Frequently Asked Questions

As the EVS Program continues to grow, the Program Office has compiled this page as a portal to answer some of your most frequent questions. If you have an idea for something that should be added to this page, please let us know.

Advising: Where to Go
Four Year Plans & Course Lists
Declaring Your Track
How to Run and Correct Your Degree Audit
Petitioning to Modify or Waive a Requirement
Concurrent (Dual) Enrollment
Petitioning to Increase Maximum Hours
Sustaining a Planet (the “Approved Geological Sciences Course in Sustainability”)
How to Complete Your EVS Capstone (Research) Experience
Career Options & Services

Advising: Where To Go

Prior to selecting your track (while your major is listed as “EVS-Entry”), you can be advised by the EVS Program Office or in your college’s advising office. After declaring your track you should begin working primarily with your college’s advising office, as they will be the office that ultimately sees you through to graduation. Your college’s advising office can also answer questions about things like concurrent enrollment and petitioning to have degree requirements modified or waived:

School (Track)	EVS-Entry Advising	Track-Specific Advising
Natural Sciences (Biology)	First Year / Transfer Students Advising WCH 1.106 (512) 471-3796 (website)	Biological Sciences Advising Center NHB 2.206 (512) 471-4920 (website)
Liberal Arts (Geography)	Geography Advising CLA 1.216 (512) 232-6344 (website)	Geography Advising CLA 1.216 (512) 232-6344 (website)
Jackson School (Geology)	Geosciences Advising JGB 2.108 (512) 232-4545 (website)	Geosciences Advising JGB 2.108 (512) 232-4545 (website)

Advising through the EVS Program Office is available for declared EVS majors on an appointment and walk-in basis. Please call 512-232-4545 to schedule an appointment or to inquire about weekly walk-in hours.

Four Year Plans & Course Lists

Updated EVS Degree Plans for all active catalogs, Course Lists, and Sample Four-Year Plans can be found on the EVS Current Student Forms page.

Declaring Your Track

Declaring your track is simple, and can be done anytime after you have started taking the Introductory Field Seminar in Environmental Science & Sustainability (EVS 311). Just:

Complete a Declaration of EVS track form.
Complete a “Transferring to another College or School” if necessary.
Drop the form(s) off at the EVS Program Office anytime.

Declarations are generally processed at the during the first 8 days of each long term or the first 4 days of each summer session, if a student is registered for summer courses. Track declarations submitted over the course of the term will go into effect at the start of the next semester enrolled.

How to Run a Degree Audit

To run your degree audit, click here and launch IDA 2.0 (Interactive Degree Audit 2.0) then select “Create Audit” from the left-hand menu. Choose your college, your degree (B.S. Environmental Sciences) and your catalog (usually it has the same year as you started at UT).

Submit your audit, look at the results, and make sure all your courses and credits are properly counting towards your degree requirements. An accurate degree audit is essential for two reasons:

Registration appointments are allocated based on the percentage of your degree completed as determined by your degree audit.
You cannot graduate until your degree audit reads 100% complete.

Common Audit Issues

If UGS 303 (Sustaining a Planet) is not satisfying the “approved geological sciences course in sustainability” requirement complete a Request for Audit Correction
If thematic course listed as satisfying a requirement on the course list (e.g. a Policy or climates & Oceans class) is not satisfying that requirement on the audit, then complete a Request for Audit Correction
If advanced placement credit sent to UT is not being reflected on the degree audit, then make sure you have claimed the AP credit (click here to view scores and claim credit).
If a previously requested correction is not appearing on the audit after more than 4 weeks, make sure you are using the correct catalog year (try re-running your audit in a different catalog).

Correcting Your Audit

If something is not properly registering on your degree audit, complete a Request for Audit Correction. These requests typically take 3-4 weeks to fully process. Note: Audits cannot be corrected until you have declared your track and are enrolled in the college from which you will graduate. Go here for information on how to declare your track.

Petitioning to Modify or Waive a Requirement

If you have taken a course that you believe should satisfy an existing requirement (either at UT Austin or at another school), or if you would like to request a waiver of a requirement due to unforeseen, exigent circumstances, you can petition to have the requirement modified or waived in your individual circumstances.

Core Curriculum petitions, such as government and history, must be made online through the School of Undergraduate Studies. Click here for more information.

Prescribed Work petitions (relating to the coursework common to all three EVS tracks) should be made by completing this form and providing it to the EVS Program Office. In this form you are required to explain the basis for your request and providing any supplemental material (e.g. a course syllabus) you would like the EVS Faculty Committee to consider. Note these requests can take up to 6 weeks for complete processing.
Track-Specific petitions (including the “Additional Prescribed Work” that is part of the geography track) should be made by contacting the track’s advising office pursuant to that office’s particular process. These petitions are within the sole purview of the resident school or college.

