Apr 04, 2025  
2024-2025 Pitzer Catalog 
    
Catalog Navigation
  Catalog Home
  The Claremont Colleges
  Trustees, Administration, Faculty & Governance
  Admission to Pitzer
  Life on Campus
  Academic Calendar
  Academic Opportunities at Pitzer
  Areas of Study
  Academic Policies
  Courses
  Degree Regulations & Academic Information
  Majors & Minors
  Archived Catalogs
  My Portfolio
HELP
2024-2025 Pitzer Catalog

Catalog Addendum

Updated Items

Science Management

effective 8/26/24, added 8/29/24.
This program is designed to provide students with a solid background in science, economics, and fundamental
managerial skills. Majors complete a core program consisting of a minimum of fourteen courses in addition to
a five-course, area of concentration in science. In addition to those listed, students can create their own track
in consultation with the Science Management advisor.

Major Requirements

 

1. Core Program:

*Students who wish to specialize in the Physics sequence can take PHYS 030L KS -General Physics Life Sciences  - PHYS 031L KS -General Physics Life Sciences   or PHYS 033L KS -Principles of Physics  - PHYS 034L KS -Principles of Physics  instead of Biology for their Core Program.

Options include either a 2-semester Team Master’s Project (TMP) or a one- or two-semester thesis in Biology, Chemistry, or Physics (BIOL 189L KS -Sr Thes Summer Rsrch Proj in Bio , BIOL 188L KS -Sr Thesis Rsrch Project in Biol   /BIOL 190L KS -Sr Thes Rsrch Proj Biol-2nd Sem , or BIOL 189L KS -Sr Thes Summer Rsrch Proj in Bio  /BIOL 190L KS -Sr Thes Rsrch Proj Biol-2nd Sem ).

2. Areas of Concentration:

All majors must complete an area of concentration track with a minimum of five courses

a. Chemistry Track

b. Physics Track

c. Biophysics Track

d. Biotechnology Track

e. Neuroscience Track

f. Environmental Management Track
At least 2 courses in this sequence must have an associated laboratory component

g. Public Health Track
Courses must be selected from 3 of the 5 fields listed below. Please note that some of these courses have prerequisites outside of the GE/Core program of this major. Course recommendations include:

 

Commencement Participation Policy - 2025 Exception

Effective: Fall 2024, Updated: 10/28/2024

For the May 2025 commencement ceremony, students who are expected to graduate the following summer or fall, are within 2 credits of fully completing all College and major(s) graduation requirements by the end of spring semester 2025, and are enrolled full-time in spring semester 2025, are permitted to “walk” in the commencement ceremony without petition, provided they remain in good financial, conduct, and academic standing during the spring semester.

Summer Session Academic Calendar

Effective: Fall 2024, Updated: 12/6/2024

The 2025 Summer Session dates changed from May 19 - Jun 27 to May 27 - July 3. Registration, drop, withdraw, and refund dates were changed accordingly. The updated schedule is on the Academic Calendar  .

Environmental Analysis Major

Major Requirements

There are four tracks within the Environmental Analysis major:

In addition to the above listed Tracks, students have the ability to create a self-designed Track within the major that consists of a minimum of 11 courses.

All EA major Tracks consist of three sets of requirements:

  1. A Core set of Courses (EA 10, EA 86, EA 30, and an additional natural science course) and the Senior Seminar (EA 150)
  2. A Track with Course Plan
  3. An Environmental Internship for the Environment and Society, Environmental Policy, and Sustainability and the Built Environment Tracks

A minimum of 11 courses is required for the Environment and Society and Environmental Policy tracks,12 courses for the Sustainability and Built Environment track, and 14 courses for the Science track. Students in the Environment and Society, Environmental Policy, and Sustainability and the Built Environment tracks will find that their major has considerable structure but also allows for flexibility in the selection of courses within the track. It is essential that majors and prospective majors proactively work with their advisers to select courses, both within the major and outside the major, that will help meet the student’s educational, personal and professional goals.

A senior thesis is not required for the Environment and Society, Environmental Policy, and Sustainability and the Built Environment tracks. The Science track requires either a one semester thesis in science (EA 191 KS) or a two semester thesis in Science which can be completed in Fall and Spring (e.g., EA 188L KS + EA 190L KS) or in Summer + Fall (EA 189L KS + 190L KS). Unless completing the EA-Science track, students who wish to write a senior thesis must enroll in an additional course, EA 197 PZ EA Senior Thesis Seminar. For those who choose to undertake a senior project, sometimes referred to as a “capstone” project, a senior project is a substantial work, such as an exhibition, website, blog, film/video, performance, curriculum, design project, or other hands-on or creative endeavor is required. The process and outcome of the project should be digitally documented in an appropriate format (audio, video, pdf, web url, and so forth). Normally students will write a 20-30 page paper that describes the work and that anchors it in scholarly literature in order to build a critical framework around the project. Projects are usually undertaken over the course of one semester and are assigned a course number (EA 199 or EA 999). Some can be undertaken as part of EA 197 PZ -Senior Thesis Seminar . All senior theses and senior projects require two readers with, at least, one reader from the Pitzer Environmental Analysis Field Group. Please consult with your adviser to see what is appropriate for you.

Environmenal Analysis Courses

Environment and Society Track

Learning Outcomes for the Environment & Society Track

1. Understand and describe different cultural perspectives on the meaning and use of the “environment,” including those shaped by race, ethnicity, and gender.
2. Understand, describe, and conduct research on where social justice and environmental issues intersect.

