Associate of Science (A.S.) - Natural Sciences
General Associate Degree Requirements
Additional requirements for graduation can be found on the Degree/Certificate Requirements for Graduation page.
Unless otherwise noted in individual program requirements, a minimum grade point average of 2.00 in all work attempted at the University of Montana-Missoula is required for graduation. Please see the Academic Policies and Procedures page for information on how your GPA is calculated.
Courses taken to satisfy the requirements of an associate degree program must be completed with a grade of C- or better unless a higher grade is noted in the program requirements.
Online Program Option
This program may be completed in an online format. Students interested in pursuing an online degree or certificate program are strongly encouraged to contact the offering department to discuss specific program and course modalities and create a plan of study with an academic advisor. The course requirements listed below may not be consistently offered via online delivery.
Associate of Science - General A.S.: Natural Science Concentration
The Associate of Science (A.S.) degree has the following general requirements. Students must:
- Complete all of the university's general education requirements with the exception of the language requirement and the advanced writing requirement.
- All courses taken to satisfy general education requirements must be taken for a traditional letter grade and must be passed with a grade of C- or better.
- Complete a minimum of 60 credits.
- Earn a minimum cumulative institutional GPA of 2.0.
- Complete at least 30 of the total 60 degree credits at Missoula College or UM-Missoula.
- Complete 9 credits of transferable coursework in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) beyond those taken as general education requirements. Those courses offered at Missoula College are listed below.
Missoula College students are limited to enrolling in lower-division (100- and 200-level) courses only.
To receive to Associate of Arts with a concentration in Natural Sciences, a student must complete the requirements specific to the concentration listed below.
Course Requirements
Some courses required for the Associate of Arts with a concentration in Natural Sciences satisfy multiple general education perspectives. Visit with your advisor for more information.
Students must complete one of the following advising tracks. These are advising tracks only and not official programs as recognized by the University of Montana (UM) or the Montana University System. Track information will not appear on a UM transcript, diploma, university lists, student data system, or university publication.
Natural Sciences Exploratory Track
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Complete the following course: | ||
| BIOB 210N | Communicating Biology | 3 |
| Complete 6-7 credits of the following courses: | 6-7 | |
| College Algebra | ||
| College Trigonometry | ||
| Applied Calculus | ||
| Introduction to Statistics | ||
| Complete 15 credits from the following courses including a minimum of 2 courses that have a lab component: | 15 | |
| Discover Biology | ||
or BIOB 160 | Principles of Living Systems | |
| Principles of Living Systems Lab | ||
| Montana Ecosystems | ||
| Nature and Society | ||
| Introduction to Physical Geology | ||
| Introduction to Physical Geology Lab | ||
| Basic Human Nutrition | ||
| Fundamentals of Physical Science | ||
Forestry Track
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Complete all of the following courses: | ||
| BIOB 160 | Principles of Living Systems | 3 |
| BIOO 105N | Introduction to Botany | 3 |
| CHMY 121N | Introduction to General Chemistry | 4 |
| COMX 111A | Introduction to Public Speaking | 3 |
| ECNS 201S | Principles of Microeconomics | 3 |
| M 151 | Precalculus | 4 |
| or M 121 & M 122 | College Algebra and College Trigonometry | |
| STAT 216 | Introduction to Statistics | 4 |
| Complete all of the following Forestry courses: | ||
| FORS 130 | Introduction to Forestry Field Skills | 2 |
| FORS 202 | Forest Mensuration | 3 |
| FORS 230 | Fire Management & Environmental Change | 3 |
| FORS 232 | Forest Insects & Diseases | 3 |
| FORS 241N | Dendrology | 3 |
| FORS 250 | Intro to GIS for Forest Mgt | 3 |
| NRSM 211N | Soils and Water | 2 |
| NRSM 212N | Ecology, Physics and Taxonomy of Soils | 1 |
Wildlife Biology Track
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Complete all of the following courses: | ||
| CHMY 121N | Introduction to General Chemistry | 4 |
| CHMY 123 | Introduction to Organic and Biochemistry | 4 |
| CHMY 124 | Introduction to Organic and Biochemistry Lab | 2 |
| COMX 111A | Introduction to Public Speaking | 3 |
