program and others at WWU. The ESCI marine science emphasis differs in these ways:

• You can focus on the marine environment and its connections to terrestrial and freshwater systems.
• The program emphasizes human impacts such as pollution and climate change on the coastal marine environment.
• Many of our courses explore the interdependences between our communities and marine systems including conservation and restoration.
• With fewer required courses, you can create a customized degree pathway that fits your interests and get hands on experience in internship and capstone experiences.

Why Consider an Environmental Science Major with a Marine Science Emphasis?

• Focus on the marine environment and its connections to terrestrial and freshwater systems. This degree will allow you to:
  • Pair ecology courses focused on terrestrial, marine and/or wetlands ecology to gain an understanding that spans different systems.
  • Explore how the marine environment impacts organisms at a variety of scales, through courses ranging from algae to marine invertebrates, to fishes including salmon.
• Explore the interdependences between our communities and marine systems.
  • Understand how climate change influences the ocean on large and small scales and how marine systems are important in climate feedbacks and controls.
  • Investigate how people steward marine systems through conservation and resource management, including Indigenous resource management.
  • Learn about the presence of contaminants in our waters and the systems in place to detect, prevent and control their effects.
• Create a customized degree pathway that fits your interests and emphasizes applied learning.
  • The ESCI degree is flexible, with few required courses beyond the preparatory courses.
  • Students can select a suite of courses that correspond with their interests as they learn and grow within the program.
  • Both the internship and capstone requirements give you additional chances to practice applied learning and to form connections between your course work and real-world questions and solutions.

Student Resources

• Department website: Environmental Sciences
• Department advising: See the Advising section of the College of the Environment website.
• Degree Works: Current students should also log on to Degree Works to check student-specific program progress.
• Career Services Center: Connect major to a career

How to Declare (Admission and Declaration Process):

Admission to the Bachelor of Science program in Environmental Science is based upon prior academic performance and a written application that addresses an applicant’s experience, motivation, and goals. Once you are an Environmental Science major, you can choose the Marine Science emphasis.

Students may apply for pre-major status at any time if they are in good academic standing (cumulative GPA ≥ 2.0). It is strongly advised that pre-majors meet with a College of the Environment Admissions Advisor as they begin their preparatory classes. Students can also declare as an Environmental Science pre-major during their first advising meeting to receive access to some 300-level courses, be assigned a faculty advisor and join the College of the Environment student listserv.

Students will remain at pre-major status until all the preparatory classes have been completed. Students may then apply to be considered for full-major status by completing the major application.

The admission application can be found on the CENV Application webpage. Priority for admission will be given to students who have a GPA of 3.0 or higher in the preparatory courses (averaged across the preparatory classes). Students with a GPA below 3.0 in the preparatory courses will be considered for admission on a case-by-case basis.

Applications are accepted by April 18 for fall, October 6 for winter and January 15 for spring.

Grade Requirements

A grade of C- or better is required for a student’s major or minor courses, and supporting courses for majors and minors.

Requirements (109-110 credits)

Environmental Science prep and major requirements

Preparatory Courses (44-45 credits)

• BIOL 204 - Introduction to Evolution, Ecology and Biodiversity w/lab (Credits: 5)
• BIOL 205 - Introduction to Cellular and Molecular Biology w/lab (Credits: 5)
• BIOL 206 - Introduction to Organismal Biology w/lab (Credits: 5)
• CHEM 161 - General Chemistry I (Credits: 5)
• CHEM 162 - General Chemistry II (Credits: 5)
• CHEM 163 - General Chemistry III (Credits: 5)
• MATH 124 - Calculus and Analytic Geometry I (Credits: 5)
• PHYS 161 - Physics with Calculus I (Credits: 5)
• Choose one from:
  • ENVS 203 - Physical Geography (Credits: 4)
  • GEOL 211 - Physical Geology (Credits: 5)

Major (65 credits)

