ESRM Admission – Current UW Student Focus

Overview of ESRM Admission

Environmental Science and Terrestrial Resource Management (ESRM) became a Minimum Requirements major in Autumn Quarter 2025.  This means that all current UW students who meet the Course and GPA Minimum Requirements for ESRM Admission are admitted to the major.

The information on this page is for current UW students at any point at or after your New Student Orientation session.

Environmental Science and Terrestrial Resource Management Minimum Admission Requirements

To be able to declare the ESRM major, students must have completed all of the minimum course requirements with the minimum grade requirements as listed below.

Minimum course requirements:

  • one of Q SCI 291, MATH 124, or MATH 134 (First Quarter Calculus);
  • one of Q SCI 292, MATH 125, or MATH 135 (Second Quarter Calculus);
  • one of CHEM 120, CHEM 142, CHEM 143, or CHEM 145 (First Quarter Chemistry);
  • one of CHEM 220, CHEM 152, CHEM 153, CHEM 155, or OCEAN 295 (Second Quarter Chemistry);
  • either BIOL 180 (First Quarter Biology) or both BIOL 161 and BIOL 162 (Credit for scoring high enough on the pertinent AP/IB/A-Level Biology exam);
  • 5 credits of UW English composition.

If you are completing any of these courses at a Washington State Community College, please be sure to consult the UW Equivalency Guide to make sure you are completing the correct courses.

Note about the CHEM requirement: here are the common pathways for completing the Chem requirement.  Choose 1 of the following:

  • CHEM 120; either CHEM 220 or OCEAN 295
  • CHEM 142; either CHEM 152 or CHEM 220
  • CHEM 143; either CHEM 153 or CHEM 220
  • CHEM 145 and CHEM 155

Minimum grade requirements:

Minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA in the courses required for admission

These courses must be completed, and all the grades must be listed on your UW Transcript, including any transfer credit or AP/IB/A Level/AS Level exams.

Planning the Completion of your Minimum Admission Requirements

  • In order to be on track for on-time graduation in ESRM, it is very important to be completing all of the Minimum Admission Requirements in your first two years of study, plus all additional courses normally completed in year 1 and year 2, which are detailed on the 4-year academic plan found at this link.
    • Calculus and Chemistry should be completed in year 1 and Biology completed in year 2 if you are completing the BIOL 180, 200, 220 series. In particular, if you are completing the ESRM General Biology graduation requirement via BIOL 180, 200, 220 (rather than BIOL 161 and 162), you should be completing BIOL 200 and BIOL 220 immediately after you complete BIOL 180, so all three are done at the end of year 2. 
    • At the UW, you need to have the Chemistry ESRM admission requirement completed before you can take BIOL 200.
  • If you are planning to take any admission requirements at another college/university, please also consult our planning advice for transfer students.

Declaration Dates and Declaration Form: Please apply as soon as you are eligible

The declaration form is open all year!  We review declaration forms as they are submitted, and students should hear back from us within 10-14 business days.

ESRM Declaration Form

A student whose declaration form is reviewed before Day 10 of Autumn, Winter, or Spring quarter will be added to the major effective the same quarter.  After day 10, the student will be added to the major effective the following quarter.

Students must be enrolled as a student at the UW in a given quarter in order to be added to the major for the quarter; this is mainly an issue for Summer quarter.  Students who are reviewed before day 10 of Summer quarter but are not enrolled in Summer quarter will be added to the major effective for Autumn quarter.

Statement of Non-Discrimination

The University of Washington prohibits discrimination, harassment and sexual misconduct in any education program or activity that it operates. Individuals may report concerns, make complaints, or direct inquiries to the Civil Rights Compliance Office. The statement of nondiscrimination is located on the Civil Rights Compliance Office web site.

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