web.cnre.ufl.edu
 

        The College of Natural Resources and Environment offers a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental science, with tracks in environmental science and natural resource management, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in environmental science with tracks in environmental education, environmental policy, and environmental policy and business.

        The mission of the college is to enable students to understand the interaction of natural systems and society and to develop the intellectual capacity to address the environmental and natural resource issues facing Florida, the nation and the world.

        The college’s degree tracks are science-based, multi-disciplinary and academically rigorous.  The curriculum spans the range of human knowledge needed to solve complex environmental problems not amenable to narrowly based solutions.

        It offers access to 235 courses taught in 56 departments, uniting much of the university’s academic pro-grams in a future-oriented liberal science. The curriculum combines the basic and applied sciences needed to diagnose problems, the engineering needed to devise solutions and the social sciences of human processes and institutions needed to take action. The degree does not replace the more specialized degrees offered in the university’s departments of engineering, life sciences and social sciences.

        The college operates horizontally across UF’s elaborate structure of academic disciplines. The college has no faculty or departments of its own.  Instead, participating faculty are in existing discipline-centered departments in other colleges.  Approximately 257 members of the university’s faculty in 49 departments of 11 other colleges are formally affiliated with the College of Natural Resources and Environment.

        The baccalaureate degree in environmental science prepares graduates to enter the diverse and vigorous environmental job market or to advance to a graduate degree program in anthropology, botany, entomology and nematology, environmental engineering, fisheries, forestry, political science, resource economics, soil and water science, wildlife or zoology, or to a professional degree program in architecture, business, education, journalism or law.

        Students interested in environmental science should prepare by meeting the pre-professional requirements.  Students seeking to become registered professional engineers in environmental engineering sciences, how-ever, should instead follow the pre-professional requirements of that department. Those students unsure about becoming engineers should make curricular selections that maintain their options until they make a firm decision.

Students seeking the maximum depth of scholarship available in a more specialized or traditional environment-oriented discipline in another college are encouraged to major in the appropriate discipline-centered department rather than the College of Natural Resources and Environment.

        Other interdisciplinary programs related to the environment also exist at the university.  The interdisciplinary studies (IDS) major in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences offers an environmental studies option (contact: Dr. Patricia Miller, 392-6800). The College of Agriculture offers an environmental management in agriculture major that balances agricultural production, economics and the environment.  The food and resource economics major in the College of Agriculture offers a natural resources and environmental economics option (contact: Dr. Jimmy Cheek, 392-1963).  The College of Agriculture also offers a natural resource conservation major focusing on renewable natural resources jointly administered through the School of Forest Resources and Conservation and the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation (contact the undergraduate coordinator of either unit).

MAJOR AND MINOR
 
 

Admission to the College

        Prospective freshmen and transfer students from Florida public community colleges or other institutions interested in this degree should apply to the Office of Admissions, University of Florida, Box 114000, Gainesville, FL  32611-4000.

Academic Advising

        For academic advising, contact the Office of the Dean, Box 118100, 330 Little Hall, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL  32611-8100, telephone 352-392-9230.  If hearing impaired, call the Florida Relay Service at 1-800-955-8771 (TDD).

Planning the Course Program

        Requirements for admission at the junior level include:

• 2.00 or better overall GPA (4.0 scale) in all collegiate course work, and
• Completion of, with grades of C or better, each of the courses attempted from the college’s pre-professional requirements.
• Passing all parts of CLAST.

        For efficiency, students planning their course work should seek to maximize an overlap of college pre-professional requirements with general education and Gordon Rule requirements, as outlined below.

