Environmental Science Associate of Science Degree | Academic Catalog
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2025-2026 Edition
The goals of the Environmental Science program are to: 1) meet the needs of students who are majoring in one of the diverse fields encompassed by environmental science, and 2) provide options for students fulfilling general education science requirements.
Awareness of the issues of environmental quality, environmental racism, and environmental justice are increasingly important in business, industry, and government.  The growing human population and increasing consumption of resources are creating unprecedented pressures on our planetary life support systems.  Within the human population, socioeconomically and politically disenfranchised communities oftentimes suffer the consequences of polluted environments when compared with more advantaged communities.  This is one of the many aspects of structural racism. This degree helps students to understand how environmental racism, environmental justice, and multiculturalism are vital components of the environmental landscape.
Environmental Science Majors need to complete an interdisciplinary set of core requirements that provide a basic understanding of the physical, biological, and social sciences and the relevance of these sciences to environmental processes and issues.  In addition, the coursework will prepare students for related baccalaureate majors, including biology, chemistry, engineering, geography, geographic information systems (GIS), geology, mathematics, oceanography, and physics.  For non-majors, the program’s goal is to educate students to make better-informed choices about key environmental, health, and justice issues.
Students planning to transfer to a four-year institution and major in Environmental Science should consult with a counselor regarding the transfer process and institution-specific lower-division requirements.  In upper division and graduate studies, students majoring in environmental science usually specialize in areas such as environmental toxicology, public health, environmental law, education, environmental economics, soil and water science, restoration ecology, environmental landscaping, environmental management, urban planning, and related careers.
To graduate with a specialization in Environmental Science, students must complete the following required courses plus the general breadth requirements for the Associate Degree (total = 60 units).
Course List
Code
Title
Units
Required Courses:
ENVSCI 100
Introduction to Environmental Science
BIOL 205
Cell and Molecular Biology
BIOL 206
Organismal Biology
CHEM 150
General Chemistry I
CHEM 151
General Chemistry II
ECON 201
Principles of Microeconomics
or
ECON 201H
Principles of Microeconomics - Honors
or
POLS C1000
American Government and Politics
or
POLS C1000H
American Government and Politics - Honors
GEOG 110
Physical Geography
MATH 250
Single Variable Calculus I
MATH 251
Single Variable Calculus II
One of the following:
1-3
GEOG 111
Physical Geography Laboratory
or
GEOG 111H
Physical Geography Laboratory - Honors
GEOL 101
Introduction to Physical Geology
GEOL 111
Introduction to Physical Geology Laboratory
One of the following Physics course sequences:
8-12
PHYSIC 151
PHYSIC 152
General Physics for the Life Sciences I
and General Physics for the Life Sciences II
PHYSIC 202
PHYSIC 203
PHYSIC 204
Physics I
and Physics II
and Physics III
12
Two courses from the following:
6-10
BIOL 104
Human Ecology
BIOL 207
Evolutionary Ecology
CHEM 205
Quantitative Chemical Analysis
CHEM 212
Organic Chemistry I
CHEM 213
Organic Chemistry II
GEOG 130
Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
or
GIS 130
Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
STAT C1000
Introduction to Statistics
or
STAT C1000H
Introduction to Statistics - Honors
MATH 266
Ordinary Differential Equations
Total Units
50-63
To earn an SBVC Associate Degree students must complete one of the following General Education (GE) patterns:
SBVC General Education and Graduation Requirements
Cal-GETC - California General Education Transfer Curriculum
Program Learning Outcomes
At the completion of this program, students will be able to:
Analyze the interaction between natural and social systems and subsequent impacts on sustainable development, environmental policies, environmental justice, and racial justice.
Synthesize the fundamentals of sociology, biology, chemistry, Earth sciences, mathematics, physics, and other social and natural sciences within a framework of human-environment interactions with an emphasis on racial equity and social justice.
Critically interpret and assess environmental news and trends, including green technologies and career opportunities, national and international environmental policies, resource exploitation and conservation, global climate change, sustainable development, and human health within the context of racial equity and social justice.
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