The Bachelor of Arts in Earth Sciences is a little different than other STEM majors since you can choose between either ERTH 505 (Quantitative Methods in Earth Sciences) or MATH 226 (Calculus I) to satisfy a Major Foundation requirement. If you choose ERTH 505, you will still need to take a separate course to satisfy the Area 2 GE requirement but the department does not specify which Area 2 course you should take. BUT your Physics courses do require a specific Area 2/math course as prerequisites depending on which Physics track you choose. PHYS 111/112 (General Physics I) requires a C- or better in either of the Pre-Calculus options (MATH 197/198 or MATH 199). PHYS 220/222 (General Physics with Calculus I) requires a C or better in MATH 226 (Calculus I) and recommends concurrent enrollment in MATH 227 (Calculus II).
Here are your options:
- If you know you plan to take PHYS 220/222
- Plan to take MATH 226 as it is a prerequisite for this version of Physics. If you do not meet the prerequisites for MATH 226, you will need to take one of the Pre-Calculus options first.
- Click here for next steps.
- If you know you plan to take PHYS 220/222
- You need a C- or better in either MATH 197/198 or MATH 199 which will also satisfy the Area 2 GE requirement but not the Major Foundation requirement.
- You can choose to take ERTH 505 or continue on to MATH 226 to satisfy the Major Foundation requirement.
- Click here for next steps (this page will list both the Calculus and Pre-Calculus options).
If you have questions, please contact us at gatorsmartstart@sfsu.edu