Lower Division Courses numbered 1–99 are designed primarily for freshmen and sophomores but are open to all students for lower division credit. (Graduate students requesting to enroll in lower-division undergraduate courses will not receive unit credit nor will the course fulfill degree requirements.) Upper Division Courses courses numbered 100–199 are open to all students who have met the necessary prerequisites as indicated in the catalog course description. Preparation should generally include completion of one lower division course in the given subject or completion of two years of college work.
GRADUATE COURSES
Courses numbered 200–299 are open to graduate students. (Undergraduate students must obtain the signature of the instructor, School Dean, and the Dean of Graduate Studies. Graduate level units will count towards the required 120 units for graduation; however students are urged to meet with their academic advisor in order to determine if graduate course units may be used to fulfill a graduation requirement.)
CROSS-LISTED/CONJOINED COURSES
Cross-listed Courses are the same course offered under different course subjects at the same level (either undergraduate or graduate) that share the same meeting time, requirements, units, etc. Conjoined Courses are the same course but one is undergraduate and one is graduate.
COREQUISITE COURSE
A corequisite course is a course that must be taken at the same time as another course.
PREREQUISITES
Prerequisites for courses should be followed carefully; the responsibility for meeting these requirements rests on the student. If you can demonstrate that your preparation is equivalent to that specified by the prerequisites, the instructor may waive these requirements for you. The instructor also may request that a student who has not completed the prerequisites be dropped from the course. If the prerequisite for a course is not satisfied, students must obtain the approval of the instructor (or school designee) of the course they wish to take.
For all undergraduate courses a “C-” or better grade is required for a course to be used as a prerequisite for another course. If a course was taken for a “P/NP” grade then a “P” grade is required.
For all graduate courses a “B” or better grade is required for a course to be used as a prerequisite for another course. If a course was taken for a “S/U” grade then a “S” grade is required.
FOREIGN LANGUAGES
No credit is allowed for completing a less advanced course after successful completion (C-or better) of a more advanced course in the foreign languages. This applies only to lower division foreign language courses, not upper division courses.
GRADING OPTIONS
Unless otherwise stated in the course description, each course is letter graded with a P/NP or S/U option (unless required for your major or graduate program). The policy regarding Grading Options, can be found in an alternate section of the catalog.
Advanced study of recent research on human memory such as systems of memory, memory disorders, the neural basis of memory, memory and consciousness, memory and emotion, representation of knowledge, computer models of memory.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: PSY 160 Instructor Permission Required: No
Advanced study of recent research on thinking and reasoning such as inductive and deductive reasoning, concepts and categorization, problem solving, creative thinking, expertise, cognition in groups, relations to philosophy of science.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: PSY 160 Instructor Permission Required: No
Advanced study of recent research on judgment and decision making, such as behavioral economics, rationality and intelligence, health and medical decision making, decision neuroscience.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Crosslisted with: MGMT 173 Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: COGS 153 or MGMT 153 or ECON 153 or POLI 153 Instructor Permission Required: No
Topics include navigation, perception of space and motion, spatial attention, spatial language, neurological deficits related to spatial cognition, spatial mental models, motion path planning in humans and computers, and visual representation in the arts and new media.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: COGS 001 or PSY 001 or equivalent exam Instructor Permission Required: No
COGS 177: Consciousness in Philosophy and Cognitive Science
Units: 4
Exploration of the phenomenon of consciousness in both philosophy and cognitive science. By the end of the course, students will be conversant on different forms of consciousness and techniques for studying consciousness.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Crosslisted with: PHIL 173 Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: COGS 001 or any lower-division PHIL course Instructor Permission Required: No
Services – e.g., restaurants, hotels, lawyers, information technology operations, business consulting – account for more than 80% of jobs in the US. Through case studies of businesses and scientific studies of people in real service settings, this course focuses on how to align people and technology effectively to generate value.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Crosslisted with: MGMT 150 Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Open only to the following class level(s):
Provides oversight and structure for a student’s internship in a field related to cognitive science connected to the study of cognitive science. Students are required to write an original research paper or relevant product that demonstrates how the internship advanced their knowledge of cognitive science.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: Yes Repeat Limit: 2
Pass/No Pass only
Requisites and Restrictions Open only to the following class level(s):
