The School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS) offers bachelor's degree programs in 20 programs of study (curricula), many with several areas of further concentration (options). All programs of study are designed to achieve the goals outlined in the section on Missions, Goals, and Core Curriculum Requirements of the Undergraduate Program.
Students matriculating before fall 2015 must satisfactorily complete course requirements in each of the following areas: (I) interdisciplinary critical analysis; (II) introductory life and physical sciences; (III) humanities and the arts; (IV) multicultural and international studies; (V) human behavior, economic systems, and political processes; (VI) oral and written communication; (VII) experience-based education; and (VIII) proficiency in a field/concentration. A complete description of the area requirements can be found here.
First-year students matriculating fall 2015 or after and transfer students matriculating fall 2016 and after must complete a goal-based Core Curriculum: sebs.rutgers.edu/core.
The SEBS goal-based Core Curriculum is structured as a set of core liberal arts and sciences learning goals framed as activities that students will be able to do at a foundational level by virtue of meeting the specific core goal. Courses may be counted as meeting multiple learning goals; students generally will complete the core in 10 to 14 courses of 3 or 4 credits each. A course used to meet core goals may also be used to fulfill a major or minor requirement. Only graded degree credit-bearing courses worth at least 3 credits and certified by the faculty may be used to meet core goals. Lists of courses certified as meeting each goal can be found in the Degree Navigator system.
21st-Century Challenges
(3 credits) Students must meet
one goal in a 21C course. [21C]
-
Analyze the degree to which forms of human difference
shape a person's experiences of and perspectives on the world.
-
Analyze a contemporary global issue from a
multidisciplinary perspective.
-
Analyze the relationship that science and technology
have to a contemporary social issue.
-
Analyze issues of social justice across local and
global contexts.
Experience-Based
Education
(0-3 credits) Practical application
of disciplinary knowledge. Students must participate in a certified
experience that meets this goal. [EBE]
-
Complete and report on an applied experience (e.g.,
professional practice, service learning, or research) in order to examine
and evaluate ideas within a discipline.
Areas
of Inquiry
Natural Sciences
(6 credits) Each course must meet goal e and either f or g
(or both). Students must meet two goals with courses in two of the following
disciplines: physical, biological or environmental sciences. [NS]
e. Understand and apply basic
principles and concepts in the physical or biological sciences.
f. Explain and be able to assess the relationship among
assumptions, method, evidence, arguments, and theory in scientific
analysis.
g. Identify and critically assess ethical and societal
issues in science.
Social and Historical Analysis
(see HST and SCL below--all courses meet at least one h, i, and j)
h. Understand the bases and development
of human and societal endeavors across time and place.
i. Explain and be able to assess the relationship among
assumptions, method, evidence, arguments, and theory in social and
historical analysis.
j. Identify and critically assess ethical issues in social
science and history.
Historical Analysis
(3 credits-all courses meet one of h, i, j) Students
must meet one goal (k or l). [HST]
k. Explain the development of some
aspect of a society or culture over time, including the history of ideas or
history of science.
l. Employ historical reasoning to study human endeavors.
Social Analysis
(3 credits-all courses meet one of h, i, j) Students
must meet one goal (m or n). [SCL]
m. Understand different theories about
human culture, social identity, economic entities, political systems, and other
forms of social organization.
n. Apply concepts about human and social behavior to
particular questions or situations.
Economic Analysis
(3 credits) Students must meet one goal. [ECN]
-
Use the principles of economics, finance, and
accounting to analyze and solve problems related to institutions,
policies, and management.
-
Evaluate the institutional factors that underlie and influence
policy decisions.
Governance and Regulation Analysis
(3 credits) Students must meet one goal. [GVT]
-
Analyze ethical, moral, and legal dimensions of
environmental resource use, regulation, and management spanning
governmental and nongovernmental institutions.
-
Use theory and evidence from the social sciences to
analyze the decisions made by organizations that affect resource use, the
environment, and health; including the organizations involved, the
influences on those decisions, and the intended and unintended
consequences that are likely to result.
Arts and Humanities
(6 credits) Students must meet two goals. [AH]
o. Examine critically philosophical and
other theoretical issues concerning the nature of reality, human experience,
knowledge, value, and/or cultural production.
p. Analyze arts and/or literatures in themselves and in
relation to specific histories, values, languages, cultures, and
technologies.
q. Understand the nature of human languages and their
speakers.
r. Engage critically in the process of creative
expression.
Cognitive
Skills and Processes
Writing and Communication
(6 credits: 01:355:101; one WCD [t]) Students must meet
two goals. [WC - WC101; WCD]
s. (s1) Communicate complex ideas
effectively, in standard written English, to a general audience.
t. Communicate effectively in modes appropriate to a
discipline or area of inquiry. [WCd]
u. Evaluate and critically assess sources and use the
conventions of attribution and citation correctly.
v. Analyze and synthesize information and ideas from
multiple sources to generate new insights.
Quantitative and Formal Reasoning
(6 credits or 3 plus placement out of 3) Students must
meet two goals. [QQ; QR or placement out of]
w. Formulate, evaluate, and communicate
conclusions and inferences from quantitative information. (Includes various
quantitative methods courses as well as 640 courses) [QQ]
x. Apply effective and efficient mathematical or other
formal processes to reason and to solve problems. (Includes 640 courses
and formal reasoning course--or placement out of) [QR]
Information Technology and Research
(3 credits or equivalent) Students must meet one goal.
[ITR]
y. Employ current technologies to
access information, to conduct research, and to communicate findings.
z. Analyze and critically assess information from
traditional and emergent technologies.
aa.
Understand the principles that underlie information
systems.
