Life and Health Sciences

UC Santa Cruz offers a wide range of majors focused on the life sciences. The following information is for majors in general biology, cognitive science, ecology and evolution, global and community health, marine biology, microbiology, molecular, cellular and developmental biology, neuroscience, plant sciences, and science education. In addition to the college core course, first quarter students enroll in two or more lower-division courses (1 - 99), for a total of 15-19 credits, their first term.

INITIAL PLACEMENT

• Mathematics: Complete the Math Preparation and placement process. You can review your math skills for free to prepare you for placement or your next course. It takes up to three business days for ALEKS PPL placement to be posted in your student record.

• Spanish (for some concentrations of the global and community health majors): The biomedical concentration of the global and community health B.S., and the global and community health B.A., require completion of some Spanish. Review information in the General Catalog about language requirements, and the Language and Applied Linguistics website to determine whether you need Spanish placement.

QUALIFICATION FOR MAJORS IN THIS CLUSTER

Students must qualify for majors within this cluster by earning specific grades in foundation courses. Consult the Getting Started in the Major Guides below and/or the UCSC General Catalog for specific information about qualification requirements for majors you are considering.

GETTING STARTED IN THE MAJOR GUIDES

• Biology (BA)
• Biology (BS)
• Cognitive Science
• Ecology and Evolution
• Global and Community Health (BA)
• Global and Community Health (BS)
• Marine Biology
• Microbiology
• Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology
• Neuroscience
• Plant Sciences
• Science Education

RELATED MAJORS

Contact advisors early if you are interested in these programs, since lower division requirements are different from the majors in this cluster:

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Contact information:
chemistryadvising@ucsc.edu

Biomolecular Engineering & Bioinformatics
Contact information:
Baskin School of Engineering
bsoeadvising@ucsc.edu, (831) 459-5840

CONTACT INFORMATION

Biology, B.A.
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Advising
eebadvising@ucsc.edu
https://www.eeb.ucsc.edu/academics/undergrad/index.html

Biology, B.S.
MCD Biology Advising
mcdadvising@ucsc.edu

Cognitive Science
Program Advisor, psyadv@ucsc.edu, (831) 459-2481
Psychology Department: 273 Social Sciences 2
https://psychology.ucsc.edu/undergraduate/cog-science-major/index.html

Ecology and Evolution
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Advising
eebadvising@ucsc.edu
https://www.eeb.ucsc.edu/academics/undergrad/index.html

Global and Community Health, BA

Jeyson Aldana: Social Sciences 1, Suite #117-A
gchBAadvising@ucsc.edu

Global and Community Health, BS
MCD Biology Advising
mcdadvising@ucsc.edu

Marine Biology
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Advising
eebadvising@ucsc.edu
https://www.eeb.ucsc.edu/academics/undergrad/index.html

Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
MCD Biology Advising
mcdadvising@ucsc.edu

Neuroscience
MCD Biology Advising
mcdadvising@ucsc.edu

Plant Sciences
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Advising
eebadvising@ucsc.edu
https://www.eeb.ucsc.edu/academics/undergrad/index.html

Science Education
physicsadvising@ucsc.edu
https://www.physics.ucsc.edu/

Last updated 6/2024