The molecular, cell and developmental (MCD) biology major is designed to prepare students for rigorous graduate programs in biomedical research, medical and other healthcare professional programs, for careers in the biotechnology industry. This major is more structured than the general biology major and requires that students pay careful attention to the prerequisites required for upper-division biology courses. With proper advance planning, a student with virtually any degree can prepare a competitive application for medical school or healthcare professional school. Check our Health Careers webpage for more information on how you can academically prepare for a career in healthcare. Additional information is available at the UC Santa Cruz Career Center.

Program Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete the MCD major will be able to:

✔ Demonstrate knowledge of how biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology are used to elucidate both the function of cells and their organization into tissues;

✔ Recognize that biology has a basis in chemistry, physics, and mathematics;

✔ Describe how scientific method is used to explain natural phenomena;

✔ Use effective oral and written language skills to communicate scientific data and ideas;

✔ Understand safe laboratory practices and perform basic molecular biology techniques;

✔ Generate hypotheses, evaluate data, and design experiments to investigate a scientific problem; and

✔ Present advanced knowledge in the specialized fields of molecular and cell biology.

The B.S. major in microbiology is designed for students interested in careers in biomedical, environmental, and basic science fields in both industry and academia. Students are required to take introductory biology and chemistry, microbiology lecture and lab, biochemistry, computational tools, and additional courses directly relevant to microbiology. As a unique feature of this program, students also take a microbiology course with a focus on evaluating relevant scientific articles.

Program Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete the microbiology major will be able to:

✔ Demonstrate conceptual understanding of the following areas: biology of microbial cells: cell structure, function, and metabolic pathways; microbial ecology: microbial communities and the impact of microbes on humans and the environment; microbial evolution: genomics and genetics, including mobile genetic elements.

✔ Apply the basic principles of chemistry and quantitative reasoning to solve problems in microbiology.

✔ Generate hypotheses, design experiments, and evaluate data.

✔ Display proficiency in microbiology laboratory skills.

✔ Use effective oral and written language skills to communicate scientific data and ideas, including with other disciplines.

✔ Analyze, interpret, and evaluate a range of scientific literature in microbiology.

✔ Display proficiency in fundamental bioinformatic skills needed to investigate gene function and understand the general methods utilized in the field of microbial genomics.

The Mathematics Theory and Computation B.S. provides an excellent scientific background from which to pursue a variety of career opportunities. UC Santa Cruz graduates with degrees in mathematics hold teaching posts at all levels, as well as positions in law, government, civil service, insurance, software development, business, banking, actuarial science, forensics, and other professions where skills in logic, numerical analysis, and computing are required. In particular, students of mathematics are trained in the art of problem-solving, an essential skill in all professions.

Program Learning Outcomes

Learning outcomes summarize the most important knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes that students are expected to develop over the course of their studies. The program learning outcomes clearly communicate the faculty’s expectations to students, provide a framework for faculty evaluation of the curriculum based on empirical data, and help improve and measure the impact of implemented changes.

Mathematics Undergraduate Student Learning Objectives

The mathematics program promotes mathematical skills and knowledge for their intrinsic beauty, effectiveness in developing proficiency in analytical reasoning, and utility in modeling and solving real-world problems. To responsibly live within and participate in the transformation of a rapidly changing, complex, and interdependent society, toward a sustainable and socially just society, students must develop and unceasingly exercise their analytical abilities. Students who have learned to logically question assertions, recognize patterns, and can distinguish the essential from the irrelevant aspects of problems can think deeply and precisely. Students equipped with these skills will be in a position to help solve the “big” problems of our time such as climate change.

Students majoring in mathematics attain proficiency in:

✔ Critical thinking. The ability to identify, reflect upon, evaluate, integrate, and apply different types of information and knowledge to form independent judgments including analytical and logical thinking and the habit of drawing conclusions based on quantitative information.

✔ Problem solving. The ability to assess and interpret complex situations, choose among several potentially appropriate mathematical methods of solution, persist in the face of difficulty, and present full and cogent solutions that include appropriate justification for their reasoning.

✔ Effective communication. The ability to communicate and interact effectively with different audiences, collaborate intellectually and creatively in diverse contexts, and appreciate ambiguity and nuance, while emphasizing the importance of clarity and precision in communication and reasoning.

