Environmental Studies Program: Study Plans

STUDY PLAN Guidelines
Students are expected to develop a Study Plan as part of the ENST 500 Environmental Issues & Approaches class during their first semester in the program. Each student must submit an electronic study plan. Please check out the sample study plan for guidance in terms of how the completed form should be filled out.

• Blank study plan template
• Sample study plan
• Change in Study Plan form Changes to approved Study Plans are made by completing a Change in Study Plan form. This form must be approved by the ENST Coordinator or Assistant Coordinator.

All students are strongly encouraged to review the official CSUF Graduate Study Plan policies for further clarification, as all graduate students are bound by these regulations. These policies can be found in the CSUF catalog (pages 527-530).

Important points to remember when filling out the study plan form:

• Include your concentration (ENSC, ENPP, or ENEC) in the top right-hand corner.
• State your undergraduate major as well as the school where you obtained your undergraduate degree.
• When listing electives, include the department code, the course number and the title of the course in full, for example:
  • ENST 595T Environmental Regulation
  • GEOG 426 The Coastal Environment
• Only list the dates for the courses that have already been taken or for those that will be taken in the coming semester (when it is known for certain that a particular course will be offered). Otherwise, leave the date/semester section blank if it is not known for certain when a desired course will be taken.
• At the bottom, next to “Committee Members”, simply state: “To Be Determined” unless it is already known for certain whom the project/thesis advisor will be.

When selecting electives, note the following ENST/CSUF policies:

• A minimum of 9 units worth of ENST electives and a minimum of 9 units worth of Cross-Disciplinary courses must be taken.
• If a student wishes to take the ENST 599 Independent study, this course must count towards his/her fourth ENST elective – in other words if a student is only taking 9 units worth of ENST Electives, they may not take include the ENST 599 course.
• Only 3 units worth of Independent Study may be added to the ENST study plan.
• Only graduate level courses (400 or 500) may be included on the study plan.
• Courses intended to meet admission deficiencies for entering the ENST program (for ecology and stats) must not be included on the study plan…they are pre-requisites…
• Up to 15 units worth of graduate coursework may be transferred to the study plan (only 9 units worth of Extended Education coursework) if these courses have not already been used to meet the requirements for other degrees.

Upon completion, study plans should be supplied electronically (via email) to the Coordinator/Associate Coordinator for final review so as to ensure that all elements of the study plan have been correctly filled out. The completed study plan will then be signed by the Coordinator of the ENST program and submitted by the ENST office to the Gradate Studies Office for final approval. The Graduate Studies office will send a copy of the study plan through the mail to each student once signed and approved.

Change in Study Plan

It is relatively simple to change a study plan. Download the Change in Study Plan form, and fill out the form. Be sure to list the elective being dropped and the course replacing the dropped course. Please list these courses out in full (department code, course number, course title). Upon completion of the form, students must hand in the form to the Associate Coordinator. It is important for students to keep on top of these Change in Study Plan updates in order to avoid potential problems that may unduly influence the successful completion of all study plan requirements.

Any elective may be dropped from a classified study plan and exchanged with another graduate level course (400 or 500); however, students must keep in mind the following restriction:

• No course may be dropped from a study plan if the student has already registered for the course and obtained a letter grade. If a student receives a letter grade that is lower than “C”, that very same course must be repeated (with no exception).

• Blank study plan template
• Sample study plan
• Change in Study Plan form Changes to approved Study Plans are made by completing a Change in Study Plan form. This form must be approved by the ENST Coordinator or Assistant Coordinator.
• Suggested courses for study plan