Academic Catalog

General Studies: Science

Program Description

Because of the increasingly technological nature of our society, science majors will find an impressive array of options and exciting opportunities. A science major can provide preparation for a career in fields related to biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics, astronomy, or engineering.

Learn more about the program on the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math website.

Program Learning Outcomes

  • Students will be able to integrate the various fields of science in order to critically evaluate and interpret scientific information.
  • Students will be able to assess how relevant scientific information could be used to inform their own personal economic, political, and social decisions.

Career Opportunities

There is a need for scientifically trained people in non-traditional areas such as marketing and sales, scientific information, patent law, and health and safety.

Award Type(s)

  • AS = Associate in Science Degree

Units Required

  • Major: 39.5

Additional Information

Note: Courses used to meet the major requirements may be used to satisfy any graduation general education requirement.

Associate Degree Requirements

English Proficiency
Select one of the following:
ENGL 1ACOMPOSITION & READING5
ENGL 1AHHONORS COMPOSITION & READING5
ESLL 26ADVANCED COMPOSITION & READING5
or equivalent
Ethnic Studies
Any course in the ETHN (Ethnic Studies) subject code, currently approved for Area F of CSU GE and Area 7 of IGETC
Mathematics Proficiency
College-level math course at or above the level of Intermediate Algebra

A minimum of 90 units is required1 to include:

  • Completion of one of the following general education patterns: Foothill General Education, CSU General Education Breadth Requirements or the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC)
  • Core courses (39.5 units)
1

Additional elective course work may be necessary to meet the 90-unit minimum requirement for the associate degree.

Note: All courses pertaining to the major must be taken for a letter grade. In addition, a grade of "C" or better is required for all core and support courses used for the degree.

Core and Support Courses

Select a minimum of 20 units from Category I and a minimum of 19.5 units from Category II, as described below.