•  The college science pre-professional requirements satisfy up to 12 hours of the physical and biological sciences general education requirement (the basic 9-hour requirement plus the variable three hours from a category).  Students should allocate the variable three hours to physical and biological sciences to reduce the humanities requirement from nine to six hours.
• The economics pre-professional requirements satisfy up to six hours of the 9-hour social and behavioral sciences requirement (six if satisfied with ECO 2013 and 2023, four if satisfied with AEB 3103).
• The policy pre-professional requirement (POS 2041) for B.A. students satisfies the remaining three hours of the 9-hour social and behavioral sciences requirement.  B.S. students may satisfy the remaining three hours of the 9-hour social and behavioral sciences requirement with certain courses available in the core requirements of the major, under ethics (AGG 4444) and policy (PUP 3204, PUP 4021)
• The college mathematics and statistics pre-professional requirements satisfy the 6-hour mathematics general education requirement and the 6-hour Gordon Rule computation requirement.
• Satisfying the preceding requirements leaves the following 18 hours: six hours of humanities, three hours of composition and nine hours of Gordon Rule writing.
• Students should seek to take humanities, composition and Gordon Rule writing courses that also satisfy the 6-hour international studies and diversity overlap, such as LIT 2110 and 2120 or 2000-level foreign language humanities courses.

Transfer Admission Requirements

        A student who has completed the Associate of Arts degree or 60 semester hours (90 quarter hours) of credit at another college or university, including most of this college’s pre-professional requirements, is invited to apply to the university, if the following minimum requirements are met:

• 2.00 or better overall GPA in all collegiate course work, and
• Completion with grades of C or better, each of the courses listed as the college’s pre-professional requirements.
• Passing all parts of CLAST.

Dual Degrees and Majors

        The college rarely approves applications for dual degrees or majors from students of other colleges.

Combined Degree Program

        4/1 Bachelor’s/Master’s Degree Program

        Qualified seniors in this college can participate in a 4-years-plus-1-year bachelor’s/master’s degree program sequence combining a bachelor’s degree in environmental science with a Master of Science (non-thesis) in interdisciplinary ecology.

        The combined degree program leaves the existing bachelor’s degree program intact, except that students can substitute up to eight hours of graduate courses for undergraduate electives, as approved by the college. These graduate courses are double-counted toward the 38 credits required for the Master of Science, which can be completed completed in a year (3-4 semesters) after the bachelor’s degree.

Eligibility

• Completion of all pre-professional requirements and 15 hours of the environmental science core
• Senior status (4NE)
• Minimum junior-senior level GPA of 3.3
• Minimum total combined GRE score of 1100.

Financial Aid

        Information about grants, scholarships, loans, work-study programs and other forms of financial aid for undergraduate students in the college is available from the Director of Student Financial Affairs, 103 Criser Hall, Box 114025, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL  32611-4025.

College Requirements

        Students admitted to the college are expected to assume full responsibility for registering for appropriate courses and fulfilling college and university requirements.  During their first term in the college, students must obtain academic advising and a plan of study work-sheet from the college office in 330 Little Hall.  Students should review the relevant information in this catalog each term to track and plan the progress of their academic work.  Failure to understand and follow these guidelines could cause unnecessary hardship, delay and expense.

Normal Loads

        This is a full-time degree program.  Students are expected to enroll for a normal course load of 15 credit hours in the fall and spring semesters (6 hours during summer session A or B, or 12 hours in summer C). Course loads above 17 hours must be approved by the dean in 330 Little Hall.

Satisfactory Progress

        Each student pursuing a major in the college is expected to make satisfactory progress each term.  This includes:
 • taking course work that is appropriate to the degree.
 • maintaining an overall University of Florida cumulative GPA of 2.00 or better.
 • earning a grade of C or better in two attempts (including the grade of W) in each course in the major.
 • not withdrawing from the university more than once while enrolled in the college.
 • fulfilling the requirements for the degree.

Probation

        Students who do not make satisfactory academic progress will be placed on college probation.  A student on academic probation at the start of a semester is expected to correct the situation by the end of that term. A student still under probation after two semesters will be excluded from further registration in the college. College probation resulting from a student withdrawing from the university for a second time will continue until graduation. A student withdrawing from the university for a third time will be excluded from further registration in the college.

Drop Policy

        During drop/add, courses may be added or dropped without penalty. After the drop/add deadline, students are permitted to drop only two courses without penalty during the freshman and sophomore years and only two courses during the junior and senior years. Petitions to drop courses beyond the allotted number will be ap-proved only when circumstances beyond the student’s control prevent satisfactory completion of a course.

        After drop/add and until the deadline to drop a course by college petition, all drops must be processed through the dean’s office in 330 Little Hall. Such drops will appear as a W grade (withdrew) on the transcript. Additional drops after the drop/add period, and drops occur-ring after the college petition deadline, will receive a WF grade (withdrew failing).

