Where are all the UL 'Natural Science' classes?

[scout2family]

I started taking classes over the summer via SL-- and decided to pursue TESU's Environmental Studies BA. Now that I'm slowly getting back to knocking out my LL's I'm looking to plan on locating where I'd take my UL's.     I didn't realize it'd be a pain in the you know what.  So, I've been scouring the forum all day today and have attempted to make an official decision on switching my major to something similar to ES or Natural Science --- that we've (forum) already sourced the UL's for and are distance learner friendly.

Here's what I have so far:

Straighterline:  English Comp I, English Comp II (In progress),US History I, US History II (I/P), Intro to Comm (I/P), Intro to Religion (purchased),  Intro to Anthropology (purchased), Business Ethics (Purchased), Intro to Biology (I/P), College Algebra (I/P)

ALEKS (summer 2017) Statistics

Community College 2013  Sociology 300, ECE 312 Child Development

Any input is greatly appreciated! And no, I don't need a certain degree for work, etc. I'm still a newbie and am finding myself overwhelmed and needing a little direction.   I just happen to enjoy science and may use it in the near future?! Or psychology!? But again-- I don't want UL's online classes to be impossible to find OR expensive.

Thanks in advance!

[dfrecore]

TESU doesn't have the Natural Sciences degree any longer, although they do have the BALS with a Natural Sciences concentration. It's much more flexible, but I'm not sure how you feel about it not being an actual BA in Natural Sciences. You can find all of the UL courses you need though (including Computer Science), but I don't think it will "feel" like a Science degree at that point.

You can still get the BA in Biology, or the BA in Environmental Studies. With either of these, I think your best bet is to take 2 Study.com courses, and then enroll at TESU in the Comprehensive Tuition Plan under the Study.com affiliate membership. It's $6350 and includes 36cr of TESU online courses in a year. It's a great deal, if you're willing to spend that much (and that is going away after June 30th).

You might want to check with EC or COSC as well. I know EC has a Natural Sciences degree, although I don't know how you would get all of the UL - the only ones I know of are Pathophsiology and Microbiology. So you're going to have to find them and take them somewhere else.

[DavidHume]

$6350 sounds like a lot, but if you qualify for a Pell Grant and/or the American Opportunity tax credit or life long learning tax credit, the actual cost is less. Although, you have to float some of it out of pocket. Still, factors to take into consideration before dismissing the price point.

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Full disclosure: I paid for the comprehensive tuition plan so I could take a bunch of UL math courses through TESU. It was cheaper than taking those classes elsewhere and I got to throw in some additional courses I otherwise wouldn't have taken to eat up the rest of the 36 credits. Plus, TESU didn't have rules about what math classes to take concurrently or the sequence to take them, which suited my needs better. I made slightly too much for a Pell Grant, but used the tax credit to pay off half of the loan I took out. I'll have the whole loan paid off within 2 years of going into repayment, so even if you have to go the loan route like I did, it's not a horrible option. every situation is different, so understand loans may not work for you, but wanted to put it out there that loans are not always the scary burden portrayed and can help if taken on responsibly.

[scout2family]

TESU doesn't have the Natural Sciences degree any longer, although they do have the BALS with a Natural Sciences concentration.  It's much more flexible, but I'm not sure how you feel about it not being an actual BA in Natural Sciences.  You can find all of the UL courses you need though (including Computer Science), but I don't think it will "feel" like a Science degree at that point.

You can still get the BA in Biology, or the BA in Environmental Studies.  With either of these, I think your best bet is to take 2 Study.com courses, and then enroll at TESU in the Comprehensive Tuition Plan under the Study.com affiliate membership.  It's $6350 and includes 36cr of TESU online courses in a year.  It's a great deal, if you're willing to spend that much (and that is going away after June 30th).

You might want to check with EC or COSC as well.  I know EC has a Natural Sciences degree, although I don't know how you would get all of the UL - the only ones I know of are Pathophsiology and Microbiology.  So you're going to have to find them and take them somewhere else.

Thanks dfrecore! I was looking at EC Natural Science degree BUT am afraid I won't be able to source all of the needed UL's for DE learning thru budget friendly avenues.

I may just go with TESU BALS with Natural Science concentration since the UL's won't be too hard to find, as I'm already a little overwhelmed. I wished there was a sticky/doc with UL's and links for each degree offered by the Big 3-- like the TESU GE Requirements that Sanantone put together (that really helped me get started right away). Now wouldn't that be great?! I haven't looked for a BALS degree plan with Natural Science yet, I'm crossing my fingers it exists.   Or possibly bribe one of the pro's here to help with creating a degree plan if it doesn't already exist?! 

I obviously still have time while knocking out a few of these GE classes and the forum is just overloaded with a lot of info, just a matter of piecing it together. Not to mention I'm trying to piece my husbands degree plan together after I'm done with mine, and I'm finding he's the one that'll be challenging since he was hoping to get his Mechanical Engineering degree. **sigh** I'll save that for another thread. A little insight- The degree is basically holding him back from promotion even though he has the experience/practical knowledge that his supervisors lack.

