Environmental Data Science

Why study environmental data science?

The Environmental Data Science track focuses on applying geospatial technology and data science for understanding and solving complex environmental issues across the Earth system components. The curriculum is designed to prepare students for a growing job market in need of interdisciplinary professionals with geospatial and analytical skills. The training includes the concepts and fundamentals on data science and remote sensing, and computer-based hands on experience in geographical information systems (GIS), spatial analysis,  and image processing. Students will be prepared with knowledge and core analytical skill sets for a broad range of professional paths geared towards data driven solutions, in industry, non-profit organizations, state and government agencies, and academia.

Preparatory Subject Matter Requirements

Course IDs

 Course Title Quarters Offered Units Notes
Written and Oral Expression
UWP 101, or any course from the UWP 102 or 104 series 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 Sciences
BIS 2A Essentials of Life on Earth I, II, III, IV 5  
BIS 2B Principles of Ecology and Evolution   I, II, III, IV 5  
BIS 2C Biodiversity and the Tree of Life I, II, III, IV 5  
Geology
choose one of the following
GEL 1 The Earth I, II, III 4  
GEL 50 Physical Geology I, II, III 3 (recommended)
Chemistry
CHE 2A or 2AH General Chemistry I, II, IV 5  
CHE 2B or 2BH General Chemistry II, III, IV 5  
CHE 2C or 2CH General Chemistry I, III, IV 5 (recommended, not required)
Physics
Complete either 1AB or 7ABC
Physics 1A General Physics I, II, IV 3  
Physics 1B General Physics II, III 3  
Physics 7A General Physics I, II, III, IV 4  
Physics 7B General Physics I, II, III, IV 4  
Physics 7C General Physics I, II, III, IV 4  
Economics
ECN 1A, 1AV, or 1AY Principles of Microeconomics I, II, III, IV 4  
Mathematics
MAT 16A and 16B Short Calculus I, II, III, IV 3, 3 Being phased out as of 23-24
MAT 17A and 17B Calculus for Biology & Medicine I, II, III, IV 4, 4 MAT 17AB recommended
MAT 19A and 19B and 19C Calculus for Data-Driven Applications I, II, III, IV 4, 4, 4 Mast take A, B, and C
MAT 21A and 21B Calculus I, II, III, IV 4, 4  
Environmental Science and Policy
ESP 1 Environmental Analysis I, IV 4  

I = fall quarter, II = winter quarter, III = spring quarter, IV = summer session

 

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
Global Environment
ESM 120 Global Environmental Interactions One college-level chemistry and biology course II 4
Ecology
(Choose one of the following)
ESP 100 General Ecology BIS 2A-C; MAT 16A-B or 17A-B or 21A-B; STA 13 recommended I, II, IV 4
EVE 101 Introduction to Ecology BIS 2A-C; MAT 16A-B or 17A-B or 21A-B; or equivalent I, II, III, IV 4
Policy
ESP 162 Environmental Policy ECN 1A or ECN 1AV or ECN 1AY II 4
Statistics
(Choose one of the following - Statistics 100 recommended, cannot complete this section with STA 13)
STA 32 Gateway to Statistical Data Science MAT 16B or 17B or 21B with a C- or better I, II, III 4
STA 100 Applied Statistics for Biological Sciences MAT 16B or 17B or 21B with a C- or better I, II, III, IV 4
Environmental Monitoring
(Choose one of the following)
ATM 124 Meteorological Instruments & Observations ATM 60 I 3
ESM 108 Environmental Monitoring ESP 100 or EVE 101 or SSC 100 or WFC 100 or equivalent III 3
ESP 151L Limnology Laboratory ESP 151 (may be concurrent) III 3
ESP 179 Environmental Impact Assessment ESP 1 or the equivalent II, IV 4
Geographic Information Systems
ABT/LDA 150 Introduction to GIS None I, II, III 4
Internship
ESM/ESP 92 or 192 Internship Upper division standing, permission of instructor

Variable unit – must take at least 3 units of internship
May complete internship in a different area with prior approval
(e.g.: PLS, SSC, ATM)

 I, II, III, IV 3
Capstone
ESM 195 Integrating Env Science & Management Senior standing in ESM III 2
Honors Thesis (Optional)
ESM 194H Senior Honors Thesis Senior standing, Overall GPA of 3.50 or higher

Consent of the lead faculty advisor

   2-6

 