Students acquire and enhance these abilities in mathematical contexts, but the acquired habits of rigorous thought and creative problem solving are invaluable in all aspects of life. These skills are acquired through experience in the context of studying specific mathematical topics and exploring problems chosen to challenge students’ abilities, spurring them on to acquire new techniques and to abandon familiar but restrictive habits of thought. The overarching objectives can be realized in terms of more focused, appraisable objectives specific to mathematics described on the Mathematics Department website.

The Mathematics Education Bachelor’s of Arts (B.A.) is specially designed for prepare students for a career in K-12 mathematics education. It shares a rigorous approach to advanced mathematics, but requires coursework that is particularly relevant to the K-12 classroom: number theory, classical geometry, and the history of mathematics. In addition, the math education major requires experience in supervised teaching. Many math education majors also participate in CalTeach, to enhance their experience and directly connect with local schools.

In California, students seeking a single-subject credential for secondary teaching in mathematics are required to take the CSET (formerly The National Teachers Examination), a series of examinations that must be passed in order to enter a teaching-credential program. Students who are interested in teaching in high schools can obtain a waiver of the CSET Examinations by completing the mathematics education major, plus three additional specified courses. The Mathematics Department undergraduate advisor, the Mathematics Department’s website, and the Education Department advising office have more information about the additional required course.

Program Learning Outcomes

Mathematics Undergraduate Student Learning Objectives

The mathematics program promotes mathematical skills and knowledge for their intrinsic beauty, effectiveness in developing proficiency in analytical reasoning, and utility in modeling and solving real-world problems. To responsibly live within and participate in the transformation of a rapidly changing, complex, and interdependent society, toward a sustainable and socially just society, students must develop and unceasingly exercise their analytical abilities. Students who have learned to logically question assertions, recognize patterns, and can distinguish the essential from the irrelevant aspects of problems can think deeply and precisely. Students equipped with these skills will be in a position to help solve the “big” problems of our time such as climate change.

Students majoring in mathematics attain proficiency in:

✔ Critical thinking. The ability to identify, reflect upon, evaluate, integrate, and apply different types of information and knowledge to form independent judgments including analytical and logical thinking and the habit of drawing conclusions based on quantitative information.

✔ Problem solving. The ability to assess and interpret complex situations, choose among several potentially appropriate mathematical methods of solution, persist in the face of difficulty, and present full and cogent solutions that include appropriate justification for their reasoning.

✔ Effective communication. The ability to communicate and interact effectively with different audiences, collaborate intellectually and creatively in diverse contexts, and appreciate ambiguity and nuance, while emphasizing the importance of clarity and precision in communication and reasoning.

Students acquire and enhance these abilities in mathematical contexts, but the acquired habits of rigorous thought and creative problem solving are invaluable in all aspects of life. These skills are acquired through experience in the context of studying specific mathematical topics and exploring problems chosen to challenge students’ abilities, spurring them on to acquire new techniques and to abandon familiar but restrictive habits of thought. The overarching objectives can be realized in terms of more focused, appraisable objectives specific to mathematics described on the Mathematics Department website.

Curriculum Matrix

All of the key objectives are addressed to some extent in all courses. For example, the ability to formulate precise mathematical statements and to reason logically are essential skills that are progressively developed throughout the curriculum. However, some skills are more heavily emphasized and utilized in some courses than in others. Some courses are specifically intended to help students move to a new level of proficiency with a particular portfolio of skills, while others are accessible only to students who have already reached a given level; the latter courses make heavy use of particular skills, and thus enhance and reinforce the student’s mastery of them, but the skills themselves are not the primary focus of such courses. Some connections between the key objectives, main subject-specific areas, and courses are indicated in the tables of lower- and upper-division mathematics courses at the Mathematics Department’s website.

✔ Recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts;

✔ Function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives;

✔ Develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions; and

✔ Acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.

The Mathematics Bachelor of Science degree (B.S.) is designed for students who value the theoretical study of mathematics-- not only for application, but also for its own sake. Theoretical mathematicians focus on the big how and why questions of mathematics, and attempt to find new formulae and methods while utilizing insights from a tradition of thousands of years. The Mathematics B.S. is recommended for those students who seek an education that involves not only foundational computational skills but also rigorous explanations of how mathematics works. A well-rounded education in mathematics requires an introduction to proof class, and a balance of advanced coursework in algebra, analysis, and geometry. Majors who seek graduate study at top institutions often go beyond the required courses to enroll in graduate courses as well.

Program Learning Outcomes

Learning outcomes summarize the most important knowledge, skills, abilities and attitudes that students are expected to develop over the course of their studies. The program learning outcomes clearly communicate the faculty’s expectations to students, provide a framework for faculty evaluation of the curriculum based on empirical data, and help improve and measure the impact of implemented changes.

