Spring Quarter 2026 NSc courses
This is for informational purposes only. Areas of inquiry, degree requirements, fees, and course descriptions may change. Check the time schedule or MyPlan BEFORE you register.
Always refresh your degree audit after registering for courses or changing your schedule.
For more NSc courses, use the Time Schedule: http://www.washington.edu/students/timeschd/.
Anthropology
https://www.washington.edu/students/timeschd/SPR2026/anthro.html
Anth 210 – Intro to Environmental Anthropology (5 credits)
$5 course fee
Introduction to human/environment interactions from various anthropological perspectives. Intellectual history of anthropological approaches to environment, emphasizing the mutual interconnectedness of people and nature. Survey of evolutionary models; cultural ecology; systems approaches; indigenous knowledge; ethnoecology; nature and the state; political ecology; ecofeminism; and environmentalism.
Astrobiology
https://www.washington.edu/students/timeschd/SPR2026/astbio.html
Astbio 115 – Astrobiology (5 credits)
Introduction to the new science of astrobiology, study of the origin and evolution of life on Earth, and the search for microbial and intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. Designed for non-science majors.
Astronomy
https://www.washington.edu/students/timeschd/SPR2026/astro.html
ASTR 101A – Astronomy (5 credits)
RSN credit
Introduction to the universe, with emphasis on conceptual, as contrasted with mathematical, comprehension. Modern theories, observations; ideas concerning nature, evolution of galaxies; quasars, stars, black holes, planets, solar system. Not open for credit to students who have taken 102 or 301; not open to upper-division students majoring in physical sciences or engineering.
ASTR 101B – Astronomy (5 credits)
RSN credit
This is an online version of ASTR 101A above. Check Time Schedule for details.
ASTR 109 – Measuring the Universe (3 credits)
How did we measure the distance to the Sun, the mass of the Earth, the age of the Universe? How do we know that everyday matter is composed of atoms? Provides a mostly descriptive, historical introduction to the methods different societies have devised to solve such quandaries, in the process constraining nature's laws and shaping the physical sciences into their modern form.
ASTR 150A – The Planets (5 credits)
RSN credit
For liberal arts and beginning science students. Survey of the planets of the solar system, with emphases on recent space exploration of the planets and on the comparative evolution of the Earth and the other planets.
ASTR 150E -The Planets (5 credits)
RSN credit
This is an online version of ASTR 150 above. Check Time Schedule for details.
ASTR 190B – Topics in Astronomy: Black Holes! (5 credits)
Topics of current interest, such as origin of chemical elements, novae and supernovae, white dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes, active galaxies, quasars, or interstellar medium and astrochemistry. Choice of topics depends on instructor and class interest. No pre-reqs. Open to all majors.
ASTR 216 – The Impact Threat to Earth (3 credits)
Earth has been hit by large rocks in the past and will be hit by such rocks in the future. Explores the history and future of impacts on Earth. Investigates why and how often we are hit, how big is the material that hits us and what can we do about it? Recommended: ASTR 101 or ASTR 150.
Astr 270 – Public Outreach in Astronomy (3 credits)
Note: course will sometimes meet in Platenarium.
Emphasis on giving effective scientific presentations, developing and giving educational programs to school-age groups, and communicating knowledge of astronomy to others. Give talks at the Jacobsen Observatory on campus and presentations in the Astronomy Department's planetarium. Learn to operate a telescope and the planetarium equipment. Prerequisite: one astronomy course at either the 100-, 200-, or 300-level.
Atmospheric Sciences
https://www.washington.edu/students/timeschd/SPR2026/atmoscs.html
ATM S 103 – Hurricanes and Thunderstorms: Their Science and Impact (3 credits)
Online course. Check Time Schedule for details.
Explores the science, history, and impacts of thunderstorms and hurricanes. Includes basic processes responsible for thunderstorms and hurricanes and for the lightning, hail, high winds, and storm surges that accompany them. Presents significant historical examples, along with the impact on human activities, strategies for personal safety, and societal adaptation.
ATM S 211 – Climate Change (5 credits)
The nature of the global climate system. Factors influencing climate including interactions among the atmosphere, oceans, solid earth, and biosphere. Stability and sensitivity of climate system. Global warming, ozone depletion, and other human influences. Intended for nonmajors.
ATM S 212– Air Pollution (3 credits)
Online course. Check Time Schedule for details.
