Declaring a Major in the Rausser College of Natural Resources

If you are currently a Rausser student, you must meet the requirements below to declare a new major within our college. If you are not currently in Rausser College and wish to change colleges and declare a major, please visit this page to view the requirements. To declare or change majors in any other colleges, please consult with the appropriate college.

To see how AP, IB, or A-Level Scores can be used to meet major requirements, you can find our college’s Exam Equivalency Chart here.

Please note, these are just the declaration requirements. We have linked the major snapshots in the left hand columns below, which break down the full list of classes needed to complete the degree.

Requirements to Declare an RCNR Major for current RCNR students

• All major courses must be taken for a letter grade, with exception of breadth courses in EEP major*. 
  (*Breadth Courses for the EEP major may be taken for P/NP unless they are also being used to satisfy other EEP major requirements, in which case they would need to be taken for a letter grade.)

• Reading and Composition requirement (example: R1A & R1B) 

• Part A of the R&C Requirement must be completed before declaration.

• Both halves of the must be completed by the end of the 4th semester.

• Students must have a cumulative GPA of 2.0, with a C- or better in all courses required for their major

• Once you have completed these requirements and are ready to declare, please meet with your intended major advisorbefore you complete this Change of Major form.

Important Notes:

• Current UC Berkeley students who enter as freshmen are expected to graduate in a total of 8 semesters.

• Undeclared students must declare a major by the end of their 4th semester. Failure to declare a major by junior standing will result in an enrollment hold.

• If you are already declared in an RCNR major and are adding a second major within our college, please complete the Double Major form found here

MAJOR	Part A of R&C	MATH  16A, 1A (51), or 10A	MATH  16B, 1B (52), or 10B	STAT	ECON	CHEM 1A/1AL	CHEM 3A/3AL	ESPM Social Science Core	ESPM Env. Science Core	BIO 1A/1AL or BIO 1B	Other
Conservation & Resource Studies		One Math OR Stats Course Required									Required: ESPM 90 Preferred: Physical Science Breadth
Environmental Economics & Policy Students cannot complete a simultaneous degree with EEP and Economics.
Ecosystem Management & Forestry											Preferred: ESPM 72
Society & Environment		One Math OR Stats Course Required
Environmental Sciences							*Social Science Concentration: Chem 1B is accepted in place of Chem 3A+L				Required: PHYSICS 7A is required for the Physical Science Concentration Preferred: ESPM 15
Genetics & Plant Biology
Microbial Biology
Molecular Environmental Biology			Second semester of calculus OR Stats course required								Preferred: CHEM 3B/3BL
Nutrition & Metabolic Biology Nutritional Science - Physiology & Metabolism Students can only complete a degree in one Nutritional Science specialization.											Required: NUSCTX 10/NUSCTX 10S; Preferred: MCELLBI 32 & 32L, CHEM 3B/3BL If you completed NUSCTX 11 by Spring ‘24 and wish to declare the former Toxicology major, please consult with the major advisor.

Additional Questions?

For additional questions, or to connect with our Peer Advisors & Advising Staff, see our Undergraduate Advising Homepage here!