Mathematics Undergraduate Student Learning Objectives

The mathematics program promotes mathematical skills and knowledge for their intrinsic beauty, effectiveness in developing proficiency in analytical reasoning, and utility in modeling and solving real-world problems. To responsibly live within and participate in the transformation of a rapidly changing, complex, and interdependent society, toward a sustainable and socially just society, students must develop and unceasingly exercise their analytical abilities. Students who have learned to logically question assertions, recognize patterns, and can distinguish the essential from the irrelevant aspects of problems can think deeply and precisely. Students equipped with these skills will be in a position to help solve the “big” problems of our time such as climate change.

Students majoring in mathematics attain proficiency in:

✔ Critical thinking. The ability to identify, reflect upon, evaluate, integrate, and apply different types of information and knowledge to form independent judgments including analytical and logical thinking and the habit of drawing conclusions based on quantitative information.

✔ Problem solving. The ability to assess and interpret complex situations, choose among several potentially appropriate mathematical methods of solution, persist in the face of difficulty, and present full and cogent solutions that include appropriate justification for their reasoning.

✔ Effective communication. The ability to communicate and interact effectively with different audiences, collaborate intellectually and creatively in diverse contexts, and appreciate ambiguity and nuance, while emphasizing the importance of clarity and precision in communication and reasoning.

Students acquire and enhance these abilities in mathematical contexts, but the acquired habits of rigorous thought and creative problem solving are invaluable in all aspects of life. These skills are acquired through experience in the context of studying specific mathematical topics and exploring problems chosen to challenge students’ abilities, spurring them on to acquire new techniques and to abandon familiar but restrictive habits of thought. The overarching objectives can be realized in terms of more focused, appraisable objectives specific to mathematics described on the Mathematics Department website.

Curriculum Matrix

All of the key objectives are addressed to some extent in all courses. For example, the ability to formulate precise mathematical statements and to reason logically are essential skills that are progressively developed throughout the curriculum. However, some skills are more heavily emphasized and utilized in some courses than in others. Some courses are specifically intended to help students move to a new level of proficiency with a particular portfolio of skills, while others are accessible only to students who have already reached a given level; the latter courses make heavy use of particular skills, and thus enhance and reinforce the student’s mastery of them, but the skills themselves are not the primary focus of such courses. Some connections between the key objectives, main subject-specific areas, and courses are indicated in the tables of lower- and upper-division mathematics courses at the Mathematics Department’s website.

The mathematics bachelor of arts (B.A.) program provides an excellent liberal arts background from which to pursue a variety of career opportunities. University of California, Santa Cruz, graduates with a B.A. in mathematics hold teaching posts at all levels, as well as positions in law, government, civil service, insurance, software development, business, banking, actuarial science, forensics, and other professions where skills in logic, numerical analysis, and computing are required. In particular, students are trained in the art of problem-solving--- an essential skill in all professions.
 

This major emphasizes the importance of a well-rounded, in-depth mathematical education, and includes advanced coursework in algebra, analysis, and geometry. Students often pursue a career with a focus on research and theory. The major requires nine courses, one of which must be a senior thesis or senior seminar. A minor in pure mathematics is also offered.

Program Learning Outcomes

Learning outcomes summarize the most important knowledge, skills, abilities and attitudes that students are expected to develop over the course of their studies. The program learning outcomes clearly communicate the faculty’s expectations to students, provide a framework for faculty evaluation of the curriculum based on empirical data, and help improve and measure the impact of implemented changes.

Mathematics Undergraduate Student Learning Objectives

The mathematics program promotes mathematical skills and knowledge for their intrinsic beauty, effectiveness in developing proficiency in analytical reasoning, and utility in modeling and solving real world problems. To responsibly live within and participate in the transformation of a rapidly changing, complex, and interdependent society, toward a sustainable and socially just society, students must develop and unceasingly exercise their analytical abilities. Students who have learned to logically question assertions, recognize patterns, and can distinguish the essential from the irrelevant aspects of problems can think deeply and precisely. Students equipped with these skills will be in a position to help solve the "big" problems of our time such as climate change.

Students majoring in mathematics attain proficiency in:

✔ Critical thinking. The ability to identify, reflect upon, evaluate, integrate, and apply different types of information and knowledge to form independent judgments including analytical and logical thinking and the habit of drawing conclusions based on quantitative information.