• Choose either:
  • CHEM 251 - Elementary Organic Chemistry (Credits: 5)
  • or the following series:
    • CHEM 351 - Organic Chemistry (Credits: 4)
    • CHEM 352 - Organic Chemistry (Credits: 4)
    • CHEM 354 - Organic Chemistry Laboratory I (Credits: 3)
• Choose one from:
  • ESCI 325 - Fundamentals of Ecology (Credits: 3)
  • BIOL 325 - Ecology (Credits: 4)
• Choose one from:
  • ESCI 340 - Biostatistical Analysis (Credits: 5)
  • BIOL 340 - Biostatistics (Credits: 5)
• Choose one ENVS, ESCI or UEPP approved course (4-5 credits) with a capstone (CPST) attribute.
• Choose one from (minimum of 5 credits; maximum of 10 credits):
  • ESCI 498A - Senior Thesis (Credits: 1-15)
  • ESCI 498B - Internship (Credits: 1-15)
  • ESCI 498C - Senior Project (Credits: 1-15)
  • ESCI 498D - International Study (Credits: 1-15)
• One ENVS or UEPP 300-level or 400-level course (minimum 3 credits)
• Choose two lab/lecture options from the list below. Options include a combined lecture/lab course or two separate courses with one being a lecture and the other being a lab, which together count as one option. Note: A course listed as a capstone may be applied to your capstone requirement or one of your lab/lecture requirements, but not both.
  • ESCI 361 - Water Quality (Credits: 5)
  • ESCI 404 - Indigenous Resource Management in the Salish Sea (Credits: 5)
  • ESCI 407 - Forest Ecology (Credits: 5)
  • ESCI 408 - Field Methods in Wildlife Ecology (Credits: 5)
  • ESCI 409 - Riparian Conservation (Credits: 4)
  • ESCI 423 - Paleoclimate and Paleoecology (Credits: 5)
  • MACS 424 - Marine Fish Ecology (Credits: 5)
  • ESCI 426 - Marine Invertebrates and Their Environment (Credits: 5)
  • ESCI 428 - Freshwater Algae Bioindicators (Credits: 4)
  • ESCI 429 - Stream Ecology (Credits: 5)
  • ESCI 430 - Limnology and Limnology Lab (Credits: 5)
  • ESCI 431 - Watershed Biogeochemistry (Credits: 5)
  • ESCI 440 - Wetlands Ecology (Credits: 5)
  • ESCI 442 - Introduction to Remote Sensing (Credits: 5)
  • ESCI 445 - Marine Geochemistry (Credits: 4)
  • ESCI 451 - Environmental Sampling and Analysis (Credits: 5)
  • ESCI 466 - Life Cycle Analysis (Credits: 4)
  • or ENRG 466 - Life Cycle Analysis (Credits: 4)
  • ESCI 477 - Wetland Plant Identification (Credits: 4)
  • ESCI 480 - Applications in Energy Production (Credits: 4)
  • or ENRG 480 - Applications in Energy Production (Credits: 4)
  • ESCI 485 - Global Environmental Change in the Cryosphere (Credits: 5)
  • Separate course numbers below are lecture and lab that require a student to take both courses to count as one option in this category:
    • ESCI 321 - Oceanography (Credits: 4)
    • and ESCI 322 - Oceanography Laboratory (Credits: 3)
    • ESCI 410 - Salmonid Fish Habitat and Ecology (Credits: 3)
    • and ESCI 411 - Salmonid Fish Field Practicum (Credits: 2)
    • ESCI 455 - Environmental Toxicology I (Credits: 4)
    • and ESCI 457 - Environmental Toxicology Laboratory I (Credits: 4)

Electives

Under advisement (11-32 credits) to fulfill the total major requirements of 65 credits:

• A minimum of 11 credits from:
  • ESCI 300- or 400-level
  • Additional electives, if needed from:
    • BIOL 300- or 400-level
    • CHEM 300- or 400-level
    • ENRG 300- or 400-level
    • GEOL 300- or 400-level
    • ENVS 300- or 400-level
    • MACS 300- or 400-level
    • MATH 300- or 400-level
  • FAIR 330E - Ethnobotany (Credits: 5)
  • FAIR 434P - Advanced Studies in Field Science (Credits: 5-8)
  • MATH 125 - Calculus and Analytic Geometry II (Credits: 5)
  • MATH 203 - Linear Algebra and Differential Equations I (Credits: 4)
  • MATH 204 - Elementary Linear Algebra (Credits: 4)
  • MATH 205 - Linear Algebra Workshop (Credits: 1)
  • MATH 224 - Multivariable Calculus and Geometry I (Credits: 5)
  • MATH 225 - Multivariable Calculus and Geometry II (Credits: 4)
  • MATH 226 - Limits and Infinite Series (Credits: 4)
  • Maximum three courses allowed from:
    • PHYS 162 - Physics with Calculus II (Credits: 5)
    • PHYS 163 - Physics with Calculus III (Credits: 5)
    • PHYS 220 - Physics with Calculus IV (Credits: 4)
    • PHYS 300- or 400-level