| M 162 | Applied Calculus | 4 |
| or M 171 | Calculus I | |
| STAT 216 | Introduction to Statistics | 4 |
| Complete all of the following Wildlife Biology courses: | ||
| BIOB 160 | Principles of Living Systems | 3 |
| BIOB 161N | Principles of Living Systems Lab | 1 |
| BIOB 260 | Cellular and Molecular Biology | 4 |
| BIOB 272 | Genetics and Evolution | 4 |
| WILD 180 | Careers in Wildlife Biology | 2 |
| WILD 274 | Human Dimensions of Wildlife | 3 |
Parks, Tourism, and Recreation Management Track
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Complete all of the following courses: | ||
| ACTG 201 | Principles of Financial Accounting | 3 |
| ACTG 202 | Principles of Managerial Accounting | 3 |
| BIOB 160 | Principles of Living Systems | 3 |
| COMX 111A | Introduction to Public Speaking | 3 |
| ECNS 201S | Principles of Microeconomics | 3 |
| M 115 | Probability and Linear Mathematics | 4 |
| PSYX 100S | Intro to Psychology | 3 |
| or SOCI 101S | Introduction to Sociology | |
| STAT 216 | Introduction to Statistics | 4 |
| Complete all of the following Parks, Tourism, and Recreation courses: | ||
| NRSM 121S | Environmental Science and Sustainability | 3 |
| or PTRM 141Y | National Parks and American Culture | |
| NRSM 211N & NRSM 212N | Soils and Water and Ecology, Physics and Taxonomy of Soils | 3 |
| PTRM 150 | First Year Seminar in Parks, Tourism, and Recreation Management | 1 |
| PTRM 210S | Nature Tourism & Commercial Recreation | 3 |
| PTRM 217S | Parks & Outdoor Recreation Management | 3 |
Environmental Studies Track
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Complete all of the following courses: | ||
| CHMY 121N | Introduction to General Chemistry | 4 |
| BIOB 101N | Discover Biology | 3 |
| or BIOB 160 | Principles of Living Systems | |
| M 115 | Probability and Linear Mathematics | 4 |
| Complete all of the following Environmental Studies courses: | ||
| ENSC 105N | Environmental Science | 3 |
| ENST 201 | Environmental Info Resources | 3 |
| ENST 225S | Sustainable Communities | 3 |
| ENST 230H | Nature and Society | 3 |
Additional STEM Courses for the A.S. Degree
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Associate of Science STEM Courses | ||
| Complete 9 credits of the following courses in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) beyond those taken as general education requirements. | 9 | |
| Contemporary Mathematics | ||
| Probability and Linear Mathematics | ||
| College Algebra | ||
| College Trigonometry | ||
| Applied Calculus | ||
| Discover Biology | ||
| Montana Ecosystems | ||
| Principles of Living Systems | ||
| Principles of Living Systems Lab | ||
| Communicating Biology | ||
| Basic Human Biology | ||
| Basic Human Biology Laboratory | ||
| Human Anatomy & Physiology I | ||
| Human Anatomy and Physiology I Lab | ||
| Human Anatomy and Physiology II | ||
| Human Anatomy and Physiology II Lab | ||
| Microbiology for Health Sciences | ||
| Microbiology Health Sciences Lab | ||
| Pharmacology and Addictions | ||
| Introduction to General Chemistry | ||
| Introduction to Physical Geology | ||
| Introduction to Physical Geology Lab | ||
| Basic Human Nutrition | ||
| Fundamentals of Physical Science | ||
| Nature and Society | ||
| Accounting Procedures I | ||
| Accounting Procedures II | ||
| Payroll Accounting | ||
| Principles of Financial Accounting | ||
| Principles of Managerial Accounting | ||
| Income Tax Fundamentals | ||
| Fundamentals of Government and Nonprofit Accounting | ||
| Medical Terminology | ||
| Medical Billing Fundamentals | ||
| Pharmaceutical Products | ||
| Medical Office Procedures | ||
| Computerized Medical Billing | ||
| Personal Finance | ||
| Introduction to Business | ||
| Issues in Sustainability | ||
| Digitial Marketing & CRM | ||
| Programming with C++ I | ||
| Interdisciplinary Computer Science I | ||
| Intro to Computer Modeling | ||
| Social & Ethical Issues in CS | ||
| System Analysis and Design | ||
| Databases and SQL | ||
| Nutritional Cooking | ||
| Technical Drafting | ||
| Introduction to CAD | ||
| 3D CAD | ||
| GIS Mapping | ||
| Civil Drafting | ||
| Principles of Microeconomics | ||
| Digital Imaging I | ||
| CCNA 1: Exploration | ||
| CCNA 2: Exploration | ||
| Introduction to Operating Systems and the Command Line | ||
| Network OS - Desktop | ||
| Network OS - Server Administration | ||
| Network OS - Infrastructure | ||
| Project Management | ||
| Enterprise Security | ||
| CCNA 3: Exploration | ||
| CCNA 4: Exploration | ||
| Cloud Systems | ||
| Computer Repair & Maintenance | ||
| Professional Certification | ||
| Digital Publishing & Design | ||
| Interactive Web II | ||
| Intro to Surveying for Engineers | ||