Courses Approved for the L&S Advanced Natural Science Requirement

Courses Meeting the L&S Advanced Natural Science Requirement
(with GER noted)

The College of Letters and Science requires all BS students to take 30 of their 36 upper-division L&S courses in Advanced Natural Science. Some L&S programs have been approved to list all of their courses numbered 300 or above to meet this requirement. Other Departments have a list of courses approved. We do not individually list courses in the following Departments, given that all of their 300 and above courses meet this requirement:

• Actuarial Science (ACTSCI)
• Astronomy (ASTRON)
• Biological Sciences (BIO SCI)
• Chemistry and Biochemistry (CHEM)
• Geosciences (GEO SCI)
• L&S Natural Sciences (L&S NS)
• Mathematical Sciences (MATH)
• Mathematical Statistics (MTHSTAT)
• Physics (PHYSICS)

The following programs either have some courses excluded or count only when they were housed in L&S:

• Conservation and Environmental Sciences (CES) (excluding CES 390 and CES 461)
• Freshwater Sciences (FRSHWTR) (if taken before 2009)
• Atmospheric Science (ATM SCI) (if taken before Fall 2022; or if students took ATM SCI 240 before Fall 2022 and then declared the major)

Other courses that have been approved as L&S Advanced Natural Science are listed below. Some courses that fulfill the L&S Natural Science requirement have also been approved to fulfill university General Education Requirements (GER). The key provides the GER abbreviations for the relevant GER requirements. (The GER revision (effective Fall 2026) defines courses such that very few meet both this advanced requirement and a general education requirement.) As noted in the Courses Approved for L&S Breadth page, the L&S degree requirements have also shifted over time. Through Summer 2024, courses noted with a GER designation can fulfill both the L&S Breadth and GER requirements. Students under the Fall 2024 - Summer 2026 degree requirements may not use one course to fulfill both the L&S Breadth and GER requirements; an individual course may satisfy only the L&S Breadth or old GER for those requirement terms. Beginning in Fall 2026, students may again meet both L&S Breadth and GER by taking the same course. Students should visit our webpage on the L&S degree requirements, or consult with their academic advisor if they have questions.

Key

NS

Meets pre-Fall 2026 GER Natural Sciences 

NS+

Meets pre-Fall 2026 GER Natural Sciences Lab 

NSW

Meets GER Natural Science & Wellness 

NSWL

Meets GER Natural Science & Wellness Lab

Anthropology

Geography

Honors

Psychology