Withdrawal

        A student dropping his or her entire course load must contact the Office for Student Services in 202 Peabody Hall, because this constitutes withdrawal from the university. Withdrawal procedures are established by the Office of the University Registrar and are subject to published deadlines.

Computer Requirement

        The college follows the general recommendations for computer hardware and software. These recommendations reflect the computing environment of campus-wide computing labs and services. Consistency with campus norms is important courses will be taught in the colleges of Agriculture, Engineering, Liberal Arts and Sciences, and others. Students take a variety of courses in different departments of the university.

        The university has negotiated economical purchasing contracts with several computer vendors, and these prices are available at the University of Florida Bookstores’ Technology Hub. Special prices for software are also available.

        Students must use computer software to perform course assignments successfully and efficiently. The professor will determine the particular software required for the course. Some courses require purchase of custom-written CD-ROM-based tutorials or specific commercial software. The minimum set of software will include word processing, spreadsheet, an internet browser with graphics capability, e-mail with file-attachment capability and multimedia software for CD-ROM course material.

        Other useful software that might be required includes Maple (mathematics software site-licensed at the university and available at no charge), presentation software, desktop publishing and internet authoring tools.

        The standard software for Internet and e-mail access on campus is Netscape Communicator, provided on the UF Software CD and sold at the UF Bookstores’ Technology Hub for $3 plus tax. Satisfactory alternatives are Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (Inter-net) and Outlook (e-mail and contact management) pro-grams.

        Internet access, required for many courses, is free to all university students for up to 15 hours per month through Gatorlink, a service of the university. Connection time in excess of 15 hours per month costs $0.008 per minute. The university provides e-mail addresses for all students at no charge. Students also may choose to use a commercial Internet provider that charges flat rates for unlimited access.

        Tutorials for Microsoft Office productivity software are available on the UF Software CD. Students deciding to use Microsoft Office software should consider obtaining this CD.

        The College of Natural Resources and Environment recommends the following strategies when deciding what computer hardware to obtain:

• Students entering as new freshmen or juniors should obtain the latest technology by waiting to acquire a computer until just a few months before entering UF.
• Freshmen should consider leasing a computer or purchasing the minimum recommended configuration, with the intent of upgrading to a more advanced computer upon entry into the junior year.
• Students deciding to purchase the more advanced configuration as freshmen or sophomores should anticipate upgrades to attain newly developed capability.
• The college recommends that freshmen choose a windows-based PC, which is conventional in the sciences and engineering. The college also recommends that freshmen choose a desktop computer rather than a laptop. Students then can consider a laptop for the third and fourth years of study.

        Refer to the university home page at http:// www.ufl.edu or to the CIRCA home page at http://www.circa.ufl.edu/computers for general computer information as well as a link to the college’s web page for specific program requirements.

Internships

        Students are encouraged but not required to gain workplace experience through internships.  The dean’s office maintains a list of potential sources of internships. Students must make arrangements with an employer or volunteer organization, prepare a job description, obtain the dean’s approval and report to the dean upon completion of the semester’s internship. The college grants course credit for internships (S/U grades, 1-3 credits, 1 per semester up to a maximum of 3 semesters) to enable maintenance of student status.

Minor in Environmental Science

        Students outside the College of Natural Resources and Environment may apply for admission to the minor in environmental science.

        The minor is intended for students in liberal sciences, agricultural sciences, engineering or business.  It requires exposure to the major subject areas of environmental science included in the core of the college major.  It re-quires five courses (15-17 hours), selected as follows:
 
 

Take one course each from three of the five following subject areas as detailed in the Core Requirements for the Major.
 
 

Minor in Environmental Studies (for non-scientists)

        The minor in environmental studies (for non-scientists) is distinct from the minor in environmental science (for science-oriented students).  It provides course work with high environmental relevance but only an introductory scientific foundation for students in fields such as architecture, humanities or fine arts who want to gain useful knowledge of the environment without having access blocked by course prerequisites in the bio-physical sciences. The minor requires exposure to a combination of basic environmental science, issues, applications and policy. It requires five courses (15-17 hours), selected as follows:
 
 

        Students must be juniors or seniors before they can apply for the minor in environmental science.  The application is available in 330 Little Hall.  Students must first obtain the signature of the dean or authorized representative of their major college before submitting the completed form to 330 Little Hall for processing.