✔ Problem solving. The ability to assess and interpret complex situations, choose among several potentially appropriate mathematical methods of solution, persist in the face of difficulty, and present full and cogent solutions that include appropriate justification for their reasoning.

✔ Effective communication. The ability to communicate and interact effectively with different audiences, collaborate intellectually and creatively in diverse contexts, and appreciate ambiguity and nuance, while emphasizing the importance of clarity and precision in communication and reasoning.
 

Students acquire and enhance these abilities in mathematical contexts, but the acquired habits of rigorous thought and creative problem solving are invaluable in all aspects of life. These skills are acquired through experience in the context of studying specific mathematical topics and exploring problems chosen to challenge students’ abilities, spurring them on to acquire new techniques and to abandon familiar but restrictive habits of thought. The overarching objectives can be realized in terms of more focused, appraisable objectives specific to mathematics described on the Mathematics Department website.

Curriculum Matrix

All of the key objectives are addressed to some extent in all courses. For example, the ability to formulate precise mathematical statements and to reason logically are essential skills that are progressively developed throughout the curriculum. However, some skills are more heavily emphasized and utilized in some courses than in others. Some courses are specifically intended to help students move to a new level of proficiency with a particular portfolio of skills, while others are accessible only to students who have already reached a given level; the latter courses make heavy use of particular skills, and thus enhance and reinforce the student’s mastery of them, but the skills themselves are not the primary focus of such courses. Some connections between the key objectives, main subject-specific areas, and courses are indicated in the tables of lower- and upper-division mathematics courses at the Mathematics Department’s website.

The marine biology major is designed to introduce students to the great diversity of marine organisms and the biological and physical processes that affect these organisms, their populations, and their coastal and oceanic ecosystems. Curricular emphasis is on basic principles that help in understanding the processes that shape life in marine environments. The Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) is located on the University of California, Santa Cruz, Coastal Science Campus (CSC). CSC is situated on Monterey Bay and its great diversity of coastal marine ecosystems, nature reserves, and state, federal, and private marine research institutions and management agencies. Both the National Marine Fisheries Service and the California Department of Fish and Game have laboratories located on the CSC, providing students with research and internship opportunities. Long Marine Laboratory on the CSC provides logistical support including diving and boating facilities, running seawater systems, and marine mammal facilities. Descriptions of nearby environments, institutions, and facilities are available through the EEB Department website.These resources, combined with computing and analytical facilities on main campus and the CSC, make for exceptional opportunities for the study of marine biology and its application to coastal conservation and management. Students can readily engage in basic and applied (e.g., fisheries management) research from estuaries to the deep sea, and plankton to whales.

Program Learning Outcomes

The undergraduate curriculum offered by the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) is designed to ensure that all students declared in any EEB sponsored major will achieve the following seven program learning outcomes.

✔ Students will demonstrate broad-based knowledge of the fundamentals of ecology, behavior, evolution and physiology and the relationships among these disciplines.

✔ Students will demonstrate skills in the observation and experimental study of organisms, using both field-based and laboratory-based approaches.

✔ Students will demonstrate skills in identifying, accessing, comprehending and synthesizing scientific information, including interpretation of the primary scientific literature. This includes understanding key questions and hypotheses, interpreting results and conclusions, and evaluating quality through critique.

✔ Students will demonstrate the ability to conceive and execute independent scientific research, including developing their own questions and hypotheses, designing an appropriate theoretical or empirical/experimental approach, executing that approach, and analyzing and interpreting data.

✔ Students will demonstrate an ability to understand and apply fundamental quantitative skills, including models and statistical analyses, so as to properly interpret published research and apply such skills in their own research.

✔ Students will demonstrate the ability to communicate scientific work, such as a scientific paper, proposal, essay, or notebook, in written, oral or poster format.

✔ Students will exhibit strong teamwork and problem solving skills. They will demonstrate the ability to make arguments from evidence and work together to find optimal solutions.

The Literature Department at UC Santa Cruz fosters innovative and comparative approaches to reading and interpretation in courses in a variety of languages that encompass traditional literary history, cross-cultural inquiry, current theoretical debates, and new media.

Literature prepares us to understand and explore how we think, feel, and see the world; what we are and what we want to be, for ourselves and in relation to others. Literature is crucial for freedom and its many fold expressions, as seen in multiple fields for which the exploration and critical analysis of effective and transformational thought, feeling, and communication is key. Professional fields for which the study of literature is advantageous include careers in the teaching sector at its multiple levels, from primary school to college; the new technologies sector, such as game design and discourse and data analysis; governmental and non-profit work such as in municipalities, public service, and foundations; publishing and journalism; publicity and marketing in the old and new media contexts, and many more.

