Land Systems
Learning Objectives:
- Design strategies for using multi-source and multi-scale observations of land surface processes that integrate field, geospatial, and human survey data to describe biophysical and socio-economic impacts of land systems changes.
- Integrate biophysical and socioeconomic data related to land use and land cover change using geospatial tools to analyze and model complex, multi-scalar human-environmental interactions that determine land use dynamics.
- Determine remedies to address negative impacts of land changes on human-environmental systems using land-use management tools and interventions.
Foundation & Breadth
- BIO 81 or HUMBIO 2A & 2B or EARTHSYS 116 or BIOHOPK 81 OR BIOHOPK 175H
- CHEM 31A & 31B or 31M
- ECON 1
- GEOLSCI 1 or GEOLSCI 4 or EARTHSYS 117 or EARTHSYS 128
- MATH 19, 20, 21
- MATH 51 or CME 100
- PHYSICS 41 or PHYSICS 45 or GEOPHYS 110
- Statistics: BIO 174H or BIO 202 or ECON 102A or STATS 101 or STATS 110 or 116 or 141 or CME 106
- EARTHSYS 10
- EARTHSYS 111
- EARTHSYS 112
- EARTHSYS 210A or B (Senior Capstone & Reflection)
- EARTHSYS 210P (Capstone Project) or Honors Thesis
- EARTHSYS 260 (Internship)
- WIM: EARTHSYS 200, EARTHSYS 191, EARTHSYS 177C, EARTHSYS 149, BIOHOPK 47, BIOHOPK 175H or another designated WIM course in a related department- must be approved by an advisor. Your WIM course may not also count towards your track or electives, if counted as a WIM.
(These courses must be taken for a letter grade: EARTHSYS 10, 111, 112, 210 A/B, WIM)
Track
A total of seven courses are required from the Land Systems focus areas. Concentrating courses in a single focus area below will allow students to deepen their understanding of the chosen system. For breadth considerations, students are required to take a minimum of one course from each focus area. In addition, two electives are required for this track. All track courses and electives must be taken for a letter grade (nine courses total). Check Explore Courses for availability and updates.
Land Ecosystems
Recommended:
- EARTHSYS 155 Science of Soils
- EARTHSYS 180 Principles and Practices of Sustainable Agriculture
Alternatives:
- BIO 144/HUMBIO 112 Conservation Biology: A Latin American Perspective
- EARTHSYS 105 A/B Ecology of Natural History of Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve
- EARTHSYS 116 Ecology of Hawaiian Islands (off-campus)
- EARTHSYS 123A Biosphere-Atmosphere Interactions
- EARTHSYS 128 Evolution of Terrestrial Ecosystems
- ESS 256 Soil and Water Chemistry
- OSPSANTG 58 Living Chile: A Land of Extremes
- OSPAUSTL 30 Coastal Forest Ecosystems
Water
Recommended:
- CEE 166A Watersheds and Wetlands (Prerequisite for 166B)
Alternatives:
- CEE 101B Mechanics of Fluid
- CEE 162E Rivers, Streams, and Canals
- CEE 165C Water Resources Management
- CEE 166B Floods and Droughts, Dams and Aqueducts
- CEE 177 Aquatic Chemistry and Biology
- EARTHSYS 104 The Water Course
- GEOPHYS 190 Near-Surface Geophysics
- OSPAUSTL 25 Freshwater Systems
- OSPMADRD 79 Earth and Water Resources’ Sustainability in Spain
Land Use
Recommended:
- ESS 270 Analyzing Land Use in a Globalized World
Alternatives:
- ANTHRO 166 Political Ecology of Tropical Land Use: Conservation, Natural Resource Extraction, and Agribusiness
- CEE 124 Sustainable Development Studio (must be taken for at least 3 units)
- CEE 175A California Coast: Science, Policy, and Law
- CEE 176A Energy Efficient Buildings
- EARTHSYS 118 Heritage, Environment, and Sovereignty in Hawaii
- EARTHSYS 185 Feeding Nine Billion
- EARTHSYS 238 Land Use Law
- ECON 106 World Food Economy
- ENERGY 101 Energy and the Environment
- ENERGY 102 Fundamentals of Renewable Power
- ENERGY 104 Sustainable Energy for 9 Billion
- ENVRES 250 Environmental Governance
- OSPSANTG 29 Sustainable Cities:
- SIW 144 Energy, Environment, Climate and Conservation Policy: A Washington D.C. Perspective
- URBANST 110 Utopia and Reality: Introduction to Urban Studies
- URBANST 113 Introduction to Urban Design
- URBANST 164 Sustainable Cities
Methods
Required:
- EARTHSYS 144 Fundamentals of Geographic Information Science (GIS)
Optional:
- EARTHSYS 124 Measurements in Earth Systems
- EARTHSYS 142 Remote Sensing of Land
- EARTHSYS 211 Fundamentals of Modeling
- ESS 124 Remote Sensing of Hydrology
- ESS 165 Advanced Geographic Information Systems
- ESS 220 Physical Hydrogeology
- GEOLSCI 240 Data Science for Geoscience
Electives
TWO additional courses at the 100-level or above are required. Electives allow students to personalize their Earth Systems curriculum by pursuing higher-level courses offered in their focus area, or by incorporating new academic perspectives. Each must be a minimum of 3 units.
Track Updated 11/2019