Marine Science Emphasis (34 credits minimum)

Complete the following courses to fulfill the Marine Science Emphasis. Courses used to fulfill requirements in the emphasis may also be used to fulfill above major requirements.

• ESCI 321 - Oceanography (Credits: 4)
• Marine Specialization Courses, at least 3 courses from:
  • ESCI 322 - Oceanography Laboratory (Credits: 3)
  • ESCI 393 - Our Coastal Seas and Climate Change (Credits: 4)
  • ESCI 404 - Indigenous Resource Management in the Salish Sea (Credits: 5)
  • ESCI 410 - Salmonid Fish Habitat and Ecology (Credits: 3)
  • ESCI 411 - Salmonid Fish Field Practicum (Credits: 2)
  • ESCI 412 - Fisheries Science (Credits: 5)
  • MACS 424 - Marine Fish Ecology (Credits: 5)
  • ESCI 425 - Environmental Biology of Fishes (Credits: 3)
  • ESCI 426 - Marine Invertebrates and Their Environment (Credits: 5)
  • ESCI 432 - Topics in Marine Ecology (Credits: 4)
  • ESCI 445 - Marine Geochemistry (Credits: 4)
  • ESCI 491 - Oceanography of the Salish Sea (Credits: 4)
  • ESCI 494 - Marine Conservation (Credits: 5)
• Additional electives, if needed, from:
  • ESCI 333 - Introduction to Environmental Toxicology (Credits: 4)
  • ESCI 342 - Problem Solving in Environmental Science (Credits: 5)
  • ESCI 361 - Water Quality (Credits: 5)
  • ESCI 392 - Introduction to Climate Change (Credits: 4)
  • or ENVS 392 - Introduction to Climate Change (Credits: 4)
  • ESCI 431 - Watershed Biogeochemistry (Credits: 5)
  • ESCI 433 - Population Biology (Credits: 3)
  • ESCI 439 - Conservation of Biological Diversity (Credits: 4)
  • ESCI 440 - Wetlands Ecology (Credits: 5)
  • ESCI 455 - Environmental Toxicology I (Credits: 4)
  • ESCI 456 - Environmental Toxicology II (Credits: 4)
  • ESCI 457 - Environmental Toxicology Laboratory I (Credits: 4)
  • ESCI 459 - Aquatic Toxicology (Credits: 3)
  • ESCI 460 - Contaminant Fate and Transport (Credits: 4)
  • ESCI 463 - Wetlands for Wastewater Treatment (Credits: 3)
  • ESCI 492 - Climate Change (Credits: 4)
  • Up to 15 credits from additional electives below, if needed. Students should check registration access. Some courses are not available to ESCI students until phase II of registration.
  • BIOL 300 or 400 level
  • CHEM 300 or 400 level
  • GEOL 300 or 400 level
  • MATH 125 - Calculus and Analytic Geometry II (Credits: 5)
  • MATH 204 - Elementary Linear Algebra (Credits: 4)
  • MATH 224 - Multivariable Calculus and Geometry I (Credits: 5)
  • MATH 331 - Ordinary Differential Equations (Credits: 4)
  • PHYS 162 - Physics with Calculus II (Credits: 5)
  • PHYS 163 - Physics with Calculus III (Credits: 5)
  • PHYS 220 - Physics with Calculus IV (Credits: 4)

University Graduation Requirements

General University Requirements

• Writing Proficiency Requirement (WP)
• 180 Minimum Total Credits
• 60 Minimum Upper Division Credits
• Residency Requirement
• Minimum Grade Requirements
• Final Quarter Requirement