Exceptions to policy for EEB Majors

BIOE 19 may be used as one upper-division general elective for any EEB-sponsored major. Students should notify an EEB advisor if they take this course and wish it to be applied appropriately in their Degree Progress Report (DPR), as it is not currently programmed as an option to fulfill a General Elective.

BIOE 109 may be substituted with a UC Online course, BIOL 105 from UC Riverside, if taken and successfully completed before August 2029.

• Students who plan to use this substitution should contact eebadvising@ucsc.edu and discuss their intent to enroll for academic planning purposes.  Note that no faculty or program approval is required.

• Once the course is successfully completed, it is the student's responsibility to ensure a transcript is ordered from UCR and received/credits posted by UCSC. 

• Once the transcript has arrived and grades officially posted, it is the student's responsibility to get in touch with eebadvising@ucsc.edu (or the major-sponsoring department if not EEB) to request that the student's Degree Progress Report (DPR) be amended for graduation purposes.  

• For EEB-sponsored majors, the DPR, rather than advisor verification, will be used exclusively to complete graduation audits beginning in Fall 2024, so ensuring the DPR is updated in a timely manner is imperative as it could impact a student's graduation date.

BIO 141: Evolution at UC Merced is an approved equivalent if taken and successfully completed before June, 2031.

Prior to Fall 2024, BIOE 126 could satisfy a PE-GE.  Beginning in Fall 2024, it no longer satisfied a PE-GE, but now satisfies one of two DCs required in EEB-sponsored majors.

BIOE 133, if taken and successfully completed in Fall 2024, will satisfy major requirements without the 133L lab, as the lab wasn't offered.  Enrolled students' DPRs should have been adjusted to reflect the change in requirement once Fall 2024 ended and a passing grade was entered in the student record. If you took the class without the lab during Fall 2024 and your DPR has not been updated, please contact eebadvising@ucsc.edu and let us know. 

Please note that as of Fall 2025, students in EEB-sponsored majors have the option of completing BIOE 106 instead of BIOL 105 to fulfill the genetics requirement for their majors. The former is recommended for completing EEB-sponsored majors.

The following courses may be used as an equivalent or substitution without appeal if enrolled by the stated deadlines for each course. Contact an EEB advisor BEFORE you enroll in these courses so that we can work with you on academic planning and answer any questions you may have.

Courses which can still be enrolled in:

• SJSU: BIOL 115 if enrolled in before 8/27/27 (in-person only)

• UC Irvine: BIO SCI 97 if enrolled in before 8/12/27 (though it appears to be a Lower Division course, it is approved for UD BIOL 105) (in-person only)

• UC Merced: BIO 140 if enrolled in before 5/23/29. (in-person only)

• UC San Diego: BICD 100 if enrolled in before 10/18/27 (100R, the online version, is NOT an approved equivalent as of 6.17.25)

Courses whose enrollment deadlines have expired/sunset (not available for enrollment/to meet requirements as of Fall 2025):

• UC Davis: BIS 101 if enrolled in before 10/3/24

• CSUMB: BIOL 311 if enrolled in before 11/7/24

• OSU: BI 311 if enrolled in by 3/23/25

Beginning Fall 2026, online upper division Genetics courses will not be an option for completing this requirement.  This includes online versions of the abovelisted courses.

EART 125, if taken and passed Winter 2026, will satisfy 1 General Elective for ECEVBS, MABIBS, and PLNTBS majors.  If you take and pass the class and wish it to satisfy a requirement, please email eebadvising@ucsc.edu and ask. us to update your degree progress report (DPR).

This is how this course is applicable to EEB-sponsored majors:

• 1 Topical or General Elective for Ecology and Evolugion BS

• 1 Topical or General Elective for Marine Biology BS

• 1 General Elective for Plant Sciences BS

• Is not applicable to Biology BA as an elective.

If you take the class, please email eebadvising@ucsc.edu once your grade has been posted so that we can update your degree progress report (DPR) manually.  If you want the class to satisfy a major requirement for any of the BS majors, it is your responsibility to notify advisors.

Approved in Fall 2025 as a General Elective for BIOLBA, ECEVBS, and PLNTBS majors; and as a Topical Elective for MABIBS majors.  Please notify an EEB advisor if you wish for us to manually enter the course as fulfilling the appropriate requirement for your major.

1 General Elective for Biology BA, Ecology and Evolution BS, Marine Biology BS, and Plant Sciences BS

Wildlands Studies courses offered through several US Universities have been approved in the past as general electives for our majors, but students must appeal for said substitutions on an individual basis. 

• Because each program differs (and courses also differ) across the various Wildlands Studies locations and options, faculty must review ALL coursework students are hoping to use as substitutions.  

• No more than three general electives may be awarded in any single Wildland Studies program (after review and approval by faculty). 

• Students wishing to participate in these programs and have them apply to major requirements must submit an Articulation request prior to enrolling and participating in these courses/programs. Follow the instructions found at the link for what to include for review. 

• Approval can take as many as 15 business days, and students are encouraged to have such requests submitted at least one quarter prior to planned enrollment in possible Wildland Studies coursework. This timeline allows students to work closely with an EEB advisor on a clear academic plan for on-time graduation.

• Contact us at eebadvising@ucsc.edu with any questions.