Transfer Planning

General UW Transfer Admissions Session

Whether you are enrolled at a community college, a four-year institution, or are returning to college after some time, applying as a transfer student takes careful and thoughtful planning. A great way to start is by looking at the Transfer Admissions and Planning Guide and the Academic Planning Worksheet provided by the UW Office of Admissions.

All prospective transfer students are encouraged to attend a UW Transfer Thursday admissions session to learn more about the application process. At this session, a representative from the UW Office of Admissions will describe admission procedures for transfer students. Topics covered include College Academic Distribution Requirements (CADRs) and the Comprehensive Review.

Meet with an Environmental Studies Adviser

Environmental Studies is an open enrollment major, which means that transfer students who are admitted to the UW will also be admitted automatically to the Environmental Studies major.

Prospective transfer students interested in Environmental Studies are invited to meet with an Environmental Studies adviser. Advisers are able to answer questions about major requirements and also recommend coursework to take before entering the UW. We are also able to tell you about different areas of study and career opportunities. Drop-in advising hours are available after the UW Transfer Thursday admissions session. If the drop-in advising hours are not convenient for you, you are also able to make an appointment with an Environmental Studies adviser.

Recommended Coursework

To prepare for the coursework you'll complete once you are in the Environmental Studies major, transfer students are strongly encouraged to complete all foundational courses (Biology, Chemistry and Statistics) prior to enrolling at UW. If you are currently enrolled at a community college in Washington State, you can use the UW's Transfer Equivalency Guide to determine which courses at your community college are equivalent to the UW courses. All prospective transfer students interested in Environmental Studies are also able to make an appointment with an Environmental Studies adviser for assistance.


The courses required for a BA with a major in Environmental Studies can be arranged according to the following five sections:

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CoEnv GenEd
(75 Credits)

All Environmental Studies majors need to complete the General Education Requirements of the College of the Environment.

ENVIR Core Courses
(20 Credits)

ENVIR 100
Environmental Studies: Interdisciplinary Foundations

ENVIR 200
Environmental Studies: Research and Communication

ENVIR 250
Environmental Studies: Data Types and Collection Methods

ENVIR 300
Environmental Studies: Synthesis and Application

Biology
(10 credits)

Two courses:

BIOL 180
Introductory Biology

and One course from among:

BIOL 200
Introductory Biology

BIOL 118 + BIOL 119
Survey of Physiology (both courses and lab required)

BIOL/FISH/OCEAN 250
Marine Biology


Chemistry
(5 credits)

One course from among:

CHEM 120
Principles of Chemistry I

CHEM 142
General Chemistry


Quantitative Methods
(10 credits)

STATISTICS

One course from among:

Q SCI 381
Introduction to Probability and Statistics

STAT 220
Basic Statistics

STAT 311
Elements of Statistical Methods

 

OTHER QUANITITATIVE METHODS

One course from among:

ESRM 250
Introduction to GIS in Forest Resources

ESRM 304
Environmental and Resource Assessment

ESRM 430
Hyperspatial Remote Sensing in Natural Resource Management

ESS 421
Introduction to Geological Remote Sensing

FISH 453
Geospatial Pattern Analysis and Geostatistics

GEOG 360
Principles of GIS Mapping

GEOG 471
Methods of Resource Analysis

Q SCI 482
Statistical Inference in Applied Research I


Earth Systems Literacy
(8 - 10 credits)

CLIMATE

One course from among:

ATM S 211
Climate and Climate Change

ESS 201
The Earth System and Climate

 

LAND, WATER, ATMOSPHERE

One course from among:

ATM S 212
Air Pollution: From Urban Smog to the Ozone Hole

ESS 210
Physical Geology

ESS / OCEAN 230
Rivers and Beaches

GEOG 205
Introduction to Physical Sciences and the Environment

OCEAN 200 + OCEAN 201
Introduction to Oceanography (lab required)


Values and Cultures
(15 credits)

All three courses:

ENVIR/ESRM/ECON 235
Introduction to Environmental Economics

ENVIR/HSTAA 221
Environmental History of the U.S.

ENVIR/PHIL 243
Introduction to Environmental Ethics

Perspectives and Experiences
(30 credits)

Consult the list of approved courses.

A minimum of thirty credits (with no more than 5 credits at the 200 level or below) from the list of approved ‘Perspectives and Experiences’ courses.

A minimum of three credits must be completed in each of the following Environmental Perspectives and Experiences categories:

  • Human and Social Dimensions
  • Natural Sciences
  • Policy and Decision Making
  • Bioregional
  • International
  • Fieldwork

Additional Perspectives and Experiences Notes:

  • Courses may be listed in multiple categories, however, courses are not allowed to meet more than one category requirement.
  • To request that a course not on the approved list be used to fulfill the Environmental Perspectives and Experiences requirement, please submit a completed course substitution petition to poeadv@uw.edu.

Capstone
(10 credits)

Three courses to include at least 5 credits of ENVIR 491:

ENVIR 490
Pre Capstone Seminar

ENVIR 491
Capstone Experience

ENVIR 492
Post Capstone Seminar