Pre-Environmental and Sustainability Studies, A.A. (General Transfer)

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Academic Program Code: 551

This cross-disciplinary pre-major will prepare students to transfer into a growing number of environmental studies-focused baccalaureates at our 4-year transfer institutions. These programs are responding to increasing demand for skilled personnel who can implement environmental and sustainability initiatives across the public and private sectors. Employment prospects for environmental careers is promising, and job growth in this field is anticipated to be faster than average for the next decade. Students interested in understanding and addressing the world’s growing environmental problems will be able to take classes in a variety of disciplines. Program courses will focus on deepening students’ understanding of the physical and societal impact of environmental issues and help them build the skills to conduct research, problem-solve, and effectively articulate their thoughts and ideas. Students completing this pre-major are on track to graduate with an Associate of Arts degree from GRCC and transfer to a 4-year institution to complete a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and sustainability.

General Transfer Notes & Michigan Transfer Agreement

The coursework needed to complete this program is listed below. The courses commonly transfer and satisfy 4-year program requirements at 4-year institutions in Michigan.

To ensure maximum transferability of individual courses, all course selections should be based on the degree, major, minor, or academic interest at the 4-year transfer institution students plan to attend.

Students should research and utilize all transfer resources available to maximize the number of GRCC courses that transfer and apply to their 4-year program.

Because transferability of courses varies by institution, students should contact the 4-year institution they plan to attend to obtain detailed information about transfer requirements. The 4-year institutions ultimately make the decisions about how each course will be used to meet their program requirements.

GRCC advisors and faculty are available to help students navigate transfer resources and create an individualized transfer plan, including selection of courses, which meets all GRCC and transfer institution requirements.

Graduates of this program will earn an Associate of Arts degree from GRCC and may be eligible to earn the Michigan Transfer Agreement (MTA) credential.

Admission requirements to 4-year institutions and 4-year programs vary. Students should review the specific admission requirements for the institution and program to which they are transferring.

General Education Courses

Select a minimum of 30 credit hours of coursework from the General Education course list. Select coursework as directed below. Use transfer resources available to select coursework based on the transfer requirements of the bachelor’s degree program and institution to which you are transferring. See the “Program Courses” and “Open Elective Courses” section for courses that may also satisfy GRCC General Education Requirements.

English Composition and Communications

EN 101 - English Composition I Credit Hours: 3
Select one (1) course from the list below.
EN 102 - English Composition II Credit Hours: 3
COM 131 - Fundamentals of Public Speaking Credit Hours: 3
COM 135 - Interpersonal Communication Credit Hours: 3

Humanities

Select two (2) Humanities General Education Electives from two (2) different subject areas. Only one (1) Foreign Language course can be used for the Humanities requirement.

Humanities General Education - Elective Credit Hours: varies by course
Humanities General Education - Elective Credit Hours: varies by course

Social Sciences

Select two (2) Social Sciences General Education Electives from two (2) different subject areas.

Social Sciences General Education - Elective Credit Hours: varies by course
Social Sciences General Education - Elective Credit Hours: varies by course

Natural Sciences and Mathematics

Natural Sciences

Select two (2) Natural Sciences General Education courses from two (2) different subject areas; one (1) must be a lab.

Nat Sci Lab General Education - Elective Credit Hours: varies by course
Nat Sci Lab/Non Lab General Education - Elective Credit Hours: varies by course

Mathematics

Select one (1) Mathematics General Education Elective.

Mathematics General Education - Elective (Must meet MTA requirements) Credit Hours: varies by course

General Education Total Credit Hours

30 (minimum)

Program Elective Courses

Select a minimum of one (1) course [or Chemistry sequence] from the list below based on your transfer requirements. You may be able to select more than the minimum number of courses required for this section depending on the program and degree requirements at the institution to which you are transferring.

Be aware that some courses on the list below have required corequisites. Please click on a course to view any required corequisites.

BI 118 - Environmental Science Credit Hours: 3
BI 127 - Microbiology Credit Hours: 4
BI 151 - Introduction to Cells, Molecules, and Genes Credit Hours: 4
BI 152 - Biological Diversity Credit Hours: 4
CA 105 - Culinary Arts Skill Development Credit Hours: 4
AND
CA 112 - Menu Planning and Nutrition Credit Hours: 3
CHM 125 - Survey of General Chemistry Credit Hours: 4
CHM 126 - Survey of General Chemistry Laboratory Credit Hours: 1
CHM 130 - General Chemistry I Credit Hours: 4
CHM 131 - General Chemistry I Laboratory Credit Hours: 1
CHM 140 - General Chemistry II Credit Hours: 4
CHM 141 - General Chemistry II Laboratory Credit Hours: 1
CHM 240 - Survey of Organic Chemistry Credit Hours: 5
CHM 260 - Organic Chemistry I Credit Hours: 4
CHM 261 - Organic Chemistry Laboratory I Credit Hours: 1
CHM 270 - Organic Chemistry II Credit Hours: 4
CHM 271 - Organic Chemistry Laboratory II Credit Hours: 1
CHM 280 - Quantitative Chemical Analysis Credit Hours: 4
CIS 156 - Microsoft Excel Credit Hours: 3
EC 251 - Principles of Macroeconomics Credit Hours: 3
EC 252 - Principles of Microeconomics Credit Hours: 3
GE 132 - Physical Geography Credit Hours: 4
GE 135 - World Regional Geography Credit Hours: 3
GE 140 - Geography of Michigan Credit Hours: 3
GE 275 - Introduction to Geospatial Technologies and GIS Credit Hours: 4
GL 101 - Introduction to Geology Credit Hours: 4
HS 260 - The History of Michigan Credit Hours: 3
PS 110 - American Government Credit Hours: 3
PS 200 - State and Local Politics Credit Hours: 3
PS 202 - International Relations Credit Hours: 3
SW 150 - Introduction to Social Welfare Credit Hours: 3
Select one (1) course from the list below.
BA 254 - Introduction to Statistics with Applied Models Credit Hours: 3
MA 215 - Statistics Credit Hours: 4
PY 281 - Introduction to Statistics Credit Hours: 4

Open Elective Courses

The remaining number of courses needed to complete the program will depend on the number of credit hours remaining needed to reach the 60 credits required for graduation. Course selections should be made based on transfer requirements.

The following GRCC Courses are recommended open electives: GL 106 - Environmental Geoscience and SO 254 - Social Problems. Students are encouraged to use transfer resources available and consult their faculty advisors when choosing Open Elective courses.