Solidification and expansion of students’ existing knowledge of the fundamental theoretical frameworks and methodological tools of cognitive science. Connections among philosophy of mind, cognitive neuroscience, theoretical linguistics, artificial intelligence, and cognitive psychology, are emphasized. Required of all first-year Cognitive Science graduate students.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade with Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Continuation of COGS 201, with more emphasis placed on recent developments and applications in Cognitive Science, and tools needed to conduct cognitive science research in a variety of domains. Also includes practical career information, such as tutorials in grant-writing, effective presentation, writing techniques, and professional development. Required of all first-year Cognitive Science graduate students.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade with Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
COGS 203: Introduction to Neural Networks in Cognitive Science
Units: 4
Introduction to the use of neural networks in the study of cognitive phenomena. Topics include perception, attention, language, memory and biologically realistic model neurons. This graduate level version of the course includes a sizeable final project that simulates data from cognitive research.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade with Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Introduction to the study of complex phenomena using dynamical computer simulations, which exhibit emergent properties, sensitivity to initial conditions, fractal structure, phase transitions in random graphs, and shifts from stability to meta-stability to chaos. Matlab projects include: probability games, neural networks, the Lorenz attractor, the logistic map, the Mandelbrot set.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Conjoined with: COGS 104 Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Design and analysis of computational simulations of human behavior and brain function. Techniques for modeling active membranes, individual neurons, the dynamics produced by recurrent excitation and lateral inhibition, synaptic plasticity, and the computational role of neurotransmitters. Formal models of perception, attention, learning, memory, language, categorization, and cognitive control.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Crosslisted with: EECS 273 Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade with Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: Yes
Focuses on teaching first-year graduate students from a variety of graduate programs skills in computational methods, programming languages, team science, project development, problem solving, social networking, and career preparation.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Crosslisted with: CHEM 243, EECS 243, MATH 243, ME 243, PHYS 243, PSY 243, QSB 243 Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade with Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: Yes
Broad issues in cognitive science, with an emphasis on computation, and the connections among mind, technology, and society. Each semester will feature guest speakers and topics such as artificial intelligence, design, human-computer interaction, perception, language, high level cognition, reasoning, philosophy of cognitive science, neuroscience, and the role of technology in society.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: Yes Repeat Limit: Unlimited
Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Introduces methods for recording speech and other vocalizations, for processing and modifying such recordings, and for synthesizing artificial speech. Necessary background in speech science is provided. Each student develops, executes, and presents a hands-on term project, related to their research interests, and produces a full-length technical conference proceedings style paper.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Conjoined with: COGS 151 Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
COGS 285: Topics in Philosophy of Cognitive Science
Units: 4
Detailed study of special topics in the philosophy of cognitive science, including (but not limited to): Animal Cognition, Cognitive Architecture, Consciousness, Mental Representation, Modularity, Nativism vs. Empiricism, and Self.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: Yes Repeat Limit: 3
Normal Letter Grade with Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Under faculty supervision, group of students meets each week for a semester in a student-led study group to pursue a specific topic of their choice that is not covered in other department courses.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: Yes Repeat Limit: Unlimited
Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
CRS 010: Introduction to Community Engaged Research
Units: 4
Introduction to the conditions and contexts for Community Engaged Research (CEnR) in the San Joaquin Valley-Sierra Nevada region and analogous communities nationally and internationally. Fundamental principles and approach of CEnR, and fundamental skills necessary to work with community members will be explored.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
CRS 195: Community Research and Service Experience
Lower Unit Limit: 1 Upper Unit Limit: 4
Provides students with a community-based undergraduate research experience. Links to our local San Joaquin Valley and Sierra Nevada regions while also considering global analogs. Addresses themes of: analytics of prosperity, sustainable development, and community engagement or community-inspired innovation.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: Yes Repeat Limit: 1
Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Open only to the following class level(s):
This project-based experience presents the use of computers to control information flow: data collection, management, analysis, and presentation. Basic programming skills, selection of appropriate computer-based tools and languages, and data security are covered. Emphasis is placed on computer knowledge necessary for non-CSE majors to successfully use and manage data and information.