I = fall quarter, II = winter quarter, III = spring quarter, IV = summer session

Track Courses
NOTE: Courses taken for the depth subject matter or track cannot be used to fulfill more than one major requirement.
Course IDs Course Title Prerequisites Quarters Offered Units
Environmental Data Science
ESP 106 Environmental Data Science STA 13 or 32 or 100 (can be concurrent) II 4
Programming
ECS 32A Intro to Programming None I, II, III, IV 4
Select one data analysis course
ABT 181N* Concepts and Methods in GIS ABT/LDA 150 or consent of instructor II 4
ABT/HYD 182** Environmental Analysis with GIS ABT 150 or equiv GIS experience, biology and/or ecology courses rec. II 4
Select one remote sensing course
ESM 185 Aerial Photo Interp. & Remote Sensing Upper division standing I 4
ESM 186 Remote Sensing MAT 16B; PHY 7C or 9B; upper division standing; LDA 150 rec II 5
Select one environmental policy course
ESP/ECI 163** Energy & Env Aspects of Transportation Upper division standing in environmental studies 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 169** Water Policy and Politics ECN 1A or POL 1 recommended III 3
ESP 171 Urban & Regional Planning ESP 1 or ESP 161 or ESP 179 recommended III, IV 4
ESP 172 Public Lands Management ECN 1A and POL 1 recommended I 4
ESP 174 Environmental Justice Policy and Practice ESP 1 or equivalent recommended III 4
ESP 179 Environmental Impact Assessment ESP 1 or the equivalent II, IV 4
SOC 160 Sociology of the Environment SOC 1 or 2 or 3 recommended I 4
Select one quantitative environmental science course
ATM 120 Atmos Thermodynamics & Cloud Physics MAT 21C; PHY 9B; ATM 60 (can be concurrent) I 4
ESP 121 Population Ecology BIS 2B; MAT 16B or 17B or 21B or 21BH II 4
HYD 143** Ecohydrology ESP 1 or ESM 100 or ESM 108 or ESM 120 or GEL 1 or SSC 100 II 4
PLS 123 Intro to Plant & Crop System Modeling College algebra/precalculus and college physics recommended   3
WFC 122 Population Dynamics & Estimation MAT 16A; MAT 16B; STA 13; BIS 2A, 2B, and 2C III 4
Select two statistical analysis courses
STA 104 Nonparametric Statistics STA 13 or 32 or 100 with a C- or better I, II, III 4
STA 106 Analysis of Variance STA 13 or 32 or 100 with a C- or better I, II, III, IV 4
STA 108 Regression Analysis STA 13 or 32 or 100 with a C- or better I, II, III, IV 4
STA 130A Mathematical Statistics: Brief Course MAT 16C or 17C or 21C; STA 13 or 32 or 100; all with a C- or better I, II 4
STA 130B Mathematical Statistics: Brief Course STA 130A or 131A or MAT 135A with a C- or better II, III 4
STA 135 Multivariate Data Analysis STA 130B or 131B; MAT 22A or MAT 27A or MAT 67 with a C- or better II, III 4
STA 137 Applied Time Series Analysis STA 108 with a C- or better I, II, III 4
STA 141A Fundamentals of Statistical Data Science STA 106 or STA 108 with a C- or better I, II, III 4
STA 141B Data & Web Technologies for Data Analysis STA 141A with a C- or better I, II, III 4
STA 142A Statistical Learning STA 141A; STA 130A or 131A or MAT 135A with a C- or better II 4
Select one physical processes course
ATM 110* Weather Observation & Analysis ATM 60 II 4
ATM 116 Modern Climate Change None I 3
ATM 133 Biometeorology MAT 16B; one course in a biological discipline or consent of instructor II 4
ESM 100 Principles of Hydrologic Science CHE 2B; MAT 16B; PHY 7A or 9A I 4
ESM 121 Water Science & Management PHY 10 or GEL 1 III 3
ESM 131 Air as a Resource CHE 10 or 2A; CHE 2B II 3
SSC 100 Principles of Soil Science College level course in chem, physics, bio, and geology recommended I 5
Select one biological processes course
ESP 124 Marine & Coastal Field Ecology Offered at the Bodega Marine Lab I, IV 3
ESP 150C Biological Oceanography Offered at the Bodega Marine Lab IV 4
ESP 151 Limnology BIS 2A; BIS 2B; BIS 2C and ESP 100 or EVE 101 recommended III 4
ESP 155 Wetland Ecology BIS 2A or equivalent; ESP 100 or EVE 101 recommended   4
EVE/PLB 117 Plant Ecology BIS 2A; BIS 2B; BIS 2C; PLB 111 recommended I 4
EVE 147 Biogeography BIS 2B   4
GEL 136 Ecogeomorphology of Rivers & Streams By application only, not offered every year III 5
PLS 101 Agriculture & the Environment PLS 2 or consent of instructor II 3
PLS 130* Grassland Ecology PLS 2 or BIS 2B or BIS 2C, upper division standing II 3
PLS 163 Ecosystem & Landscape Ecology ESP 100 or EVE 117 or ESM 144 or PLS 162 or ENH 160 or EVE 101 II 4
WFC 125* Tropical Ecology & Conservation ESP 100 or EVE 101 I 4
WFC 168 Climate Change Ecology BIS 2B; ESP 100 or EVE 101 II 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.)

 

Attachments
Envionmental Data Science track requirements