Concurrent (Dual) Enrollment

Taking courses at another college or university (including University Extension) while you are also currently enrolled at UT Austin is called “concurrent enrollment.” Each college has its own rules pertaining to concurrent enrollment, and the following general descriptions of each schools’ policies are presented solely for illustrative purposes only.

EVS-BIO: “The College of Natural Sciences permits concurrent enrollment with certain restrictions. Math or science courses cannot be taken concurrently and counted toward a degree unless specifically approved in advance by the college. Students must see their academic advisor for detailed information and to petition for approval.” Click here for more information.

EVS-GRG: “The College of Liberal Arts permits concurrent enrollment with certain restrictions.” Click here for more information.
EVS-GEO: “Concurrent enrollment is enrollment simultaneously at the University and at another educational institution or in University Extension. During a long-session semester students in the Jackson School enrolled at the University are not allowed to take courses at another school or institution or by correspondence or extension at the University unless specifically approved in advance by the Dean. Exceptions are considered on a case by case basis after the student meets with their academic advisor and submits a Concurrent Enrollment Petition to the Undergraduate Student Services Office in advance. Exceptions to this policy for math and science courses are considered only in extremely rare circumstances. No more than 30 percent of the semester hours required for any degree in the Jackson School may be completed online with by correspondence or University Extension.” Click here for more information (EID login required).

Petitioning to Increase Maximum Hours

Undergraduate students may register for up to 17 credit hours in any long-session semester (or 14 hours in the summer) without approval from their dean. Students who wish to take more than the maximum number of hours must petition with their dean’s office; each college has its own rules pertaining to increasing maximum hours, as described below:

EVS-BIO: “If a student wishes to carry more than 17 hours, approval is required in the Dean’s Office (WCH 1.106).” Students should complete the petition form in WCH 1.106, which will then be routed to the CNS advisors for review. Approval is based on: at least a 2.5 GPA for coursework completed in residence at UT Austin, proposed courseload, and successful completion of 14-15 hours in a recent UT Austin semester.

EVS-GRG: “In Liberal Arts, a student must earn at least 42 grade points during the previous long-session semester to gain permission to increase their maximum hours.”There are a couple exceptions to the 42-grade point requirement:
- Students attempting to graduate may also request to raise their maximum hours.
- Students participating in a Maymester Study Abroad program may request their maximum hours be raised.
EVS-GEO: Jackson School students must have a 3.0 UT GPA, have successfully completed 14-15 hours in a recent semester, and submit a proposed course load for review by the Advising Office. Petition forms to increase max hours can be picked up at the front desk in JGB 2.108.

Sustaining a Planet (the “Approved Geological Sciences Course in Sustainability”)

All EVS students are strongly encouraged to take Sustaining a Planet (UGS 303) as their first year signature course. This course will not only satisfy your core curriculum signature course requirement, but it will also relieve you of your “approved geological sciences course in sustainability.” It is, in fact, the only way to complete this requirement of your EVS degree. It is offered each fall, so incoming freshmen should plan on taking it their first term at UT Austin.

If you came to EVS after completing your signature course, or if you were required to take a different signature course as part of a first year academic enrichment program, please contact the EVS Program office to discuss your options.

The EVS Capstone Research Experience

All EVS students complete a senior capstone experience prior to their graduation. The majority of EVS students complete a two-semester, independent research-project (EVS 271 & EVS 371). Under this option students find a faculty lab in which to work whose research is of personal interest to them. They complete a contact with the faculty mentor and complete a project designed to prepare them for graduate school or professional practice. If you are looking for inspiration or ideas, click here for a list of topics your EVS predecessors have addressed and for the EVS Capstone Research Experience contract.

Students should start thinking about their capstone experience before or during the start of their junior year in order to ensure adequate time to plan and execute their intended project.

Career Services & Opportunities

EVS is continuing to work on developing support for its students as they begin to take their first steps outside the university, and since EVS is coordinated through the Environmental Science Institute, we regularly hear about fantastic internship and volunteer opportunities for EVS students. Although we sometimes highlight these by emailing you (particularly if the opportunity is exclusively for EVS students) all opportunities for EVS students (regardless of track) are collected on the Jackson School’s Career Connections. Additional information about popular recurring opportunities is collected on our student opportunities page.

We hope you found this helpful. Feel free to contact us at evs@esi.utexas.edu if you have suggestions for additional topics!