Environmental Policy & Politics

The Environmental Policy & Politics track provides students with an in-depth look at how environmental policies are created and implemented from a political science point of view. The track includes extensive courses in political science, environmental policy, and economics.

Preparatory Subject Matter Requirements

Course IDs	Course Title	Quarters Offered	Units	Notes
Written and Oral Expression
UWP 101 or any 102 or 104	Upper Division Writing	I, II, III, IV	4	May test out of requirement
CMN 1, 3V, 3Y, or DRA 10	Communication	I, II, III, IV	4
Biological/Physical Science (complete all)
BIS 2A or 2B or 10	Essentials of Life on Earth or General Biology	I, II, III, IV	4-5	Can’t use BIS 2B both here and below
CHE 2A or 10	General Chemistry or Concepts of Chemistry	I, II, IV	4-5	CHE 10 offered in Fall only
PHY 1A	Principles of Physics	I, II, IV	3
Biological/Physical Science (select one)
BIS 2B or 2C	Principles of Ecology & Evolution	I, II, III, IV	5	Can’t use BIS 2B both here and above
CHE 2B	General Chemistry	II, III, IV	5
PHY 1B	Principles of Physics	II, III	3
Computer Science (select one)
CMN 12Y	Data Visualization	I, II, III	4
PLS 21 or 21V	Applications of Computers in Technology	I, II, III	3
Economics
ECN 1A or 1AV or 1AY	Principles of Microeconomics	I, II, III, IV	4	Need C- or better
ECN 1B or 1BV	Principles of Macroeconomics	I, II, III, IV	4	Need C- or better
Environmental Science (select one)
ANS 1	Domestic Animals and People	I	4
ATM 60	Introduction to Atmospheric Science	I	4
AVS 13	Birds, Humans, & the Environment	I	3
GEL 1	The Earth	I, II, III	4
HYD 10	Water, Power, Society	III	3
PLS/SAS 12	Plants and Society	I, II, III	4
SSC 10	Soils in Our Environment	I	3
Environmental Studies
ESP 1	Environmental Analysis	I, IV	4
Mathematics
MAT 16A, 17A, or 21A	Calculus	I, II, III, IV	3-4	Need C- or better
MAT 16B, 17B, or 21B	Calculus	I, II, III, IV	3-4	Need C- or better
Political Science
POL 1 or 1Y	American National Government	Varies	4	POL 1 is generally offered twice a year
Statistics (select one)
STA 13	Elementary Statistics	I, II, III, IV	4
STA 32	Statistical Analysis through Computers	II, III	3

Depth Subject Matter Requirements

NOTE: Students graduating with this major are required to attain at least a C average (2.0 GPA) in all courses taken at the university in Depth Subject Matter and pass all coursework. See requirements of the College of Agriculture & Environmental Science in the UC Davis General Catalog.

Course IDs	Course Title	Prerequisites	Quarters Offered	Units
Evaluation and Analysis
ESP 110	Principles of Environmental Science	PHY 1A or 7A; MAT 16B or 17B or 21B; BIS 2A or 10 recommended	II	4
ESP 160	The Policy Process	POL 1; ECN 1A and STA 13 recommended	III	4
ESP 168A	Methods of Environmental Policy Analysis	ESP 1 or 10; STA 13 or 100; ECN 1A; ECN 100A recommended	I	5
ESP 168B	Methods of Environmental Policy Evaluation	ESP 168A	III	4
Environmental Law
ESP 161	Environmental Law	Upper division standing and one course in env science; POL 1 and UWP 1 recommended	I, III	4
Environmental Impact Assessment
ESP 179	Environmental Impact Assessment	ESP 1 or the equivalent	II, IV	4
Research Design
ESP 178	Applied Research Methods	ARE 106 or SOC 106 or STA 100 or 103 or 108 or equivalent	II	4
Select one Quantitative Methods Course
SOC 106	Intermediate Social Statistics	SOC 45B or SOC 56 or consent of instructor	I, II	5
STA 100	Applied Statistics for Biological Sciences	MAT 16B or 17B or 21B; all with a C- or better	I, II, III, IV	4
STA 103	Applied Statistics for Business & Economics	STA 13 or 32 or 100; MAT 16B or 17B or 21B with a C- or better	I, II, III, IV	4
STA 108	Applied Stat Methods: Regression Analysis	STA 13 or 32 or 100 with a C- or better	I, II, III, IV	4
Select one Microeconomics Course
ARE 100A	Intermediate Microeconomics	ECN 1A and 1B; MAT 16C or 17B or 21B; All with C- or better	I, II, III, IV	4
ECN 100A	Intermediate Micro Theory	ECN 1A and 1B; MAT 16B or 17B or 21B; all with a C- or better	I, II, III, IV	4
Select one Resource Economics Course
ARE/ESP 175	Natural Resource Economics	ARE 100A or ECN 100A or ECN 100 with a C- or better	III	4
ARE 176	Environmental Economics	ARE 100A or ECN 100A or ECN 100 with a C- or better	I	4
ECN 125	Energy Economics	ARE 100A or ECN 100A or ECN 100	Varies	4
Select one Environmental Data Science Course
ABT/LDA 150	Introduction to GIS	None	I, II, III	4
ESP 106	Environmental Data Science	STA 13 or 32 or 100 (can be concurrent)	II	4
Strongly recommended but not required: Select one advanced GIS or remote sensing course
ABT 181N*	Concepts & Methods in GIS	LDA 150 or consent of instructor	II	4
ABT/HYD 182**	Environmental Analysis with GIS	LDA 150 or equiv GIS exp, bio and/or ecology courses rec.	II	4
ESM 186	Environmental Remote Sensing	MAT 16B; PHY 7C or 9B; LDA 150 recommended	II	5
ESM 185	Aerial Photo Interpretation & Rmt Sensing	Upper division standing	I	4

