Electives and Specializations
The interdisciplinary nature of UC Davis allows EPM students to take electives from schools and departments across campus. The EPM program offers optional specializations as a way for students to develop a topical focus or specific policy competence, related to their career interests and practicum area.
Required electives
To meet degree requirements, students must complete the following electives.
- 3-unit quantitative elective
- Ex: Statistics for non-statistics majors (e.g. STA 100, Applied Statistics for Biological Sciences)
- Ex: Approaches to quantitative analysis (e.g. ENV 224, Data Management and Visualization in R)
- Ex: Non-statistical quantitative methods (e.g. ANT 181N, Concepts and Methods in GIS)
- 3-unit environmental justice elective
- Ex: ESP 174, Environmental Justice Policy and Practice
Electives can be selected from a list of preapproved courses found above. Required elective courses must either be upper division (100 series) or graduate (200 series) to count towards degree requirements. Students must earn a B- or better for an elective to count towards degree requirements. You may submit elective courses for preapproval using the Request for Elective Approval form.
Seminars
Seminars are generally 1-unit courses that meet once a week. Typically, departments use course codes such as 289, 290, 298, 299 for departmental seminars or one-off classes. Topics for seminar courses usually change each quarter.
When you search in Schedule Builder for a seminar, it will not give you specific information about the seminar’s topic is for that quarter. Usually, you will need to contact the department or instructor to learn more about the specific content for that quarter.
Fall 2025 Seminars
- TTP 281 (47769)- Transportation Seminar Series
- GEL 290 (33564)- Seminar in Geology
- CRD 290 (26416)- Community Development Seminar
- PLP 290 (43452)- Plant Pathology Seminar
- ECL 290 (CRN TBA)
- ETX 290 (31740)- Enviro Toxicology Seminar
- POL 290A (45154)- Research in American Government & Public Policy
- POL 290C (49351)- Research in International Relations
- POL 290F (45155)- Research in Comparative Government & Policy
- HYD 290 (35017)- Seminar in Hydrologic Science
Specializations
EPM specializations are optional and generally intended for those completing the program in 2 years. Upon completion the specialization will be listed next to the student's name on the EPM website. Students may choose to obtain more than one specialization. They are a great addition to a student's resume.
Social Systems | Natural Systems | Quantitative Tools |
|---|---|---|
Environmental Economics & Finance | Conservation Management | Environmental Data Science |
Politics & the Policy Process | Climate Change Science & Policy |
|
City & Regional Planning | Water Resource Management |
|
Energy & Transportation Planning | Marine Resource Management |
|
Environmental Justice | Sustainable Agriculture |
Requirements for optional Specialization
Coursework:
- Complete 9 units of preapproved coursework in one of the specializations listed above. A minimum of 4-units must be taken at the graduate (200) level.
- The required environmental justice and quantitative electives cannot count towards the specialization.
- Students cannot count an elective towards more than one specialization.
- Seminar courses are acceptable, up to a maximum of 2 credit hours per area of specialization.
- Relevant internship credit (ENV 292) may be used toward a specialization (up to a maximum of 3 units), but approval for application of this credit to the specialization must be requested from the Program Coordinator.
Grading:
- Non-seminar courses must be taken for a letter grade to count towards the specialization.
- Students are required to earn a B- or above in graded courses.
Verification:
EPM can provide a letter verifying that a student has earned a specialization upon request. Specializations are not reflected on a student's transcript.
Approvals and Exception to Policy:
- Courses that are not already pre-approved may be considered on a case-by-case basis. To request a course be added to the approved list, you must submit a request for elective approval form.
- Final decision on new course approvals or substitutions are made by the (1) faculty chair (2) director and (3) graduate program coordinator.
- Prior substitutions do not establish ongoing precedent, as courses change regularly (in content, instructor, etc.). In establishing what counts/does not count for a specialization, the emphasis is on the primary focus and bulk content of the course.
- Post-hoc substitution requests will not be considered. Students may substitute after the fact amongst already approved courses. For instance, if a course is categorized as a quantitative elective and satisfies a specialization requirement, the student can make a change to whether they use that course to satisfy the quantitative requirement or specialization at a later time.
Completion
- Program staff track a student's progress towards earning a specialization using the degree worksheet tool within OASIS student advising software.
- If you believe you have completed a specialization, contact the graduate program coordinator and include a list of courses you took and what specialization they were for.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I take classes that are not on the spreadsheet of approved electives?
- Yes, students can take courses that are not on the spreadsheet of approved electives. However, electives cannot count toward a degree required elective (quantitative or environmental justice) or specialization unless they are (1) already on the spreadsheet of approved courses or (2) are submitted in advance.
- Can I take classes from other departments?
- Yes, students may take classes from other departments as long as they meet prerequisite requirements and the class is open to non-major enrollment.
- Can I take a lower-division undergraduate class?
- We generally do not recommend it unless you are taking it for a specific reason, such as to fulfill a prerequisite requirement for an upper-division elective. Lower division classes (0-99 level) cannot be used to meet degree requirements or count toward a specialization.
- I'm trying to register for a course but it says there is a field of study restriction. What does that mean?
- A field of study restriction means that the class is restricted for only students in that major. This restriction is normally listed during Pass Two registration. You can see more information about course restrictions here.
- I'm trying to enroll in Practicum units, but I can't find it when I search in Schedule Builder. Is there an error?
- To register in ENV 296 units, you will need a CRN from the program coordinator.