Welcome to the KAPCC STEM Website

The purpose of the A.S. degree is to provide a clear, explicit, coherent pathway to students intending to transfer into STEM majors at baccalaureate institutions. The A.S. degree provides targeted advising and appropriate course sequencing for efficient transfer of our STEM students. The degree also provides a focus for the College to identify, recruit, counsel and retain STEM students. The degree marks the endpoint for students who move through curricular pathways that include undergraduate research opportunities that draw on the College’s strengths in faculty and resources. The degree facilitates articulation and transfer agreements between Kapi‘olani Community College and four-year STEM programs at UH Manoa (UHM), UH Hilo (UHH), and on the U.S. mainland.

The A.S. in Natural Science degree reinforces and deepens STEM learning across the curriculum, supports and strengthens the STEM infrastructure of the College, and allows Kapi‘olani Community College to become a salient incubator of science talent. By enhancing the STEM curriculum through curricular pathways and offering a focused degree program, more of the College’s students will pursue STEM majors and successfully complete their degrees. Early introduction of STEM-oriented, 2nd year courses allows students the opportunity to experience their chosen discipline beyond the survey course level to determine if it is the correct educational direction for them and if they have the talent and skills needed to succeed in STEM. The degree complements Kapi‘olani Community College's mission to provide open acces; to promote students’ progress, learning and success with low tuition and high quality instructional programs, student development and support services, and selective areas of excellence and emphasis; to prepare students to meet rigorous baccalaureate requirements and personal enrichment goals by offering a high quality liberal arts program; and to use human, physical, technological and financial resources effectively and efficiently to achieve ambitious educational goals. Students need to be exposed to first- and second-year STEM courses early in their college education rather than enrolling in only core general education courses. Early exposure to STEM courses allows STEM students to experience courses in their intended field to help them determine if it is the correct field for them, to have access to STEM content knowledge vital to enrich early research experiences, to broaden their third and fourth years to include liberal arts courses, and to better manage their third and fourth years rather than having to concentrate numerous STEM courses such as calculus, chemistry, physics and biology in a single semester.

The A.S. degree program in Natural Science with a concentration in Life Science and in Physical Science includes a core curriculum for all students in the program as well as additional, specific courses for two areas of concentration: Life Science transfer and Physical Science transfer. The shared and specialized curricula are reflected in the tables below.

A.S. Degree in Natural Science with a concentration in Life Science or in Physical Science
(Total credits: 60 credits)
Shared Curriculum

General Education Courses		Title	CR	1	2	3	4
Foundation	FW ENG100	Composition I	3	*
Foundation	FS MATH205	Calculus I	4	*
Foundation	FG Group A, B, or C	FG 2 courses from 2 groups A, B, C	6			*	*
Diversification	DA, DL, DH	1 course from DA, DL, DH	3	*
Diversification	DB, DP*	1 course from DB or DP	3		*
Diversification	DS	1 course from DS	3			*
Note: The above schedule assumes that two Writing-Intensive courses and one HAP course are taken as diversification courses. LS concentration students need to take one DP that may also be part of the required or elective courses for the degree. Total Number of Shared General Education Credits*			22


Shared Program Courses Common to the A.S. with a concentration in Life Science or Physical Science
Alpha #	Title		CR	1	2	3	4
CHEM 161	General Chemistry I		3	*
CHEM 161 L	General Chemistry I Lab		1	*
CHEM 162	General Chemistry II		3		*
CHEM 162 L	General Chemistry II Lab		1		*
ICS 101	Tools for the Information Age		3	*
	Total Shared Program Credits		11

COURSES REQUIRED for Concentration in LS
BIOL 171		General Biology I	3		*
BIOL 171 L		General Biology I Lab	1		*
BIOL 172		General Biology II	3			*
BIOL 172 L		General Biology II Lab	1			*
		Total Credits Required for Concentration in LS	8

COURSES REQUIRED for Concentration in PS
MATH 206		Calculus II	4		*
PHYS 170		Physics I	4		*
PHYS 170 L		Physics I Lab	1		*
PHYS 272		Physics II	3			*
PHYS 272 L		Physics II Lab	1			*
		Total Credits Required for Concentration in PS	13

ELECTIVE COURSES for Both Concentrations (for 60 credit degree, LS=19 credits of electives; PS=14 credits of electives) *=Strongly Recommended for A.S. in Natural Science with a concentration in LS or PS LS =Strongly Recommended for A.S. LS PS =Strongly Recommended for A.S. PS
ASTR 280 (3)	Evolution of the Universe	ICS 212 (3)	Program Structure
BIOC 241 (3)	Fundamentals of Biochemistry	ICS 241 (3)	Discreet Mathematics for Computer Science II
BIOC 244 (3)	Essentials of Biochemistry	MATH 206 (4)	Calculus II*
BIOL 171 (3)	General Biology I	MATH 206 L (1)	Calculus II Lab
BIOL 171 L (1)	General Biology I Lab	MATH 231 (4)	Calculus III PS
BIOL 172 (3)	General Biology II	MATH 232 (4)	Calculus IV PS
BIOL 172 L (1)	General Biology II Lab	MICR 130 (3)	General Microbiology
BIOL 275 (3)	Cell and Molecular Biology LS	MICR 140 (2)	General Microbiology Lab
BIOL 275 L (2)	Cell and Molecular Biology Lab LS	MICR 161 (2)	Immunology and Protein Chemistry
CHEM 272 (3)	Organic Chemistry I LS	MICR 230 (3)	Molecular Biology
CHEM 272 L (1)	Organic Chemistry I Lab LS	MICR 240 (2)	Cell Biology and Tissue Culture
CHEM 273 (3)	Organic Chemistry II LS	OCEAN 201 (3)	Science of the Sea
CHEM 273 L (1)	Organic Chemistry II Lab LS	PHYS 151 (3)	College Physics I
CE 113 (3)	Introduction to Computer and Design	PHYS 151 L (1)	College Physics I Lab
CE 270 (3)	Applied Mechanics I	PHYS 152 (3)	College Physics II
CE 271 (3)	Applied Mechanics II	PHYS 152 L (1)	College Physics II Lab
EE 160 (4)	Programming for Engineers PS	PHYS 170 (4)	General Physics I
EE 211 (4)	Basic Circuit Analysis	PHYS 170 L (1)	General Physics I Lab
EE 260 (4)	Introduction to Digital Design	PHYS 272 (3)	General Physics II
ESS 254 (2)	Physiological Basis for Exercise	PHYS 272 L (1)	General Physics II Lab
ESS 254 L (1)	Physiological Basis for Exercise Lab	PHYS 274 (3)	General Physics III PS
ESS 263 (3)	Sport Biomechanics	PHYL 160 (3)	The Science of Sleep
ESS 288 (1)	Body Composition and Weight Management	ZOOL 141 (3)	Human Anatomy and Physiology I
GEOL 101 L (1)	Introduction to Physical Geology Lab	ZOOL 141 L (1)	Human Anatomy and Physiology I Lab
GEOL 103 (3)	Geology of the Hawaiian Islands	ZOOL 142 (3)	Human Anatomy and Physiology II
ICS 111 (3)	Introduction to Computer Science I	ZOOL 142 L (1)	Human Anatomy and Physiology II Lab
ICS 141 (3)	Discreet Mathematics for Computer Science I	ZOOL 200 (2)	Marine Biology
ICS 211 (3)	Introduction to Computer Science II	ZOOL 200 L (1)	Marine Biology Lab

Examples of two checksheets available for students to help them plan their classes:

Shared Program Courses

Common to the A.S. with a concentration in Life Science or Physical Science