Share California Politics. Literature and the Environment. Natural Disasters. These are just a few of the courses at UC San Diego that will fulfill its new climate change education requirement—the first of its kind at a major public university and the first within the University of California system. Beginning this fall, UC San Diego is implementing the Jane Teranes Climate Change Education Requirement (JTCCER), an initiative designed to ensure that undergraduates across all majors on campus are equipped to understand and address climate change. The new graduation requirement is named in honor of the late Jane Teranes , a beloved teaching professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and advocate for climate education at UC San Diego. The JTCCER requires all incoming first-year students enrolled in bachelor’s degree programs to complete a one-quarter course from a list approved by the UC San Diego Academic Senate. This academic year, 33,800 undergraduate students are enrolled at UC San Diego, including more than 7,000 first-year students who will need to meet the new requirement. Students attend class in a modern lecture hall The program was thoughtfully designed to ensure that approved climate courses align with general education and major-specific requirements, allowing students to meet the mandate without increasing their overall workload. Incoming transfer students are exempt from the new requirement but are welcome and encouraged to enroll in one of the approved courses. “UC San Diego has a long history of leadership in climate research and education, and the Jane Teranes Climate Change Education Requirement marks a new path forward,” said Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. “Whether undergraduates are majoring in STEM, the humanities, arts, social sciences or any other field, this requirement will equip them with a strong understanding of climate change and how they can contribute to meaningful solutions.” More than 40 […]