Science Diploma/Science Merit Diploma

The student who desires a Science Diploma or Science Merit Diploma must complete and submit a Science Diploma application to the Honors Institute Office; a personal letter of application describing the academic and career goals that make him/her a desirable Science Diploma candidate; and take a minimum of eight science/math courses (seven required courses plus one elective course) that follow one of two tracks. Track A: Biology/Chemistry/
Health/Pharmacy students, and Track B: Mathematics/ Actuarial/Engineering/Physics students. The student also takes two semesters of a Science Seminar course focusing on research and careers in science.

These courses provide a diverse, strong, educational foundation for upper division work for students who plan to major in the hard sciences, health, mathematics, or engineering fields. Successful completion of the required courses results in less time spent at the university and a higher probability of admission to limited access programs. Scholarship money is available to students who qualify, and some universities also provide scholarships for SCC Science Diploma transfers.

The Science Diploma is awarded to those students who complete the eight science and math courses and science seminar with a GPA of 2.0 - 3.29 in those courses.

The Science Merit Diploma is awarded to those students who complete the eight science and math courses and science seminar with a GPA of 3.3 or higher in those courses.

A student must submit a transcript by midterm of the semester in which he/she plans to graduate, and must have no more than two withdrawals on the transcript. If more than two withdrawals are present, approval must be granted from the Science Department to receive a Science Diploma or Science Merit Diploma.

Track A: Biology, Chemistry, Health or Pharmacy Track

Required Courses:

• BSC 1010 - General Biology I
• BSC 1011C - General Biology II
• CHM 2045C - General Chemistry I
• CHM 2046C - General Chemistry II with Qualitative Analysis
• PHY 1053C - General Physics I
• PHY 1054C - General Physics II or
• PHY2048C - Physics with Calculus I
• PHY 2049C - Physics with Calculus II
• MAC 2311 - Analytic Geometry and Calculus I
• ISC 1932 - Science Seminar (two semesters)

Track B: Mathematics, Actuarial Science, Engineering, or Physics Track

Required Courses:

• CHM 2045C - General Chemistry I
• CHM 2046C - General Chemistry II with Qualitative Analysis
• PHY2048C - Physics with Calculus I
• PHY 2049C - Physics with Calculus II
• MAC 2311 - Analytic Geometry and Calculus I
• MAC 2312 - Analytic Geometry and Calculus II
• MAC 2313 - Analytic Geometry and Calculus III
• ISC 1932 - Science Seminar (two semesters)

Elective Courses: Choose any one Upper Level Course

• BSC 2093C - Anatomy and Physiology I
• BSC 2094C - Anatomy and Physiology II
• CHM 2210C - Organic Chemistry I
• CHM 2211C - Organic Chemistry II
• GLY 2010C - Physical Geology with Lab
• MCB 2010C - Microbiology
• MAC 2311 - Analytic Geometry and Calculus I
• MAC 2312 - Analytic Geometry and Calculus II
• MAC 2313 - Analytic Geometry and Calculus III
• MAP 2302 - Elementary Differential Equations
• PHY 2101 - Modern Physics
• STA 2023 - Statistical Methods I

For more information, please contact the Biological Sciences and Physical Sciences Departments at 407.708.2335.

Did you know?

In a recent survey, 95 percent of responding graduates said they would attend SCC again and 43 percent rated their overall SCC experience as "excellent."