[dfrecore]

Even if you do the TESU BALS with a concentration in NatSci, there aren't enough inexpensive UL sciences to complete the degree. You could find some medium-range options ($500-$800 per course), but nothing in the $100-$200 range except 2 (Microbiology & Pathophysiology).
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I forgot that TESU will count Coopersmith's Physiological Psychology (PSY-374) as a NatSci course. So you are up to 3.

[scout2family]

Even if you do the TESU BALS with a concentration in NatSci, there aren't enough inexpensive UL sciences to complete the degree.  You could find some medium-range options ($500-$800 per course), but nothing in the $100-$200 range except 2 (Microbiology & Pathophysiology).
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I forgot that TESU will count Coopersmith's Physiological Psychology (PSY-374) as a NatSci course.  So you are up to 3.

dfrecore-- are you talking about my ECE 312 Child Development class? I was told it was equiv. to a PSY-372. But you know far faaar more than me. I appreciate your help! That'd be great if I can include it and it not be an elective. 

I'm working on my degree path spreadsheet right now to include the sources for ALL of my classes (not just LL's, like I started with), especially since I'm worried about taking classes that may not transfer over. And I've narrowed it between the suggested BALS with either the NS concentration OR the Psychology minor (which I also enjoy). 

Do you have a spreadsheet with the classes I'll need for the NS concentration in the medium-range options that you spoke about? 

TIA!

[sanantone]

Even if you do the TESU BALS with a concentration in NatSci, there aren't enough inexpensive UL sciences to complete the degree.  You could find some medium-range options ($500-$800 per course), but nothing in the $100-$200 range except 2 (Microbiology & Pathophysiology).
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I forgot that TESU will count Coopersmith's Physiological Psychology (PSY-374) as a NatSci course.  So you are up to 3.

I pressed the wrong button. Oh, well.

Aren't there CIS and CS credits that will count as UL natural sciences?

[cookderosa]

No matter what degree at TESU you choose, it's ALL about the Upper-Level courses- always.

It can be very difficult to complete many majors at TESU since they do not offer all the courses to complete all the degrees (I believe this is very rare for a college, but it is very normal for TESU).

There is always the "default" that a person could just take courses at TESU if they can't find them cheaper/faster elsewhere....but that's not always true. Check the catalog to see *if they offer ALL the courses you would need. If they do, that's your safety net. From there, you can start taking courses OUT of your TESU cart and getting them elsewhere (if they meet your needs in a better way).

Speaking of financial aid, Pell Grant is almost $6000, so if you qualify, the comprehensive would be a great way to take advantage. It is almost impossible to use a Pell Grant while piecemealing a degree from other sources, so that is one instance where it works well (I did that for my TESU degree).

Here is the catalog of all their online courses: http://www2.tesc.edu/listallc.php?type=O...3165296327


For the sake of discussion- I can only find 3 upper-level courses in biology or environmental science. As for the other sciences, they offer zero upper-level chemistry, astronomy, physics, geology, or earth science. If you start adding in computers, you can pick up several.

Man's Best Friend: The Biology and Behavior of Dogs (BIO-310)
Global Environmental Change (ENS-314) ***6 credits***
Environmental Sustainability and Social Justice (ENS-360)

[dfrecore]

Even if you do the TESU BALS with a concentration in NatSci, there aren't enough inexpensive UL sciences to complete the degree.  You could find some medium-range options ($500-$800 per course), but nothing in the $100-$200 range except 2 (Microbiology & Pathophysiology).
--------------------
I forgot that TESU will count Coopersmith's Physiological Psychology (PSY-374) as a NatSci course.  So you are up to 3.

I pressed the wrong button. Oh, well.

Aren't there CIS and CS credits that will count as UL natural sciences?

You're right, I forgot about those.

BUT, I will say that if someone is interested in NatSci, and they aren't computer people, those might be more difficult.  Plus, I personally wouldn't want to get a NatSci degree with a bunch of computer courses.  I mean, if that's the case, you might as well just get a BALS.  And I'm guessing (but it's just a guess) that if you want a job that requires a NatSci degree, and they look at your transcripts and only see 3 actual UL NatSci courses there, they won't be very impressed.  But again, that's just a guess.

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Even if you do the TESU BALS with a concentration in NatSci, there aren't enough inexpensive UL sciences to complete the degree.  You could find some medium-range options ($500-$800 per course), but nothing in the $100-$200 range except 2 (Microbiology & Pathophysiology).
--------------------
I forgot that TESU will count Coopersmith's Physiological Psychology (PSY-374) as a NatSci course.  So you are up to 3.

dfrecore-- are you talking about my ECE 312 Child Development class? I was told it was equiv. to a PSY-372. But you know far faaar more than me. I appreciate your help! That'd be great if I can include it and it not be an elective. 

No clue on that, I wouldn't have the slightest idea.  I only know that someone on here took that course, transferred it to TESU, and TESU included it in their UL AOS for NatSci.  I have it on my spreadsheet in the notes section.  I am guessing though, that there is no way Child Development will go to NatSci no matter what the course equivalency.

[Pelican]

scout2family, what progress have you made on the degree plan? Are you going for the BA in Natural Science from EC?