The Literature Department faculty requires that all literature majors have basic proficiency in a second language. Proficiency in more than one language enhances understanding of one's own culture and can be the access point to other literatures and cultures. Graduate programs in literature and other humanities disciplines generally require competence in at least one language other than English.

Program Learning Outcomes

Following is a summary of the program learning outcomes for the Literature B.A.:

Students who complete the literature major should emerge with the following knowledge and skills:

✔ A capacity for critical analysis of texts that is attentive to:
    - the formal structures, genres, and rhetorical strategies of different kinds of writing, public discourse, and media;
    - the historical and social contexts of such texts;
    - the role cultural and linguistic differences play in the interpretation of texts read in translation and in a language not one's own.

✔ Effective written communication that demonstrates the following abilities:
    - to evaluate multiple interpretations of texts;
    - to write effective argumentative prose;
    - to situate texts in relation to a critical/theoretical tradition;
    - to design and initiate a substantive independent project of research or creative activity.

✔ Experience reading a variety of texts:
    - from a breadth of world cultures and traditions;
    - from different historical periods, including the pre-modern;
    - originally written in languages other than English.

✔ The ability to clearly conceptualize and formulate a research problem or issue

    - historically, by understanding the trajectory of the problem thus conceived;

    - theoretically, by considering alternative approaches to the problem and their implications and relevance for the proposed analysis'

    - conceptually, by meta critically interrogating the central concepts involved in the formulation of the problem (i.e. their origins, implications, premises, limitations, etc.).

The UCSC robotics engineering program prepares graduates for rewarding careers at the interfaces between electrical, computer, and mechanical engineering. UCSC robotics engineering graduates will have a thorough grounding in the principles and practices of robotics and control, and the scientific and mathematical principles upon which they are built; they will be prepared for further education (both formal and informal) and for productive employment in industry.

The program objectives of the UCSC B.S. in robotics engineering are:

🗸 Graduates who choose to pursue a career in industry, government, or academia will become successful engineers, scientists, or educators who demonstrate strong leadership, technical, and team skills, and a commitment to continuing professional development.
🗸 Graduates who choose to pursue advanced degrees will gain admission to graduate programs and will be successful graduate students.

Program Learning Outcomes

Student Outcomes

✔ An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics

✔ An ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors

✔ An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences

✔ An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts

✔ An ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives

✔ An ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions

✔ An ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.

Linguistics is an exact and structured discipline that examines human language. It has connections to many other fields in the humanities (philosophy, literature), the social sciences (anthropology, psychology, sociology), the natural sciences (biology, neuroscience, acoustics), computer science, computer engineering, and artificial intelligence.

The central areas of linguistics investigate the knowledge that speakers of a language have about its structure. Syntax is concerned with the rules that combine words into larger units of phrases and sentences. Semantics is the study of the meanings of linguistic units and how they are combined to form the meanings of sentences. Phonetics deals with the physical properties of language sounds. Phonology investigates the sound systems of particular languages and across languages. Morphology investigates the ways in which words are formed from prefixes, roots, and suffixes. Pragmatics is the study of language use. Psycholinguistics is concerned with the cognitive mechanisms by which we produce and perceive language.

Program Learning Outcomes

The program learning outcomes for the linguistics major are the following:

✔ Analytical Thinking
Students will formulate testable hypotheses, and present them clearly and completely. Students will accurately and insightfully use relevant evidence to evaluate hypotheses and determine routes for future investigation.

✔ Writing
Students will formulate well-organized written arguments. At the micro-level, sentences will be grammatical, follow appropriate conventions, and strike an appropriate balance of clarity and complexity. At the macro-level, sentences will be linked together into paragraphs, and paragraphs into logical sections of a larger document.

✔ Properties of Language
Students will apply analytical techniques to identify general properties of language, including but not limited to sound structure, word structure, sentence structure, meaning, use, and language processing. Students will explain the significance of relevant universal properties in some domain.

✔ Linguistic Theory and Investigation
Students will demonstrate an active command of linguistic theory and linguistic investigation in at least one area of linguistic theory, including but not limited to morphology, phonetics, phonology, pragmatics, psycholinguistics, syntax, and semantics.

✔ Second Language Proficiency or Mathematics Competency
Linguistics majors will demonstrate either competence in the mathematical foundations of theories used in linguistics or proficiency in a second language at or above the intermediate-high level.