Explores the causes, impacts, and solutions for air pollution on local, regional, and global scales. Topics include urban smog, wildfires, acid rain, the ozone hole, and contrasts between indoor and outdoor air pollution. Health and environmental effects of air pollutants, technological solutions, environmental justice, and international policy regulations.
ATM S 220 – Exploring the Atmospheric Sciences (1 credit)
Cr/NC grading only
Focuses on current research in the atmospheric sciences and the related implications for public health, business, and environmental policy. Credit/no-credit only.
Comparative History of Ideas
https://www.washington.edu/students/timeschd/SPR2026/chid.html
Chid 325 – Math: Practice and Power (5 credits)
Writing credit
Mathematics is a precise language for systematic pattern recognition. It is enriched by contributions and developments in many different cultural contexts, and by diverse groups of people. In this writing-intensive course, students will study the different cultural, historical, artistic, and scientific resonances of mathematics and mathematical practice, guided by their passions and interests. Through our readings, we will discuss how history and culture impact who counts as a mathematician and what counts as mathematics. Offered jointly with Math 180A.
Earth and Space Sciences
https://www.washington.edu/students/timeschd/SPR2026/ess.html
ESS 101A - Intro to Geology and Societal Impacts (5 credits)
$25 course fee
Introduction to the processes, materials and structures that shape Earth. Emphasizes the dynamic nature of the earth's tectonic system and its relationship to physical features, volcanism, earthquakes, minerals and rocks and geologic structures. The course emphasizes the intrinsic relationship between human societies and geologic processes, hazards and resources. Not open for credit to students who have taken ESS 210. Optional field trips. No prerequisite classes required.
ESS 101B
$7 course fee
Remote learning section with labs. Check Time Schedule for details.
ESS 102 – Space and Space Travel (5 credits)
$20 course fee
Writing credit
Explores powering the sun, making of space weather conditions, observations from space and from Earth, Earth’s space environment, radiation belts and hazards, plasma storms and auroras, electron beams, spacecraft requirements, tooling up for manned exploration. Open to non-science majors.
ESS 104 – Prehistoric Life (3 credits)
Required subscription to Top Hat. Check Time Schedule for details.
Fossils and how they are preserved. What fossils tell us about past life and environments. How the history of life unfolded and what caused the great events in biological evolution. Open to non-science majors, but also lays a foundation for higher-level geobiology courses.
ESS 106 – Living with Volcanoes (3 credits)
Explores volcanoes and volcanic eruptions on Earth and in the solar system. Examines how volcanoes work and how they affect the environment, life, and human societies. Illustrates principles using local examples of recent volcanism and ancient examples of mega-eruptions. Evaluates the possibility of predicting future eruptions.
Economics
https://www.washington.edu/students/timeschd/SPR2026/econ.html
Econ 230 –Economics of Fisheries and Oceans (5 credits)
RSN credit
Examines how and why people and businesses make choices that lead to over-fishing, hypoxic zones, and oil spills in aquatic environments. Applies economic principles to understand how alternative policies might change these decisions, and how distributional effects influence politically feasible solutions. Offered jointly with FISH 230A.
Econ 235 – Intro to Environmental Economics (5 credits)
Introduces environmental and natural resource economics. Discusses fundamental economic concepts, including markets and private property. Includes basic tools used in the economic assessment of environmental problems and applies these methods to key environmental issues. Offered jointly with ENVIR 235/ESRM 235.
Environmental Studies
https://www.washington.edu/students/timeschd/SPR2026/envst.html
Envir 100 –Environmental Studies: Interdisciplinary Foundations (5 credits)
Diversity credit
Hybrid course
Introduces environmental studies through interdisciplinary examination of the ethical, political, social, and scientific dimensions of current and historical environmental issues. Integrates material from different disciplines, and applies insights and methods to actual problems and situations at scales from the local to the global.
Envir 201 – Climate Governance: How Individuals, Communities, NGOs, Firms, and Govts Can Solve the Climate Crisis (5 credits)
Diversity credit
Examines climate change, its causes and impacts (on ecosystems, water availability, extreme weather, communities, health, and food) globally, nationally, and locally. Surveys its solutions (mitigation, adaptation, migration, and just transition), actors that implement them (governments, firms, NGOs, activists, communities, individuals) and approaches they use (regulation, markets, planning, innovation, social movements, behavioral change). Offered jointly with SMEA 201.
