Students will spend seven weeks living and studying at different UC Nature reserves. While conducting firsthand study of California ecosystems, students will gain skills in field research methods, experimental design, data analysis, scientific writing, and public speaking. California Ecology and Conservation will emphasize the skills needed to conduct independent scientific research.
No, students will spend seven weeks living and studying at different UC Nature reserves. While conducting firsthand study of California ecosystems, students will gain skills in field research methods, experimental design, data analysis, scientific writing, and public speaking. California Ecology and Conservation will emphasize the skills needed to conduct independent scientific research.
The course will start and end at a UC Nature reserve near San Jose. Students must provide their own transportation to and from this location; however, all other transportation during the course will be supplied by the University.
No, students should expect to stay in tents for most, if not all, of their time on the course. However, there will be no backpacking, and students will not need to carry their camping gear for long distances.
Yes, there are showers at all of the UC Nature reserves visited, and laundry facilities are available at some reserves. Students should pack at least 10 days’ worth of clothing and may occasionally need to do laundry by hand.
Yes, there are two scheduled free days during the course. However, most days, students will have blocks of unscheduled time. A detailed itinerary will be shared with the class before the program begins.
California Ecology and Conservation is an intensive program of study that requires students to work long hours, hence students will accrue more than enough instruction hours to meet credit requirements in seven weeks. Students are free to return home after instruction concludes. See below for information on the additional work required of students from semester campuses (UC Berkeley and UC Merced) during the fall and spring terms.
Yes, all students will enroll in BIOL/ENVS 188 California Ecology and Conservation. Students from quarter campuses will receive 19 quarter units.
Students from semester campuses (UC Berkeley and UC Merced) taking the class in fall and spring must also enroll in BIOL/ENVS 189 Critical Conservation Issues in California, for which they will be required to complete additional assignments prior to and during the 7 weeks in the field. As a result, students from semester campuses will receive 15 semester units for fall and spring classes, and 12.7 semester units for summer classes.
If accepted semester students wish to opt out of BIOL/ENVS 189, they should contact their instructor well in advance of the course start date.
The course will be offered three times per year: fall term, spring term, and a summer session. Dates of instruction and other key course dates can be found here.
The maximum class size is 27 students, selected from across all nine of the general UC campuses.
California Ecology and Conservation is open to all University of California undergraduates in good standing at their home campus who have at least a 2.5 GPA and have passed an introductory ecology or biology course prior to applying for the program. Students considering a career in field ecology, wildlife biology, botany, physical geography, conservation biology, or environmental science are particularly encouraged to apply. International students who are seeking a degree at the University of California are welcome to apply, but unfortunately international short-term students (one year or less) are not eligible.
CEC follows a two-step application process. Once your pre-application is approved, you’ll receive an invitation to complete the UC Education Abroad program (UCEAP) application.
UC undergraduates with a minimum GPA of 2.5, in good standing with their home campus, and who have passed an introductory ecology or biology course are eligible to apply.
Course instructors and UC Nature systemwide staff will be involved in the student selection process. Please refer to our application webpage for more details.
Students must successfully complete a prerequisite course before applying to California Ecology and Conservation.
No, the CEC schedule requires full-time participation and constitutes a full course load. Additionally, you will not always have regular online access to email and will be in class and conducting research at irregular hours. Therefore other outside commitments during the course are not recommended, with the exception of an occasional online meeting.
California Ecology and Conservation will be offered every spring, summer, and fall term. Application deadlines and other key dates for upcoming course offerings can be found here.
Students accepted into the program will be directed to the UC Education Abroad Program (UCEAP) to register for the course. UCEAP will inform your campus registrar of your acceptance into the program. You will not need to register for any course at your campus for the term of your CEC participation. After you have completed the course, your grade will be sent to UCEAP. Then, your units and grade(s) will then be transmitted from UCEAP to your campus registrar.
The UC Education Abroad Program has over 50 years of experience running an academic program open to students throughout the UC system. For this reason, UC Nature has arranged for UCEAP to provide administrative support for the Field Studies Program. UCEAP works with financial aid and registrar’s offices throughout the UC system, and is uniquely suited to assist students based at different UC campuses.
In addition to the tuition and campus fees students normally pay each term, students in the course will pay a program fee that covers costs such as transportation, food, lodging, and research equipment. Note that costs for summer classes are different than for the regular academic year, as summer tuition is charged by the unit and non-resident supplemental tuition does not apply. A more detailed description of course costs can be found on the Finances page.
The program fee covers food, transportation, and lodging for the entire seven weeks of the class, meaning you are not likely to have to pay for rent, groceries, gas, entertainment, and other costs you would normally incur while at your campus. The course offers students the opportunity to spend roughly 50 continuous days in the field—substantially more field time than other UC field courses.
Generous donations have made it possible for UC Nature to offer scholarships to students participating in California Ecology and Conservation. Scholarship applications are available at the same time as program applications. In addition, if you are currently receiving financial aid, the total cost of participating in this course will be considered in the financial aid package from your home campus. You may therefore be eligible for increased financial aid while enrolled in this course.
All credits earned in California Ecology and Conservation (19 quarter units or 15 semester units in fall and spring, 12.7 semester units in summer) count toward graduation from UC. Academic departments at each campus determine how course credits fulfill major, minor, and/or GE requirements. Across campuses many departments in relevant fields have determined how credits from California Ecology and Conservation map onto degree requirements; the most current information can be found here. Students may also contact their academic advisor to discuss how course credits apply toward their personal course of study.
Grades will not be available immediately after the course ends because it takes several steps to send the data from UCEAP to your campus registrar. Once your grades have been transmitted you will receive an email at the address you provided in MyEAP. Grades are generally reported within 90 days of the end of a program.
Yes. Students can graduate in the same term they complete CEC. UCEAP reports grades within the timeline needed for degree conferral. However, because graduation requirements can vary by campus, we recommend that students double-check their own university’s deadlines to make sure everything aligns with their individual academic plan.
If you have an outstanding balance owed to UCEAP, your grades will not be transmitted to your campus’s Registrar’s Office until your balance is paid in full.
Every run of the course visits 5 or 6 different UC Nature reserves.
Every run of the class is different! We plan our routes carefully, giving every cohort a unique experience. Each run is optimized to showcase a diversity of landscapes that works well for the specific time of year.
All accommodations are on-site at UC Nature reserves. The types of accommodations vary from reserve to reserve. Some have dorm-style rooms or cabins, usually with 4 beds or more. However, most of the time you will sleep in a tent. That can be your own tent, or one that’s borrowed from the program. We have comfortable tents, sleeping pads and sleeping bags people can borrow for free!
No, all meals are included in the program fee. Additionally, we have staff members who handle meal planning and grocery shopping, and assist students with meal preparation. These staff members will also send out a food survey before the start of class to ask about any dietary requirements participants might have.
We travel from reserve to reserve by passenger vans. That’s all included with the course, so you don’t have to find your own way. Students are responsible for getting themselves to San Jose, where the course officially begins. We have an easily accessible meeting point at the airport from where we can pick up course participants, whether they arrive by plane, train or automobile (or bus).
No, all three quarters are structured the exact same way. We will visit different reserves, but the material we cover and the units earned are exactly the same.
Please refer to our sample syllabus in the online information packet (pdf) [PDF, 2.76 MB]. On pages 17 through 25 you can get a sense of what our days look like. Just note that not all the activities listed are back-to-back; almost every single day you will have multiple 1+ hour breaks!
Every travel day, when we drive from one reserve to the next, we can almost always stop in a place where you can restock supplies, whether that’s prescription medication or everyday items like shampoo. There are five travel days in each run.