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About the College of Natural Sciences & Mathematics

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"Exploration by inquiry, learning through discovery."

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About Us

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The College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (NSM) is one of eight colleges at CSUF and contains five departments. The college offers through its departments and programs, baccalaureate degrees in all disciplines and master's degrees in biological science, chemistry, geology, physics and mathematics.

NSM currently has more than 120 full-time faculty members and more than 2900 students majoring in the programs offered by NSM. Each year the college graduates an average of about 390 students with baccalaureate degrees and 65 students with master's degrees. Many of our graduates, either immediately following graduation or after receiving postgraduate degrees, find employment in our neighboring communities, providing a tremendous resource for the economic development of Orange County & Southern California.

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Dan Black Dean's Message

Scientists and mathematicians are driven by curiosity to study the natural world. We hypothesize, test, model, and explain complex phenomena. Our work furthers human understanding, alleviates human misery, and creates a brighter tomorrow. The promise of this brighter tomorrow is only realized if it applies to all. The College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics is committed to creating an equitable and inclusive environment for our students, staff, and faculty. We hold ourselves accountable for our words and our actions and, as a community, seek to identify and eliminate systemic racism and biases from our midst. We assert our commitment to equitable, inclusive science and mathematics teaching, mentoring, and learning knowing such education has the power to transform the world.

Graduates from our programs in Biological Science, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Geological Sciences, Mathematics, and Physics are prepared for professional careers and to pursue advanced degrees in the sciences and mathematics. We are proud to provide our students with hands-on, laboratory, computational, and field-based experiences where concepts are learned and practiced. A typical graduate of our science departments will have completed between 500 and 1,000 hours of field and laboratory work. Our programs emphasize inquiry-based learning and ensure students develop the needed critical thinking skills to excel in the professional workplace or in the pursuit of higher academic degrees. Our students receive extensive experience in communicating their ideas, orally and in writing. We encourage our undergraduates to work on real world research problems and each semester hundreds of them can be found working side-by-side with faculty mentors in the laboratory and field.

Our philosophy is rooted in our motto "Exploration by inquiry, learning through discovery".

We hope you find the information associated with our website useful and we look forward to getting to know you through our classes and labs and via one of our many organizations or activities. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions about the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

Marie Johnson, Ph.D.
Dan Black Dean, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

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Our Philosophy

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MISSION

The College of Natural Sciences & Mathematics is dedicated to the principle that teaching and research are intricately mixed and undergraduate research is an integral part of education. By combining quality classroom instruction, student involvement in research, and strong academic advising, we transform the student experience.

VISION

Through creating knowledge and learning by discovery, NSM changes the lives of students while preparing them for advanced degrees and successful careers in science and mathematics.

STRATEGIC GOALS

  • Goal 1: Improve student success.
  • Goal 2: Support student-faculty research.
  • Goal 3: Recruit and retain high-quality and diverse faculty and staff.
  • Goal 4: Increase revenue through fundraising, entrepreneurial activities, grants, and contracts.
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Our Principles

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  • We commit to NSM’s core mission of inclusive, excellent education in our classrooms and research groups.
  • We commit to reflecting critically on diversity, equity, inclusion, identity, privilege, and anti-racism; and using our reflections to inform our practices as faculty, staff, and administrators.
  • We commit to recognizing and changing systemic policies and practices that propagate racism and inequity.
  • We make these commitments with an open, inquiring mind in the same way that we engage our chosen disciplines of mathematics and science.
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