Requirements for the Environment & Society Track

  1. Five Core Courses and One Internship:
  2. Track Requirements (Six Courses)
    • One environmental policy course

Course Plan of Five Environment and Society courses from the following options such as these.

Environmental Policy Track

Learning Outcomes for the Environmental Policy Track

  1. Acquire a working knowledge of the concepts, principles, and theories of environmental policy, law, and politics.
  2. Develop a critical understanding and analysis of issues in the field of environmental policy and politics.
  3. Be able to conduct policy related research on environmental issues and challenges.

Requirements for the Environmental Policy Track

  1. Five Core Courses and One Internship
  2. Track Requirements (Six Courses)
    • One statistics course (e.g., MATH 052 PZ , Economics Statistics, Quantitative Methods in Sociology, or other appropriate statistics course as approved by student’s adviser)

Course Plan of Five Environmental Policy Courses from options such as: 

Sustainability and the Built Environment Track

Learning Outcomes

1. Understand and analyze sustainable design in a holistic manner
2. Develop conceptual frameworks for critical inquiry and environmental problem solving
3. Apply design concepts and skills for sustainability and resilience
4. Integrate scholarship and analyses to test spatial concepts
 

Requirements for the Sustainability and the Built Environment Track

*Courses have prerequisites

  1. Four electives, generally no more than two from each group, from options such as:
    1. History, theory and ecology of the built environment
    2. Design  Policy/Planning

Environmental Analysis Combined Major

Combined Majors meld two or more existing fields, with some modification of the normal requirements in each. Combined majors must be approved by a faculty member representing each field involved, following the principles established by each field group. Such approval normally must be obtained not later than midterm of the first semester of the junior year.

A combined major with Environmental Analysis Major  must be approved by an EA faculty adviser, and comprise a minimum of seven courses, including EA 010 PZ , EA 086 PZ  (EA 086 PZ  can be substituted with EA 098 PZ  ) , EA 030 PO  OR EA 030L KS  /PO - Science and the Environment. At least four additional EA courses that meld with the curriculum of the  student’s other academic field and a relevant internship or field research project are required. Common combined majors with Environmental Analysis include EA with Economics, EA with Sociology, and EA with Organizational Studies.

Management Engineering Major

Effective 8/1/2024; Updated 1/14/2025

Additional Course Requirements

One of the following:

Additional notes: 

Grades, Grade Point Average (GPA), and Transcript Notations

Grades

Pitzer College uses the following grades, and a 4.0 scale is used to determine the grade point average (GPA).

Letter Grades

Grade Value Grade Value
A 4.00 C 2.00
A- 3.67 C- 1.67
B+ 3.33 D+ 1.33
B 3.00 D 1.00
B- 2.67 D- 0.67
C+ 2.33 F 0.00

 

Non-Letter Grades

Grade Description Value
CR Credit Equivalent to C or above; no grade point value
NC No Credit Equivalent to C- or below; no grade point value

 

A student’s work is usually evaluated with a letter grade: A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D- and F. Sometimes it is evaluated with a non-letter grade: CR (Credit) or NC (No Credit).

Students may elect to take a letter-graded class on a CR/NC basis at the outset of the semester by the deadline listed in the Academic Calendar with permission of the instructor. Instructors may designate some or all of their courses as courses offered on a CR/NC basis.

Students may designate a total of 1.0 credits each semester on a CR/NC basis. Students should consult the Office of the Registrar website for procedures regarding this designation. Courses that instructors have already designated as CR/NC do not count towards the total of 1.0 credits students may designate each semester as CR/NC. In the event of seriously extenuating circumstances, students may petition the Academic Standards Committee to invoke or reverse the CR/NC request after the deadline.

In some majors, courses taken to fulfill the major requirements cannot be taken on a CR/NC basis. Students should consult with their major advisor.

Students who elect the CR/NC option for a course should be advised that in some cases they may experience difficulty in transferring their academic records to other undergraduate or graduate institutions or meeting their requirements in certain majors. Students are advised to check the requirements of those specific institutions or majors before deciding on the CR/NC option.

Grade Point Average (GPA)

The GPA is computed by adding the grade points given for each grade received and dividing the result by the total number of letter-graded courses taken. In order to graduate, a student must have at least a C average (2.00 GPA) based on grades received in courses taken at The Claremont Colleges and including those received in those Study Abroad programs for which grades enter the student’s GPA. In addition, a student must achieve at least a C average (a 2.00 GPA) in their field(s) of major. Grades in courses taken elsewhere are excluded from the computation of grade point averages, although the courses themselves may be accepted for transfer credit toward the work required for graduation.

Transcript Notations

Pitzer College uses the following transcript notations, which have no grade point value:

Notation Name Description
AU Audit course audited
I Incomplete work is satisfactory, but student is given additional time to submit work for the course; a permanent grade is pending
IP In-Progress course in progress; not yet graded
N Two-semester Course two-semester course in progress and work is satisfactory; no grade or credit recorded until course is concluded
NGS No Grade Submitted unreported evaluation; no grade reported by instructor
NR Not Reported unreported evaluation; no grade reported by instructor
W Withdrawn withdrew from the course in good standing

Withdrawal from the College

Administrative Withdrawal

The Office of the Registrar will administratively withdraw students under either of the following conditions:

  • a student drops all courses during a semester
  • a student is not registered for at least one Claremont Colleges course without an approved Leave of Absence by the semester Add Deadline listed in the Academic Calendar 
  • the Office of the Register determines a registered student has not attended any of their scheduled classes and has not formally requested a Leave of Absence by the Add Deadline listed in the Academic Calendar