Lower-Division

CRSN 1 Academic Literacy and Ethos: Environment and Society

Teaches foundational concepts for intellectual exploration and personal development within an academic community: analysis, critical thinking, metacognition, engagement with others across difference, and self-efficacy. Engages students in Rachel Carson's intellectual tradition of investigating relationships between environment and society.

Credits

5

Instructor

The Staff

Requirements

Enrollment is restricted to first-year college members.

Quarter offered

Fall

CRSN 1A Introduction to University Life and Learning

Orientation to and exploration of the nature of the liberal arts, and of learning at research universities. Topics include: academic planning for upper-division coursework; enrollment processes; and understanding pathways to degree completion; UCSC resources that support health and well-being strategies for academic success; the cultivation of just communities; the prevention of sexual harassment and violence; campus conduct policies; awareness of risks associated with drug and/or alcohol use; and an introduction to traditions of community-engaged learning, ground-breaking research, and interdisciplinary thinking that define a UC Santa Cruz degree. This course can be taken for Pass/No Pass grading only.

Credits

1

Requirements

Enrollment is restricted to entering first-year Rachel Carson College students.

Quarter offered

Summer

CRSN 10 Academic Success

An interactive course providing students with the opportunity to assess and revise methods of and purposes in studying. Critical, effective approaches to reading, writing, participating in lectures and sections, taking exams, balancing competing responsibilities, and utilizing campus resources are all explored. Enrollment by permission of college adviser.

Credits

2

Instructor

Lindsay Knisely

Quarter offered

Winter, Spring

CRSN 15 Strategies to Jump Start Your STEM Learning

Introduces tips and techniques to supplement and expand a student's existing repertoire of science/mathematics problem-solving skills for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) classes. The material covered is intended to aid development as a confident learner and future expert in the student's major.

Credits

2

Instructor

Stella Hein

Requirements

Enrollment is restricted to first-year through third-year students. Others may enroll with instructor permission.

Quarter offered

Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

CRSN 15A STEM Essentials

Introduces tips and techniques to supplement and expand a student's existing repertoire of science/mathematics problem-solving skills for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) classes. The material covered is intended to aid development as a confident learner and future expert in the student's major.

Credits

2

Instructor

Stella Hein

Quarter offered

Spring, Summer

CRSN 20C The Water Environment: Literature of the Sea

Students consider the representation of the sea in selected texts, noting how it becomes the focal point for the fears, hopes, and prejudices of Western civilization. Students write critical papers and their own narratives.

Credits

2

Instructor

Candace Calsoyas

Requirements

Enrollment restricted to first-year and sophomore college members.

CRSN 20D College Students' Lives

Students understand their peers and themselves better through an exploration of issues that affect the daily life of college students. Topics include campus/student cultures, the academic system, and other critical issues. Overview of campus resources also provided.

Credits

2

Requirements

Enrollment restricted to first-year and sophomore College members.

CRSN 20F Justice on Earth

Examines issues of oppression, privilege, and social justice within a global and environmental context through self-reflective and group work. May include an optional service-learning component requiring travel during spring break.

Credits

3

CRSN 20G Peregrine Falcons Return

A case study of the 1970s-1990s UC Santa Cruz effort to restore a nearly extinct peregrine falcon population including reviews of the Endangered Species Act, falcon physiology, and the innovative conservation biology techniques that led to success.

Credits

2

Instructor

Glenn Stewart

Quarter offered

Winter

CRSN 28 Peer Leadership in Higher Education

Overview of theories of student development, critical student issues, and skills needed for appropriate peer leadership interventions. Utilizes a variety of learning modes including readings, discussions, case studies, lectures, and group projects. Interview only: approval of instructor; Resident Assistant (RA) pre-employment training course.

Credits

3

Repeatable for credit

Yes

CRSN 55 Rachel Carson College: Service Learning Practicum

Introduces service-learning theory and practice for students engaging in service-learning work in the college, college-related projects, community service organizations, or public agencies.

