Climate Science Minor FAQ
Who is the Climate Science Minor for?
What kind of capstone is required for the Climate Science Minor?
If a class is required for my major, can it still count towards the minor?
Can I successfully complete the minor without taking the math and physics series?
Who do I contact with questions about course selection?
How do I sign up for the minor?
Advice for students interested in the Climate Science Minor
I’ve completed all requirements, what now?
Who is the Climate Science Minor for?
The Climate Science Minor is for any undergraduate who wants to understand climate change science from a broad perspective. This interdisciplinary minor offers UW students a climate science credential that will expand the value of their undergraduate experience and be useful in securing future employment or educational opportunities.
A student can explore paleoclimate, marine pollution, ecology, and the arctic, as they travel through the rich course offerings, courses with no prerequisites. Students with some math, chemistry, and physics coursework have a few additional options including Atmospheric Chemistry and Glaciology. Because there are many options to fulfill the course requirements, students are encouraged to meet with the Climate Science Minor Advisor.
What kind of capstone is required for the Climate Science Minor?
The capstone requirement is fulfilled through successful completion of the 3 credit undergraduate course (ATM S/ESS/OCEAN 475). This course is offered once per year, and will be offered next in spring 2022. The only prerequisite for enrollment in the capstone course is successful completion of one of these lower division courses that provide a broad understanding of climate change: ATM S 211, ESS 201 or ATM S 321.
The capstone course (ATM S/ESS/OCEAN 475) provides an integrative experience that brings together the core climate and earth science concepts found in Oceanography, Atmospheric Science, and Earth and Space Science, as well as a social science component in some years. This course is cross-listed with ATM S/ESS/OCEAN 586, the graduate level seminar in climate science featuring speakers from both inside and outside the UW. Undergraduates in the proposed course will read and discuss materials appropriate for their level of understanding, and have an opportunity to interact with the guest speaker and graduate students.
I don’t see either of the prerequisites for the capstone on the time schedule this quarter, how can this be?
Currently, ATM S 211 is offered in fall and spring, and ESS 201 in fall quarter. We hope that one of these will be offered in winter quarter in the future.
If a class is required for my major, can it still count towards the minor?
Yes! However, you are required to take at least 18 credits of the 25 credits outside your major.
Can I successfully complete the minor without taking the math and physics series?
Yes! The revised requirements for the climate science minor, approved in November 2021, provide many pathways for completing the minor without taking additional math and physics.
There are now four categories of electives, and students are required to take at least one course from each of at least three of the four categories to reach 25 credits:
- Atmosphere, Energy and Emissions (A)
- Land, Glaciology and Paleoclimate (L)
- Oceans and Fisheries (O)
- Impacts on Environment and Society (S)
Please visit the Completion Requirements page for an extensive list of elective courses in each category.
Who do I contact with questions about course selection?
Submit your question and/or request a meeting with the program advisor through this google form.
How do I sign up for the minor?
To declare a minor, meet with your major department adviser. Only the adviser in your major department may sign the form to declare a minor; this is to ensure students meet satisfactory progress requirements. We encourage you to declare the minor as soon after you’ve reached sophomore standing (45 credits completed) and have declared a major. You must declare the minor BEFORE the third week of the quarter in which you intend to graduate.
Advice for students interested in the Climate Science Minor:
Take either ESS 201 or ATM S 211 in your freshman or sophomore year; this will complete the prerequisite for the capstone course (ATM S/ESS/OCEAN 475) which you should take during winter quarter of your junior year. THE CAPSTONE COURSE IS ONLY OFFERED ONCE A YEAR.
Do NOT wait until your senior year to take all the climate minor courses. Students that have tried to complete 3 or more of the climate minor courses in their last year can find that conflicts between climate minor options and their major requirements cannot be resolved, and the climate minor cannot be completed.
I’ve completed all the climate minor requirements. What now?
Once all requirements are complete and any exceptions are made, you are likely to need an advisor to approve. Either your major advisor or the PCC advisor (email uwpcc@uw.edu) can validate that you have met the requirements, including that at least 18 credits applied to the minor are NOT also applied to your major. You’ll know you need to reach out to an advisor if your degree audit flags the minor.