Course Details Anticipated term(s) course will be offered:
Fall
Spring
Repeatable for Credit: No Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Basic concepts of discrete mathematics used in computer science and other disciplines that involve formal reasoning. Topics include logic, proof, counting, discrete probability, relations, graphs, trees, and Boolean algebra.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: MATH 022 or equivalent exam Instructor Permission Required: No
Presents the basics of programming to a student with no prior experience. Basic concepts of Input/Output, Data Types, Variables and Arrays will be introduced in the context of solving problems. Elementary programming skills such as conditional and loops execution will be emphasized.
Course Details Anticipated term(s) course will be offered:
Fall
Spring
Repeatable for Credit: No Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
CSE 021 is continuation of CSE 020 for a beginning student and relies heavily on prior knowledge of CSE 020 material. Modern programming concepts such as Object-oriented Programming, methods, recursion and data manipulation will be introduced. Students are expected to solve problems using different programming paradigms.
Course Details Anticipated term(s) course will be offered:
Fall
Spring
Repeatable for Credit: No Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: CSE 020 or equivalent exam Instructor Permission Required: No
Focuses on the design, analysis, and implementation of fundamental data structures, design patterns, and algorithms used throughout computer science, including linked lists, stacks, queues, trees, hash tables, graphs, recursion, and methods for searching and sorting.
Course Details Anticipated term(s) course will be offered:
Fall
Spring
Repeatable for Credit: No Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: CSE 021 or equivalent exam Instructor Permission Required: No
CSE 031: Computer Organization and Assembly Language
Units: 4
Exposes students to the underlying structure of machines. Starting from C programming, pointers, data representation, MIPS instruction-set, Compilation process and down to Hardware implementation.
Course Details Anticipated term(s) course will be offered:
Fall
Spring
Repeatable for Credit: No Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: CSE 030 Instructor Permission Required: No
Introduction to the design and analysis of computer algorithms. Topics will include concepts of algorithm complexity, and various algorithmic design patterns like divide and conquer, dynamic programming and greedy algorithms. Also covers major algorithms and data structures for searching and sorting, graphs and some optimization techniques.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: CSE 031 and CSE 015 Instructor Permission Required: No
Our ability to manipulate data depends on and is limited by our familiarity with computing technologies. We study tools for exploratory computing, emphasizing programming and scripting languages over point-and-click interfaces. We cover the Unix basics and common utilities, regular expressions, Perl and R languages. Development of a problem solving ability to learn languages independently and cull online documentation.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Overview of digital image processing including visual perception, image formation, spatial transformations, image enhancement, color image representations and processing, edge detection, image segmentation, and morphological image processing.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: MATH 024 and MATH 032 and CSE 031 Open only to the following class level(s):
Principles of database design and operation. Relational data model. High-level data modeling representations. SQL database language. Active databases with constraints and triggers. Query optimization with views and indexes. Exploiting database servers within programming languages for web application development. Other topics include transaction processing and recovery, user-defined functions, and data warehousing.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: CSE 031 Instructor Permission Required: No
Multidisciplinary teams work on approved design projects or on software teams. Through these projects, students will practice design methodology and learn modern software engineering techniques to create reliable, efficient, reusable, and maintainable software systems using various design process models. Good standard project practices topics will be covered.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: ENGR 065 and CSE 100 Instructor Permission Required: No
Presents an end-to-end view of the design life cycle for information systems and services. Explains how design problems are conceived, researched, analyzed and resolved in different types of organizations and contexts, including start-ups, enterprises with legacy-systems, non-profit and government entities.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Crosslisted with: MGMT 126 Discussion included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Open only to following major/minor(s):
Management & Business Economics (Undergraduate) - MBE
Understanding the inherent capabilities and limitations of computers is a fundamental question in computer science. To answer this question, we will define formal mathematical models of computation, and study their relationships with formal languages. Topics will consist of three central areas of the theory of computation: automata, computability, and complexity.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: CSE 015 Instructor Permission Required: No
Fundamental concepts of digital computer design, including instruction sets, memory systems and registers, logic and mathematics units, modern CPUs and their architectural features are discussed along with the motivation for each design choice.