Credits

2

Instructor

Susan Watrous

Requirements

Enrollment restricted to college members until after priority enrollment.

Repeatable for credit

Yes

General Education Code

PR-S

Quarter offered

Fall, Winter, Spring

CRSN 56 Media Internships for Sustainability

Students develop and work on media projects related to the college theme of Environment and Society in film, on television, in print, and on the Internet. Students work in groups with specific instructors and project leaders. Enrollment by application and instructor consent.

Credits

2

Repeatable for credit

Yes

Quarter offered

Fall, Winter, Spring

CRSN 61 Education for Sustainable Living Program

Analyzes sustainability and its application in daily life and on campus, involving collaboration between students, faculty, staff, administration, and the community. Guest lecturers, discussions, an optional UC-wide retreat, and essays allow engagement with aspects of ecological and social sustainability.

Credits

2

Quarter offered

Spring

CRSN 81C Designing a Sustainable Future

Introduces key technological solutions to environmental problems; discusses their underlying principles; and examines their societal dimensions. Topics include: conventional and renewable energy; emerging technologies for transportation, energy efficiency clean water; planetary engineering; and lean manufacturing.

Credits

5

Cross Listed Courses

ECE 81C

Instructor

Leila Parsa

Requirements

Enrollment is restricted to first-year and sophomore college members.

General Education Code

SI

CRSN 82 Environment and Society in Film

Students write about and discuss a variety of films and articles about environment and society. Topics may include water, food systems, wilderness, wildlife, pollution, global warming, nuclear energy, conservation, and environmental activism.

Credits

2

Instructor

Neil Schaefer

Requirements

Enrollment restricted to college members.

Quarter offered

Spring

CRSN 90 Cultivating Food Justice and Sustainability

Learn sustainable, ecologically sound horticulture, permaculture, and small-scale organic agricultural practices through hands-on gardening experience. This outdoor interdisciplinary course operates within a food justice framework. (Formerly Rachel Carson College Garden Internship.)

Credits

1

Instructor

Katie Monsen

Requirements

Enrollment restricted to college members. Other students by permission of the instructor.

Repeatable for credit

Yes

Quarter offered

Fall, Winter, Spring

CRSN 93 Field Study

Credits

5

Quarter offered

Fall, Winter, Spring

CRSN 99 Tutorial

Credits

5

Repeatable for credit

Yes

Quarter offered

Fall, Winter, Spring

CRSN 99F Tutorial

Individual study for lower-division students directed by a faculty member affiliated with the college. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency.

Credits

2

Repeatable for credit

Yes

Quarter offered

Fall, Winter, Spring

Cross-listed courses that are managed by another department are listed at the bottom.

Cross-listed Courses

ECE 80G Creating and Financing a Sustainable Startup in the Global Economy

Introduces students and prospective entrepreneurs to the ingredients required to successfully create and finance a sustainability-minded startup or nonprofit in the global economy. Emphasis is placed on ethical business practice, tools for understanding markets and supply chains, and building value for all stakeholders, including communities and the environment.

Credits

5

Cross Listed Courses

CRSN 80G

Instructor

Paul Vroomen

General Education Code

CC

ECE 80H Bending the Curve: Solutions to Climate Change

Students examine the interconnectedness of natural and social systems as they evaluate, interpret, and debate evidence and explanations of climate change. Includes interviewing family members, friends, and professionals for a variety of divergent views on the climate change debate. Class sessions are devoted to student discussion of the course materials, including readings, take-home assignments and pre-recorded videos. The class culminates with a written proposal and group presentations of ideas for solutions, with the guidance of the instructor, addressing one of the "grand challenges" presented in the course with the goal of empowering students to emerge as critical thinkers and actors equipped with a solution-based mindset.

Credits

5

Cross Listed Courses

CRSN 80H

Instructor

Les Guliasi

General Education Code

PE-H