I = fall quarter, II = winter quarter, III = spring quarter, IV = summer session
*Course is offered in odd years only (2023, 2025, etc.)
**Course is offered in even years only (2024, 2026, etc.)

Track Courses

Note: The same course cannot be used to meet both a depth requirement and a track requirement at the same time.

Course IDs	Course Title	Prerequisites	Quarters	Units
Select one political institutions course
POL 100	Local Government and Politics	POL 1 recommended	Varies	4
POL 104	CA State Government and Politics	POL 1 recommended and consent of instructor	Varies	4
POL 105	The Legislative Process	POL 1 recommended	Varies	4
POL 107	Environmental Politics & Administration	POL 1 recommended	Varies	4
POL 109	Public Policy & the Governmental Process	POL 1 recommended	Varies	4
Select two policy courses
ECI 165*	Transportation Policy	None	I	4
ESP 165	Climate Policy	ECN 1A, ESP 1, or consent of instructor	I	3
ESP 166	Ocean and Coastal Policy	ESP 1 or consent of instructor	I	3
ESP 167**	Energy Policy	ECN 1A and MAT 16B or 17B or 21B, or consent of instructor	III	4
ESP 169**	Water Policy & Politics	ECN 1A or POL 1 recommended	III, IV	3
ESP 171	Urban & Regional Planning	ESP 1 recommended	III	4
ESP 172	Public Lands Management	ECN 1A recommended	I	4
ESP 174	Environmental Justice Policy & Practice	ESP 1 or equivalent recommended	III	4
POL 162	Elections and Voting Behavior	POL 1 recommended	Varies	4
POL 164	Public Opinion	POL 1 recommended and consent of instructor	Varies	4
POL 165	Mass Media & Politics	POL 1 recommended	Varies	4
POL 170	Political Psychology	POL 1 recommended	Varies	4
Select one policy methods course
ARE 106	Quantitative Methods in Agricultural Econ	ARE 100A; STA 103ARE 100A, STA 13, STA 103, PLS 21; all with a C- or better	I, II, III, IV	4
ARE 176	Environmental Economics	ARE 100A or ECN 100A or ECN 100 with a C- or better	I	4
ECI 153	Deterministic Optimization and Design	MAT 21C; MAT 22A or 27A; computer programming course	I	4
ECN 130	Public Microeconomics	ECN 100 or ECN 100A or ARE 100A; ARE 100B or ECN 100B	Varies	4
ESP/ARE 175	Natural Resource Economics	ARE 100A or ECN 100A or ECN 100 with a C- or better	III	4
POL 114	Quantitative Analysis of Political Data	POL 51 recommended	Varies	4

I = fall quarter, II = winter quarter, III = spring quarter, IV = summer session
*Course is offered in odd years only (2023, 2025, etc.)
**Course is offered in even years only (2024, 2026, etc.)

Documents

Env Policy & Politics requirements