Course Details Anticipated term(s) course will be offered:
Fall
Repeatable for Credit: No Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: CSE 031 Instructor Permission Required: No
CSE 155: Introduction to Human-Computer Interaction
Units: 4
Introduces students to the basic concepts in the theory and practice of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). Teaches how hardware and software design influence the interaction between human and computers to provide insights into the design and development of safe, effective, and enjoyable interactive systems.
Course Details Anticipated term(s) course will be offered:
Fall
Repeatable for Credit: No Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: CSE 100 Open only to the following class level(s):
Senior
Instructor Permission Required: No Strong skills in computer and Web programming preferred.
Design concepts and implementation features of computer networks. Concepts of network robustness, scalability, addressing, routing, and security. Several contemporary networking protocols are analyzed.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: CSE 031 Instructor Permission Required: No
CSE 165: Introduction to Object Orientated Programming
Units: 4
Topics include object-oriented programming concepts, such as classes, objects, methods, interfaces, packages, inheritance, encapsulation, and polymorphism.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Crosslisted with: ENGR 140 Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: (CSE 020 or equivalent exam) and (CSE 021 or equivalent exam) Instructor Permission Required: No
Basic algorithms in computer graphics enabling students to understand and experience the process of implementing modern computer graphics applications. Topics covered: programmable shaders, rasterization, hidden surface removal, transformations, rendering pipeline, scene graphs, curves and surfaces, boundary representation, spatial partition methods, keyframe animation, texture mapping, illumination and shading.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: CSE 031 and (MATH 023 or MATH 023H) and (CSE 165 or ENGR 140) Instructor Permission Required: No
Covers the main algorithms and techniques used in the implementation of interactive 3D Graphics, such as in Computer Games, Robotics Simulators and Virtual Reality. Topics covered are: keyframe animation, articulated figures, direct and inverse kinematics, physically-based simulation, path planning, behavior-based animation, scripting behaviors, and other advanced topics.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Conjoined with: EECS 287 Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: CSE 170 Instructor Permission Required: No
Design and analysis of computational simulations of human behavior and brain function. Techniques for modeling active membranes, individual neurons, the dynamics produced by recurrent excitation and lateral inhibition, synaptic plasticity, and the computational role of neurotransmitters. Formal models of perception, attention, learning, memory, language, categorization, and cognitive control.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Crosslisted with: COGS 123 Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: COGS 001 and any upper-division COGS course Instructor Permission Required: No
Overview of the main concepts and methods underlying the construction and analysis of intelligent systems, including agent architectures, problem solving, heuristic search, knowledge representation, reasoning, planning, communication, perception, robotics, and machine learning. Includes a laboratory component in which intelligent systems are constructed and examined.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Crosslisted with: COGS 125 Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: CSE 021 or equivalent exam COGS 001 recommended Instructor Permission Required: No
Survey of techniques for development and analysis of software that learns from experience. Specific topics: supervised learning (classification, regression); unsupervised learning (density estimation, clustering, dimensionality reduction); reinforcement learning; and others. Specific techniques: linear classifiers, mixture models, nonparametric methods, decision trees, neural networks, kernel machines, ensembles, graphical models, Bayesian methods, etc.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: MATH 032 and MATH 141 and CSE 031 Instructor Permission Required: No
Studies the internals of a database management system, with emphasis on query execution. The final goal of the class is to build a fully-functional database execution engine consisting of all the standard components: storage manager, buffer manager, query execution engine, query optimizer, and query compiler.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Conjoined with: EECS 277 Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: CSE 031 and CSE 111 Instructor Permission Required: No
Introduces fundamental concepts in the design and development of secure computer networks. Covers security threats, secret-key and public-key cryptography and algorithms, digital signatures, authentication, Electronic mail, Public-key infrastructure, viruses and worms.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: CSE 150 Instructor Permission Required: No
