General university degree requirements stipulate that 1) at least four units of the major be taken in residence at Puget Sound; 2) students earn a GPA of 2.0 in courses taken for the major; and 3) all courses taken for a major must be taken for graded credit. Any exceptions to these stipulations are indicated in the major degree requirements listed below.
Natural Science Majors
One of the following areas of emphasis is required. See departmental listings for course descriptions.
Requirements for the Major in Natural Science Biology (BS)
Completion of a minimum of 14 units, two units of which must be at the 300/400 level, to include
- Seven units of Biology 111, 112, 211, 212, 213, and two units upper-division Biology electives numbered from 310-496 excluding BIOL 398; at least one of the electives must include a lab and at least one of the electives must be completed on the Puget Sound campus; a maximum of one unit may count towards the major from research or independent study courses: BIOL 390, 392, 490, 491, 495, 496;
- Two units of Chemistry: 110 and 120; or 115 and 230;
- One unit in Mathematics (150 or higher) or Computer Science (141 or higher);
- Four additional units from the following (at least two units must be taken from a department/program other than biology): BIOL 310-496 (excluding BIOL 398); CHEM 250 or higher; CSCI 141 or higher; EXSC 221, 222; ENVS 101 or higher; MATH 110 or higher; NRSC 201, 350; or PHYS 111 or higher; one unit from the following list: BIOE 292, PHIL 232, STHS 200, STHS 325. MATH 110, and CHEM 105 can count as this requirement if, and only if, these courses were taken prior to taking courses in the respective subjects with higher course numbers.
Requirements for the Major in Natural Science Chemistry (BS)
Completion of a minimum of 14 units, to include
- CHEM 115, 230; or 110, 120, 231;
- Four additional units of Chemistry (all courses must be those normally counted toward a major);
- Two units of Mathematics (180 or higher);
- Two units of Physics (111/112 or 121/122) or Biology (111/112);
- Four additional units of Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Physics, or Mathematics/Computer Science. (All courses must be those normally counted toward a major. No more than two of these may be Chemistry courses.)
Requirements for the Major in Natural Science Physics (BS)
Completion of a minimum of 14 units, to include
- Six units of Physics (all courses must be those normally counted toward a Physics major);
- Four units of Mathematics/Computer Science, MATH 180, 181, 280, and one additional unit, chosen from MATH 160, CSCI 161, or MATH 301 (but note that MATH 301 generally has MATH 290 as a prerequisite);
- Four additional units of Biology, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Chemistry, Physics, or Mathematics/Computer Science. (No more than two of these may be Physics courses.)
Notes for the major
- The coordinators of the program reserve the right to require a student earning a Natural Science major to comply with the time limit rules required by the department of the Natural Science emphasis.
- For the Biology and Physics emphases, the grade criterion within the Natural Science major will follow the requirement of the department corresponding to the emphasis. For the Chemistry emphasis, the grade criterion is the university requirement rather than the requirement for the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department.