Natural Sciences Interdisciplinary Program
This Bachelor's degree substitutes the Natural Sciences General Program. This degree allows students to choose courses according to their interests and professional goals. It consists of 121 credits, 60 of which include courses at the College of Natural Sciences. Of these 60 credits in Science and/or Math, 27 of them consist of higher level courses in the College's requirements.
Students admitted in or after August 2007 are required to complete this revised curricullum. As part of the revision, the name of the Natural Sciences General Program will change to Natural Sciences Interdisciplinary Program. Students admitted in August 2006 can apply for a change from the General to the Interdisciplinary Program if they choose to do so.
Course requirements
Courses in General Education (42-43 credits)
| Courses | Credits |
| Spanish 1 (SPAN 3101-3102, 3103-3104 or 3111-3112) | 6 |
| English 1 (ENGL 3101-3102, 3103-3104 or 3111-3112) | 6 |
| Literature | 6 |
| Humanities (HUMA 3101-3102) | 6 |
| Social Sciences (SOSC 3121-3122) | 6 |
| Art | 3 |
| General Education in Natural Sciences 2 | 6 |
| Logical-mathematical thinking 3 | 3-4 |
- It is recommended that the 6 credits in English be at the highest level (level 5) and those of Spanish should be at the second year level.
- These courses will be offered by the College of General Studies.
- Calculus I (MATH 3151) is recommended for fulfilling this requirement since it is a prerequisite for College Physics. This would increase the General Studies credits to 43. If the Logical-mathematical thinking course is fulfilled with a course other than Calculus I, the student must still register this course in order to be able to take College Physics.
Courses at the College of Natural Sciences (33 credits)
| Courses | Credits |
| General Biology (BIOL 3101-3102) | 8 |
| General Chemistry (CHEM 3001-3002) | 8 |
| College Physics (PHYS 3011, 3012, 3013, 3014) | 8 |
| Statistics (MATH 3026) | 3 |
| Genetics (BIOL 3349) | 3 |
| Introduction to Environmental Science (NASC 3005) | 3 |
Electives at the College of Natural Science (27 credits)*
In addition to the College’s requirements, higher level credits in Biology, Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry and/or Environmental Sciences are required. These courses must be approved with a C or higher.
Some courses of the Environmental Sciences Program do not count as science electives therefore the student must check for restrictions at the Natural Sciences General Program’s office. There are also limits to the amount of registered credits for certain courses, for example, there is a 6 credit limit for NASC 4995 and 4 credits for research courses (CHEM 4999 or BIOL 4990).
During their fourth year at the College, students must fulfill a 3 credit Capstone requirement. This requirement includes Research and/or Internship experiences. The Program's counselors are available to provide orientation on alternatives for their Capstone requirement.
Free electives (18 credits)*
These credits can be used to complete requirements for specific graduate or professional schools. It is important that students visit their Counselor's during the Academic Orientation periods in order to identify courses related to their professional interests.
Free electives cannot include courses at the College of Natural Sciences that are designed specifically as requirements for other Colleges, for example, introductory courses in mathematics created for students at the College of Education or Social Sciences. In addition, courses that significantly repeat the content of another course are not accepted. It is recommended that students visit the Program's counselors prior to registering courses for each semester in order to avoid confusion or mistakes.
* Courses registered to complete either the College’s or the free elective requirements vary according to the students' professional interests. Those interested in a health related career must verify the requirements for their particular program of interest.
Other requirements
Graduation requirements that must be met, in addition to the courses mentioned above are:
An overall grade point average of 2.00 minimum.
A minimum grade point average of 2.00 in the 60 credits of required Sciences and Natural Sciences elective courses at the College of Natural Sciences.
The 27 credits in Natural Sciences electives must be approved with a C or higher. Courses can be repeated twice, a third repetition requires assessment and authorization by an academic counselor.
Transfer students should also comply with the 1990-1 Academic Senate’s Certification # 64 requirements.
Reviewed in June 2008. Subject to changes.