        Transfer work will be accepted only for PCB 3043C, PCB 4044C and a global sciences course.  To be considered for admission to the minor, students must have a minimum 2.00 overall GPA on all UF course work at-tempted.

        Each course for the minor requires a minimum grade of C.  The minor will be listed on the transcript at graduation.

Graduation Requirements

        Graduation requires satisfactory completion of 120 semester hours of course work for the B.S. or B.A. degree, as prescribed below.  The last 60 hours of course work must be taken at the 3000-level or above.  Graduation requires a 2.00 GPA or better in all credits required to-ward the degree, a 2.00 GPA in all courses attempted at the university and a C or better grade in each course taken in the major (college core and elective courses).

Dean’s List and Honors

        Students will be recognized on the Dean’s List for the semester when they earn a minimum of 14 credit hours (or 12 hours during the summer), receive a 3.5 or better GPA and have no grade below a C.

        To graduate with honors, a student must complete the requirements for the baccalaureate in environmental science with a junior/senior level GPA of 3.5 or better.

(For purposes of honors, UF junior/senior level courses are defined as all courses taken at this university after the student has earned 60 credit hours, wherever taken.)

        To graduate with high honors, a student must complete the requirements with a junior/senior level GPA of 3.5 or better and complete a thesis.  To graduate with highest honors, a student must complete the degree requirements with a junior/ senior level GPA of 3.75 or better and complete a thesis.

Environmental Science Major

        The freshmen/sophomore years lay a foundation of course work for building later expertise.  Students need to know the natural sciences of physics, chemistry and biology, with laboratory experience.  Study of microeconomics and macroeconomics are required to understand the human economy. Introductory statistics empowers students to independently evaluate sets of numbers.  College algebra and an introduction to calculus enable students to work with rates of change, the heart of ecological science.

        The pre-professional courses for the B.S. tracks in environmental science and natural resource management prepare students for the science-oriented versions of the major. The requirements for the B.A. track in environ-mental policy include less physics and mathematics, preparing students for a major that combines science and policy.

        Course work provides a base of common knowledge and experience in subjects essential to environmental science. Then students diverge into electives chosen according to individual interest.  Senior-year students return to a common course that develops critical thinking skills by confronting conflicts of ecological and economic paradigms, synthesizing across physical, biological and social systems, and engaging diverse knowledge and views to resolve key environmental problems.

Summary of Course Work Requirements in semester hours
 
 

*** Typical number of hours; actual number depends   on course selections.
*** 31 hours for the toxicology concentration.
*** 2 hours for the toxicology concentration.

Pre-professional Requirements

        Each student in the college must fulfill pre-professional requirements that differ only slightly for the B.S. and B.A. degrees.  These consist of courses in chemistry, physics, biology, calculus, statistics and economics, totaling 39-46 (typically 43) credit hours for the B.S. and 31-39 (typically 34) hours for the B.A.

        In addition to the pre-professional requirements, all students are responsible for completing the university’s general education and Gordon Rule requirements.

        Certain pre-professional requirements simultaneously satisfy 18-21 credit hours (depending on courses selected) of the general education mathematics, physics, biology, and social and behavioral sciences. Remaining general education requirements include 15-18 credit hours (depending on college pre-professional courses taken) in composition, humanities, and social and behavioral sciences.

        The 12 credit hours of Gordon Rule writing requirements include 3-12 hours taken for general education and college pre-professional requirements, depending on selections. The six credit hours of Gordon Rule computation requirements are satisfied by college pre-professional requirements.

General Education and Gordon Rule Requirements

        In addition to the pre-professional requirements, all students are responsible for completing the general education and Gordon Rule communication (E) and computation (M) requirements. Pre-professional courses simultaneously satisfy the general education requirements in physical and biological sciences (12 hours), mathematics (6 hours) and part (6 hours for the B.S.) or all (9 hours for the B.A.) of the requirement in social and behavioral sciences. Remaining requirements include:
 

 
 
Core Requirements for Major

        Students seeking a B.S. or B.A. take a core of courses, including a general course in environmental science and courses in ethics, ecology, organic chemistry, earth science, global science, hydrologic systems, policy and natural resource management.