Core Courses
Category I: Biology
Select at least one course each from Area A and Area B. At least one course in this category must include a laboratory:20
Area A
ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY 2
ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY LABORATORY 1, 3
GENERAL BIOLOGY: BASIC PRINCIPLES 1
HUMAN BIOLOGY 1
Area B
PRINCIPLES OF CELL BIOLOGY 1
FORM & FUNCTION IN PLANTS & ANIMALS 1
EVOLUTION, SYSTEMATICS & ECOLOGY 1
BASIC NUTRITION
HUMAN GENETICS
MARINE BIOLOGY 1
HUMAN ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY I 1
HUMAN ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY II 1
HUMAN ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY III 1
MICROBIOLOGY 1
INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN NUTRITION
LEARNERS ENGAGED IN ADVOCATING FOR DIVERSITY IN STEM
LEARNERS ENGAGED IN ADVOCATING FOR DIVERSITY IN STEM
LEARNERS ENGAGED IN ADVOCATING FOR DIVERSITY IN STEM
LEARNERS ENGAGED IN ADVOCATING FOR DIVERSITY IN STEM
Category II: Physical Sciences, Computer Science, Mathematics & Engineering
Select at least five units from Area A, at least 4.5 units from Area B, at least five units from Area C, and at least five units from Area D:19.5
Area A: Chemistry
GENERAL CHEMISTRY
GENERAL CHEMISTRY
GENERAL CHEMISTRY & QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS
ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
and ORGANIC CHEMISTRY LABORATORY
ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
and ORGANIC CHEMISTRY LABORATORY
ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
and ORGANIC CHEMISTRY LABORATORY
FUNDAMENTALS OF CHEMISTRY
SURVEY OF INORGANIC & ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
SURVEY OF ORGANIC & BIOCHEMISTRY
Area B: Engineering/Computer Science/Astronomy/PSE
GENERAL ASTRONOMY: SOLAR SYSTEM
GENERAL ASTRONOMY: STARS, GALAXIES, COSMOLOGY
HONORS GENERAL ASTRONOMY: STARS, GALAXIES, COSMOLOGY
ASTRONOMY LABORATORY
OBJECT-ORIENTED PROGRAMMING METHODOLOGIES IN JAVA
INTERMEDIATE SOFTWARE DESIGN IN JAVA
ADVANCED DATA STRUCTURES & ALGORITHMS IN JAVA
OBJECT-ORIENTED PROGRAMMING METHODOLOGIES IN C++
INTERMEDIATE SOFTWARE DESIGN IN C++
ADVANCED DATA STRUCTURES & ALGORITHMS IN C++
OBJECT-ORIENTED PROGRAMMING METHODOLOGIES IN PYTHON
INTERMEDIATE SOFTWARE DESIGN IN PYTHON
ADVANCED DATA STRUCTURES & ALGORITHMS IN PYTHON
COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE & ORGANIZATION
PROGRAMMING IN C#
JAVASCRIPT FOR PROGRAMMERS
INTRODUCTION TO LINUX
LINUX SHELL PROGRAMMING
LINUX SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION
ADVANCED LINUX SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION
LINUX SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION: NETWORK SERVICES
INTRODUCTION TO DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
SOFTWARE ENGINEERING METHODOLOGIES
DATA VISUALIZATION
FOUNDATIONS OF COMPUTER PROGRAMMING
NETWORK BASICS (CCNA)
ROUTING & SWITCHING ESSENTIALS (CCNA)
SCALING LOCAL AREA NETWORKS (CCNA)
CYBERSECURITY FUNDAMENTALS
FIREWALLS & THREAT MANAGEMENT
ETHICAL HACKING
INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER FORENSICS
CLOUD INFRASTRUCTURE & SERVICES
INTRODUCTION TO CLOUD COMPUTING IN AMAZON WEB SERVICES
DATABASE ESSENTIALS IN AMAZON WEB SERVICES
COMPUTE ENGINES IN AMAZON WEB SERVICES
SECURITY IN AMAZON WEB SERVICES
AWS CLOUD PRACTITIONER CERTIFICATION PREPARATION
AWS CERTIFIED SOLUTIONS ARCHITECT ASSOCIATE PREPARATION
IT ESSENTIALS
DEVELOPING APPLICATIONS FOR IOS
WRITING APPS FOR THE ANDROID
ADVANCED WEB APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT
PROJECTS IN WEB APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT
OPEN SOURCE CONTRIBUTION
ENGINEERING GRAPHICS
INTRODUCTION TO ENGINEERING
PROGRAMMING & PROBLEM-SOLVING IN MATLAB
INTRODUCTION TO BIOENGINEERING
INTRODUCTION TO BIOENGINEERING
STATICS
INTRODUCTION TO CIRCUIT ANALYSIS
CIRCUIT ANALYSIS LABORATORY
PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS
DYNAMICS
INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL SCIENCE
Area C: Mathematics
CALCULUS
HONORS CALCULUS I
and HONORS CALCULUS I SEMINAR
CALCULUS
HONORS CALCULUS II
and HONORS CALCULUS II SEMINAR
CALCULUS
CALCULUS
DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
LINEAR ALGEBRA
ELEMENTARY STATISTICS
CALCULUS FOR BUSINESS & ECONOMICS
INTEGRATED STATISTICS II
DISCRETE MATHEMATICS
DISCRETE MATHEMATICS
QUANTITATIVE REASONING
MATH FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS
MATH FOR THE LIBERAL ARTS
PRECALCULUS I
PRECALCULUS II
PRECALCULUS III
Area D: Physics
GENERAL PHYSICS
GENERAL PHYSICS: CALCULUS SUPPLEMENT
GENERAL PHYSICS
GENERAL PHYSICS: CALCULUS SUPPLEMENT
GENERAL PHYSICS
GENERAL PHYSICS: CALCULUS SUPPLEMENT
GENERAL PHYSICS (CALCULUS)
GENERAL PHYSICS (CALCULUS)
GENERAL PHYSICS (CALCULUS)
GENERAL PHYSICS (CALCULUS)
INTRODUCTORY PHYSICS
INTRODUCTION TO MODERN PHYSICS
HONORS INTRODUCTION TO MODERN PHYSICS
Total Units39.5
1

Course includes a laboratory component.

2

May be taken with BIOL 9L to satisfy laboratory requirement.

3

Only if taken with BIOL 9.