Academic Catalog 2024-2025

College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences

The core mission of the College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences is to prepare individuals for careers in scientific research, math/science education, behavioral/social sciences, or applied science fields such as medicine, dentistry, engineering, computer technology, and clinical psychology. Disciplines represented in the College include Anthropology, Behavioral Science, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Earth Sciences, Geography, Mathematics, Sociology, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, and Systems Engineering. The College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences contributes to the general education program through its offering of mathematics courses designed for students to develop basic quantitative skills, and secondly, through the offering of non-major courses that introduce students to general scientific concepts and methods.

In an increasingly technological society, graduates with degrees in natural or computational sciences are in high demand. Public schools, in particular, are aggressively recruiting highly qualified teachers in math and science to prepare the next generation of scientists and science educators. Virtually every organization needs individuals who can coordinate their electronic communication networks, maintain their hardware and software, and manage large databases. State and Federal agencies allocate billions of dollars each year for biomedically related research of various kinds, including psychological research, ultimately in pursuit of cures for the numerous illnesses and diseases that plague humankind today and to save our environment. Still other Federal agencies award large grants for military and outer space research. Careers in the natural and behavioral sciences can be very lucrative and personally rewarding.

The College prides itself on being the home of a number of outstanding teaching award recipients. As teacher-scholars, they are devoted to teaching in both the lecture format as well as the hands-on laboratory format, where students learn firsthand what it means to "do science." To their credit, faculty in the College have received Federal training grants to provide support for minority undergraduate students in the sciences. The National Institutes of Health sponsored RISE program is exemplary of this effort.  Students graduating from RISE continue in top Ph.D. programs at universities across the country and become part of the nation's biomedical workforce.  In addition, the College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences has launched the first engineering program at CSUDH by offering a M.S. in Systems Engineering, which aims to address the need for these type of engineers in the work force.

In summary, the College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences offers a world of opportunities for its students.

College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences

Office Location: LIB 5734
Phone: (310) 243-2547

Dean, Philip LaPolt
Associate Dean, Leonardo Martinez
Anthropology Department, Sarah Taylor, Chair
Behavioral Sciences (BA), Hyo Joon Chang, Coordinator
Biology Department, Helen Chun, Chair
Biology Graduate Program, Fang Wang, Coordinator
Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, Arumugam Thangavel, Chair
Computer Science Department, Mohsen Beheshti, Chair
Computer Science Graduate Program, Jack Han, Coordinator
Earth Science and Geography Department, John Keyantash, Chair
Environmental Science Graduate Program, Ashish Sinha, Coordinator
Mathematics Department, Matthew Jones, Chair
Physics Department, John Price, Chair
Political Science Department, Salvatore Russo, Chair
Psychology Department, Carl Sneed, Chair
Psychology Graduate Program, Silvia Santos, Coordinator
Science, Mathematics and Technology, Kenneth Rodriguez, Coordinator
Sociology Department, William "Billy" Wagner, Chair