Envir 240 – The Urban Farm (5 credits)
$55 course fee
Field trip. Check Time Schedule for details.
Develops students' understanding the ecological connections between food production, human health, and planetary sustainability. Teaches basic skills needed for food production in urban areas and the ethics behind sustainable urban agriculture, including a hands-on component on the farm at the biology greenhouse.
Environmental Health
https://www.washington.edu/students/timeschd/SPR2026/envh.html
ENV H 111 – Exploring Environment and Health Connections (3 credits)
Online, go to time schedule for details.
Introduction to environmental health concepts. Examines current events to illustrate and better appreciate the relationship between environment and health and to explore whether an environmental condition is or is not an important threat to health. Emphasizes the roles of environmental scientists and related professionals.
ENV H 311 – Intro to Environmental Health (3 credits)
Relationship of people to their environment, how it affects their physical well-being and what they can do to influence the quality of the environment and to enhance the protection of their health. Emphasis on environmental factors involved in transmission of communicable diseases and hazards due to exposure to chemical and physical materials in our environment.
Environmental Science and Resource Management
https://www.washington.edu/students/timeschd/SPR2026/esrm.html
ESRM 101 – Forests and Society (5 credits)
Survey course focused on the intersection of forestland management and rural indigenous communities. This course will cover geologic and ecological origins of pacific northwest forests and the mosaic of management strategies both historically and currently applied across public and private ownership. Topics will include the many ways ecosystems support human health and wellbeing, the impacts of public policies on indigenous and rural communities, fire ecology of the PNW, and the role of forest management in climate change adaptation. Cannot be taken for credit if CFR 101 already taken.
ESRM 150 – Wildlife in the Modern World (5 credits)
Covers major wildlife conservation issues in North America. Some global issues are also treated. Examples of topics include the conservation of large predators, effects of toxic chemicals on wildlife, old-growth wildlife, conservation of marine wildlife, recovery of the bald eagle, and gray wolf.
ESRM 190 – Special Topics: Digital Earth (5 credits)
Hybrid course. Check time schedule for details.
Introduces current topics or courses under development to address the latest issues in environmental science and resource management.
Global Health
https://www.washington.edu/students/timeschd/SPR2026/gh.html
G H 210 – Confronting Global Diseases: Introductory Biologic Principles and Context (3 credits)
Provides a broad introduction to the leading causes of disability and death globally. Covers the basic biologic and scientific principles of globally prevalent human health problems, including the connections between the biology of disease and current prevention and treatment interventions used in public health. Not intended for biological science majors.
Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies
https://www.washington.edu/students/timeschd/SPR2026/gwss.html
GWSS 357 – Psychobiology of Women (5 credits)
Diversity credit
Physiological and psychological aspects of women's lives; determinants of biological sex; physiological and psychological events of puberty; menopause; sexuality; contraception, pregnancy, childbirth, and lactation; role of culture in determining psychological response to physiological events. Offered jointly with PSYCH 357.
Informatics
https://www.washington.edu/students/timeschd/SPR2026/info.html
Info 103 – Social Media, Ethics, and Automation (5 credits)
Optional writing credit
Explores ethical concerns involving automation on social media platforms. Students learn about social media phenomena (e.g., viral memes, parasocial relationships, harassment campaigns), experiment with computer programs (e.g., bots, data mining programs, recommendation algorithms), and apply ethics frameworks (e.g., Taoism, virtue ethics, Ubuntu ethics). No prior programming experience assumed.
JSIS – Global and Thematic Courses
https://www.washington.edu/students/timeschd/SPR2026/jsisb.html
JSIS B 433 – Environmental Degradation in the Tropics (5 credits)
Writing credit
Considers theories and controversies of environmental degradation in the tropics, ecological and social case studies of Central American rain forests and Southeast Asian coral reefs, and implications of environmental management techniques. Offered jointly with ENVIR 433/SMEA 433.
Nutritional Science
https://www.washington.edu/students/timeschd/SPR2026/nutrit.html
NUTR 200 – Nutrition (5 credits)
Optional linked writing course.
Examines the role of nutrition in health, wellness, and prevention of chronic disease. Topics include nutrients and nutritional needs across the lifespan food safety, food security, wellness, body weight regulation, eating disorders, sports nutrition, and prevention of chronic disease. May not be taken for credit if credit earned in NUTR 300.