Parallel computing is pervasive. From embedded devices, laptops, to high-end supercomputer, and large-scale data centers, parallel computing is widely employed to achieve performance and efficiency targets. This course introduces the foundations of parallel computing, including parallel architectures, parallel programming methods and techniques, and parallel algorithm designs.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: CSE 140 and CSE 100 Instructor Permission Required: No
Covers the basic of robotics focusing on the algorithmic side, rather than technology. Introduces basic computational techniques concerning spatial modeling, planning, and sensor processing. The course has a strong hands-on component. Implementation of different techniques in simulation will complement the theoretical lectures.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: CSE 031 Instructor Permission Required: No
Overview of fundamental image processing and pattern recognition techniques including image formation, edge detection, image segmentation, optical flow, recovery of three-dimensional structure from shading or stereo information, shape representations, and issues in object recognition.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: CSE 031 or equivalent programming skills Open only to the following class level(s):
Junior
Senior
Instructor Permission Required: No Requires mathematical background commensurate with upper-division engineering students
Provides foundation for UC Merced’s general education program with a strong emphasis on writing, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, and understanding events in their historical and cultural contexts. CORE 001 is designed to introduce students to UC Merced’s faculty, our research, and the academic fields in which we work.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Discussion included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: WRI 001 or equivalent exam Open only to the following class level(s):
CORE 100: The World at Home: Planning for the Future in a Complex World II
Units: 4
Second half of the Core course sequence, building on the foundation of UC Merced’s general education program and has a strong emphasis on writing, quantitative literacy, critical thinking, and understanding events in their historical and cultural contexts. The inaugural theme is a study of how individuals and societies can make the best choices in preparing for an uncertain future. The unifying theme in these modules is contemporary California which acts as a common reference point highlighting the regional implications of global events or the global consequences of seemingly local choices. A wide range of interdisciplinary perspectives from the arts, humanities, social sciences, life and physical sciences, and engineering are brought to bear on the course topics. Upper-division-level quantitative literacy skills and writing ability is expected.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Discussion included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: CORE 001 Open only to the following class level(s):
CRES 001: Introduction to Critical Race and Ethnic Studies
Units: 4
Examines the historical and contemporary contexts of race and indigeneity. Uses an intersectional lens (including gender, sexuality, class, religion, etc.) to explore settler colonialism and labor; im/migration and segregation; and politics of representation and resistance.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Discussion included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
CRES 100: Theories in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies
Units: 4
Advanced survey of key issues, themes, and debates in the field of critical race and ethnic studies. Perspectives may include symbolic interaction, class analysis, sovereignty, literary criticism, feminism, racial formation, critical race theory, postmodernism, and global or transnational.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: CRES 001 or ANTH 100 or ENG 031 or SPAN 031 or ENG 100 or SPAN 100 or GASP 133 or GASP 021 or GASP 173A or GASP 160 or GASP 155 or GASP 101 or HIST 101 or GASP 175 or HIST 126 or HIST 017 or HIST 027 or HIST 100 or HIST 123 or HIST 141 or PHIL 103 or SOC 038 or SOC 100 or SOC 180 or equivalent exam Instructor Permission Required: No
Studies representations of race and its intersections with gender and sexuality in film and other popular media. Topics will include images in film, TV shows, and advertisements, the social implications of popular racial images, and the role of media in shaping and reflecting power relations.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
CRES 110: Interdisciplinary Methods in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies
Units: 4
Examines methodological approaches to the study of race and ethnicity in the United States. The course also assesses the relative strengths and weaknesses of key methodological paradigms. Perspectives may include ethnography and oral history, archival research, literary and cultural analysis, and decolonizing methods.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Explores the relationship between race, gender, class, sexuality and law as it applies to civil rights both in a historical and a contemporary context. Themes include myth, production, and effects of law. Topics include slavery, settler colonialism, voting rights, immigration, segregation, marriage, prison industrial complex, deportation, and reproductive rights.