        The core provides 31-32 credit hours of course work in physical, biological and social sciences.  The B.S. and B.A. tracks are similar. The B.S. includes one course in policy and one in organic chemistry; the B.A. includes two policy courses and no organic chemistry. Beyond the core requirement, each student selects 21-27 additional credits from electives for the major. During the fourth year, all students take a capstone course where critical thinking skills are developed.

        Letters in parentheses following the credit hours de-note general education categories: composition (C), humanities (H), social and behavioral sciences (S), mathematical sciences (M) and physical (P) and biological (B) sciences.  A +, c, or p following the credit hours denote prerequisites, co-requisites or permission of instructor required, respectively.

Courses Credits
 
 

 
 
Electives for Environmental Science Track

        The environmental science track emphasizes the basic sciences from which the applied sciences derive.  The track is designed by the student to cover the full breadth of the subject by selecting no concentration or the track is designed to focus on one aspect of the field by a concentration in ecosystems, environmental technology, mineral resources, natural history, toxicology, mathematics or business administration.

        Elective courses required beyond the core requirements are distributed among four categories: physical sciences, biological sciences, human dimensions and additional skills and concepts.

        Courses taken to fulfill the core requirements cannot fulfill elective requirements.

        Students may substitute graduate courses for electives, with approval of the college and permission of the instructor. To substitute a 6000-level course, the student must have senior standing and a junior-senior level GPA of at least 3.0.
 
 

  
 
* If this course was taken to fulfill the core requirement, it cannot fulfill the elective requirement.

Electives for Environmental Policy Track

        The environmental policy track focuses on the social sciences that connect the natural sciences and engineering to society.  Electives in the areas of policy, law, public administration and resource economics make this the preferred track for students interested in advancing to law school or in policy aspects of environmental consulting or public agency work.

        Students may substitute appropriate graduate courses for listed electives, with approval of the college and permission of the instructor.  To substitute a 6000-level course, the student must have senior standing and a junior-senior level GPA of at least 3.0.
 
 

 
** If this course was taken to fulfill the core requirement, it cannot fulfill this elective requirement and the student must select a substitution from the major elective category.

Electives for Environmental Policy and Business Track

        The environmental policy and business track combines a general overview of business (courses in the major functional areas of business administration) with courses in environmental policy.
 
        Along with the prerequisite ECO 2013 Microeconomics, the listed courses in the Warrington College of Business Administration would make students eligible for a minor in business administration.  Similarly, combining the prerequisite AEB 3103, ACG 2021C and three of the listed AEB courses would make students eligible for a minor in food and resource economics.  This track benefits employment in environmental consulting, corporate/agency environmental management or environmental law.

        Students may substitute appropriate graduate courses for electives, with approval of the college and permission of the instructor.  To substitute a 6000-level course, the student must have senior standing and a junior-senior level GPA of at least 3.0.
 
 
 

 
 
Electives for Environmental Education Track

        The environmental education track prepares for work in nature education centers, environmental organizations, public agency environmental interpretation programs or as a nature tour guide in the private sector.

        It is a suitable degree for entry into graduate school in education, but it does not lead directly to public school teacher certification nor toward efficient completion of the five-year professional teacher education program in the College of  Education.

        Students may substitute appropriate graduate courses for listed electives, with approval of the college and permission of the instructor.  To substitute a 6000-level course, the student must have senior standing and a junior-senior level GPA of at least 3.0.
 
 

        Students may substitute appropriate graduate courses for electives, with approval of the college and permission of the instructor.  To substitute a 6000-level course, the student must have senior standing and a junior-senior level GPA of at least 3.0.
 
 

 
 
** Note:  POS 2041 is a prerequisite for all courses in the environmental policy category.
** If this course was taken to fulfill the core requirement, it cannot fulfill this elective requirement, and the student must select a substitution from the categories of
     human effects, resource management, or quantitative methods.