NUTR 241 – Culinary Nutrition Science (5 credits)
Explores the science of how physical and chemical forces transform raw food ingredients into dishes with sensory appeal. Students gain a better understanding of the fundamentals of food science. Introduces techniques used to evaluate the sensory attributes of food products. Cannot be taken for credit if credit has already been earned for NUTR 441.
NUTR 302 – Food Systems I: Harvest to Health (5 credits)
Examines the many facets of the modern food supply from production and processing to distribution, marketing, and retail. Systems approach to foods studies considers geopolitical, agricultural, environmental, social, and economic factors along the pathway from harvest to health. Prerequisite: NUTR 200.
NUTR 303 – Food Systems II: Individual to Population Health (5 credits)
Examines the food environment in the local community from the public health perspective. Explores where people get their food, what influences this decision, and various aspects of the local food movement, including access to healthy food, urban agriculture, farmers markets, and other public health nutrition initiatives. Includes a weekly discussion section. Prerequisite: NUTR 200.
NUTR 310 – Life Course Nutrition (4 credits)
Explores nutrient needs from infancy through adolescence and adulthood, including the physiological basis of nutrient requirements and the genetic, social, and environmental influences on food choices and nutrition status. Uses an evidence-based approach to assess the impact of nutrition across life stages and ways to improve population health by improving nutrition. Prerequisite: NUTR 200.
NUTR 312 – Food System Sustainability and Resilience (3 credits)
Explores concepts of sustainability and resilience as used today in the study and management of food production systems. Emphasizes a systems-thinking approach to assessing current and future challenges and resilience in the face of stresses and shocks. Covers complex dynamics between biological and geophysical aspects of food production systems in the context of nourishing a growing population, evaluation of co-benefits and tradeoffs. Recommended: introductory coursework in food systems or sustainability. Offered: jointly with ENVIR 312.
Oceanography
https://www.washington.edu/students/timeschd/SPR2026/ocean.html
Ocean 102 – The Changing Oceans (5 credits)
Online course. Check time schedule for details.
Explores case studies on how the ocean drives our planet's climate system and how humans have altered marine and coastal environments. Students consider societal factors affecting progress in marine science, changing popular attitudes toward the oceans, and key current policy implications of marine science. All students welcome!
Ocean 200 – Intro to Oceanography (3 credits)
Focuses on importance of ocean processes for the functioning of our planet. Interdisciplinary case studies are used to examine relationships and interactions at macro-, meso-, and microscales in the ocean. Case studies build upon previous topics and examines human influence on these systems. Intended for science majors.
Philosophy
https://www.washington.edu/students/timeschd/SPR2026/phil.html
Phil 120 – Intro to Logic (5 credits)
RSN credit
Elementary symbolic logic. The development, application, and theoretical properties of an artificial symbolic language designed to provide a clear representation of the logical structure of deductive arguments.
Phil 160 – Perspectives on Science, Reason, and Reality (5 credits)
Writing credit
Study of how scientific theories are justified and why they are accepted, using selected examples from the history of science.
Psychology
https://www.washington.edu/students/timeschd/SPR2026/psych.html
Psych 202 – Biopsychology (5 credits)
No seniors period I registration.
Examines the biological basis of behavior, the nervous system, how it works to control behavior and sense the world, and what happens when it malfunctions. Topics include learning and memory, development, sex, drugs, sleep, the senses, emotions, and mental disorders. Prerequisite: PSYCH 101.
Statistics
https://www.washington.edu/students/timeschd/SPR2026/stat.html
Stat 220 – Principles of Statistical Reasoning (5 credits)
RSN credit
Introduces statistical reasoning. Focuses primarily on the what and why rather than the how. Helps students gain an understanding of the rationale behind many statistical methods, as well as an appreciation of the use and misuse of statistics. Encourages and requires critical thinking. Students may receive credit for only one of Stat 220, Stat 221, Stat 311, and Econ 311.
Stat 221 – Statistical Concepts and Methods for the Social Sciences (5 credits)
RSN credit
Develops statistical literacy. Examines objectives and pitfalls of statistical studies; study designs, data analysis, inference; graphical and numerical summaries of numerical and categorical data; correlation and regression; and estimation, confidence intervals, and significance tests. Emphasizes social science examples and cases. Students may receive credit for only one of Stat 220, Stat 221, Stat 311, and Econ 311.