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Charts an interdisciplinary field of critical refugee studies (CRS) to re-conceptualize the refugee as a site of social and political critiques. It also assesses communities, movements, artists, and academic texts as critical sites of knowledge to forge new and humane dialogues and representations.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Introduction to basic principles of earth systems for non-science majors and prospective majors. A multidisciplinary approach that draws from geology, chemistry, physics, and biology to understand how the Earth functions as a complex system, and the role and impact of human beings on Earth systems.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Discussion and Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Explores the scientific basis for a rigorous definition of the concept of sustainability and its implementation in society. Using “back-of-the-envelope” style calculations it explains major magnitudes and trends of environmental impacts and sustainable activities. It will also employ assignments and discussions that encourage communication across disciplinary barriers.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Discussion included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Introduction to basic principles of coupled biological and earth systems for non-science majors and prospective majors. An interdisciplinary approach that combines concepts from biology and earth science to understand how the Earth functions as a biological incubator, the origin and evolution of molecular life, the rise of complex biological and ecological earth systems, human impacts, and the sustainable Earth.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
We are users and changers of our planet. This course discusses the materials and
resources our planet supplies to societies, and the environmental consequences that result from consumption. We will examine the origin and use of food, water, energy, and mineral resources, and consider challenges to management and
sustainability.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Discussion included Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Introduction to the geology of California for non-science majors. A tour of the major geologic features of our state, its geologic hazards, and its natural earth resources in the context of basic plate tectonics and earth science principles.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Discussion included Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Introduction to geology with emphasis on physical and chemical processes that have shaped the Earth through time. Topics include Earth history, plate tectonics, mineral and rock formation, mountain building and landscape evolution, and interior and surface geologic processes.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Fundamentals of ecosystem science; organization, function and development of ecological systems; energy and mass flow; biogeochemical cycling; biodiversity, population dynamics, and sustainability.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: (ESS 001 or ESS 005 or BIO 001 or equivalent exam) and (MATH 011 or MATH 021 or equivalent exam) and (PHYS 008 or PHYS 008H or PHYS 018 or equivalent exam) Instructor Permission Required: No
Introduction to biological, chemical, and physical oceanography, marine geomorphology, and their synthesis in the study of marine life; also including relationships with atmospheric, freshwater, and terrestrial systems. Areas of emphasis include ecosystems (from the deep sea to saltwater ponds), the integrated coastal zone, resource management, and global change.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Crosslisted with: BIO 034 Discussion included Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
ESS 040: Air Quality, Air Resources and Environmental Health
Units: 4
A survey of principles and issues related to air quality and resources from global to regional scales, including evolution of the earth’s atmosphere, urban smog formation, visibility, acid rain, stratospheric and tropospheric ozone, effects of meteorology on air pollution, air pollution transport across political boundaries, and health effects of exposure to air pollution.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Discussion included Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Astrobiology refers to the study of the origin and evolution of life in the cosmos: What is life, how did it form, and where is it? It is an integrative, multidisciplinary field that includes areas of astronomy, biology, (bio)chemistry, geology, and physics.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Crosslisted with: BIO 047 Discussion included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
An introduction to ecological principles and processes through the examination of California’s varied ecosystems; discussion of native and invasive species, land use, human impacts, and biodiversity; two Saturday field trips to a variety of California habitats.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Discussion included Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
History, causes, and consequences of anthropogenic and natural changes in the atmosphere, oceans, and terrestrial ecosystems; geologic evidence for glacial cycles and climate changes, modern marine and atmosphere circulation, greenhouse gases, deforestation and species extinctions, and human population growth and impacts on climate and resources.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Discussion included Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Provides an introduction to the history of life, emphasizing the radiation of dinosaur species throughout the Mesozoic Era, and ecological roles filled by different dinosaur groups. Connections will be made between the ecological, and environmental events shaping the Mesozoic and those experienced throughout the Anthropocene.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Crosslisted with: BIO 065 Discussion included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
ESS 070: Soil Foundations of Terrestrial Ecosystems
Units: 4
Examines the physical, chemical and biological properties of soils that influence terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. Topics include processes that control soil formation, evolution, development, and chemical properties. Particular emphasis is placed on the quantitative descriptions of energy nutrient and contaminant fluxes into, out of and through soils.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Discussion included Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: (ESS 001 or BIO 001 or equivalent exam) and (CHEM 002 or CHEM 002H or equivalent exam) Instructor Permission Required: No
ESS 100: Environmental Chemistry in Natural Sciences
Units: 4
Chemical principles of Earth systems focusing on environmental processes in water, soil, and air. Applications of equilibrium and kinetic concepts to natural and human-impacted environmental systems. Topics include composition of natural waters, acid-base chemistry, mineral and gas solubility, oxidation and reduction, natural organic matter, and biogeochemical cycles.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: (CHEM 010 or CHEM 010H or equivalent exam) and (MATH 011 or MATH 021 or equivalent exam) Instructor Permission Required: No
ESS 102: Chemical Processes in the Soil Environment
Units: 3
Thermodynamics and kinetics of chemical process in soil systems. Topics include the formation and identification of common minerals, adsorption/desorption, precipitation/dissolution, and electrochemical reactions in soils.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: ENVE 100 or ESS 100 Instructor Permission Required: No
Quantitative analysis of earth systems using principles of thermodynamics, kinetics, and isotope geochemistry; solution-mineral equilibrium and phase relations; equilibrium and reactive transport approaches to modeling geochemical processes at ambient and elevated temperatures.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: ENVE 100 or ESS 100 Instructor Permission Required: No
Focus on organic chemical reactions in soils and sedimentary environments. Topics include the formation and weathering of natural organic matter and reactions of natural organic matter with pollutants.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: ENVE 100 or ESS 100 Instructor Permission Required: No
ESS 108: Surface and Colloid Chemistry of Earth Materials
Units: 3
Surface, colloid, and interfacial chemistry related to soil, environmental, and microbial applications; properties, energetics, and reactivity of surfaces and interfaces of Earth materials; the role of mineral surfaces in promoting and catalyzing chemical phenomena at phase boundaries.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: ENVE 100 or ESS 100 Instructor Permission Required: No
Chemical principles, structure, and bonding of minerals and Earth materials, including crystallography (symmetry, space groups, group theory), coordination chemistry, bonding models (valence bond, crystal field, and MO theories), and electronic and magnetic properties.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Conjoined with: ES 209 Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: ESS 100 or ENVE 100 or CHEM 010 or CHEM 010H or equivalent exam Instructor Permission Required: No
Develops an understanding of the conceptual basis of the sciences of climate and hydrology and to introduce quantitative methods that (a) allow interpretation of hydrologic and climate data, (b) describe of linkages between the various components of the hydrologic and climate system, and (c) support decision making in resource management and conservation.
Course Details Anticipated term(s) course will be offered:
Fall
Repeatable for Credit: No Discussion included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: (ENVE 020 or MATH 015) and (MATH 012 or MATH 022 or equivalent exam) Instructor Permission Required: No
Hydrologic and geologic factors controlling the occurrence and use of groundwater on regional and local scales. Physical, mathematical, geologic and engineering concepts fundamental to subsurface hydrologic processes. Introduction to ground-water flow and transport modeling, with emphasis on model construction and simulation.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Conjoined with: ES 212 Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: ENVE 110 or ESS 110 Instructor Permission Required: No
Teaches intermediate-level concepts in sustainability and Anthropocene studies in the context of societal issues facing this and future generations. The goal is to help prepare students to effectively interpret, generate, and use data and multiple modes of communication in future venues as a researcher or a citizen.
Course Details Anticipated term(s) course will be offered:
Fall
Repeatable for Credit: No Crosslisted with: BIO 113 Discussion included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Open only to the following class level(s):