The division of Sciences and Mathematics offers degrees in Mathematics, Environmental Sustainability, Environmental Sciences and Biomedical Sciences.
Our curriculum, internship opportunities and research maintain local community ties while exploring global perspectives, leading to excellent career opportunities for graduating students.
Our Environmental Sciences and Sustainability program takes advantage of the Puget Sound being in our own front yard.
Our new Biomedical Sciences degree began Autumn 2016. We currently have over 100 confirmed newly admitted students planning to be biomedical sciences majors, making biomed the 5th largest major in terms of entering students, in our first year of the degree!
Message From the Chair
“Teach, Learn and Discover”
Welcome to the Division of Science and Mathematics (SAM). We are home to all of the natural Sciences and Mathematics instruction on the UW Tacoma campus within the School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences (SIAS). Our division oversees 4 majors, Bachelor of Science in Environmental Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences and Bachelor of Science in Mathematics as well as the new Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Sustainability.
To our prospective students, we are excited that you are considering us for your undergraduate studies. Our programs deviate from traditional disciplines such as Biology, Chemistry, Geology or Physics. Instead our programs are multi- and inter- disciplinary and were designed to meet the goal of training and educating students from various Scientific, Mathematical, Social and even Historical perspectives. We are able to provide instruction and training to students in smaller class sizes in up to date classroom and laboratory facilities. In my capacity as Chair of this Division, I am fortunate to be part of a group of well-studied scholars who are truly passionate about undergraduate education and in involving students in their research and scholarly pursuits. These are the excellent group of instructors that you will meet in your classrooms.
To our current students, your Division is here to support you throughout your tenure with us. I urge you to take advantage of the resources that are here for you and we continue to make available to you. We are constantly striving to make these resources transparent and easily accessible. Please do not hesitate to seek help and support. We know that for most of our students, your academic life is only one part of your life as a whole. I challenge you to take part in the many different opportunities that will enhance your learning experience within our programs. Work with a faculty in one of their research projects, take part in study abroad programs, apply to the several student employment opportunities within our Division as it arises, attend seminar talks within and outside your field of study and many more.
Since my arrival here in 2007, a lot has changed within the campus, SIAS and our Division itself. What remains at the center of what we do here is teach, learn and discover. These have been the central tenets of what I was trained to do back when I was in graduate school at the Chemistry Department at the University of Toronto, and why I remained in academia. It is the best of what we do here in SAM. I, along with the rest of my faculty strive daily to teach a diverse population of students; our students are challenged to work hard and aim for excellence and learn more than they ever thought possible. Together, faculty and students work side by side to discover new knowledge in their respective research areas.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to me or any of our Divisional staff for information regarding our programs and support for faculty and students. It is an honor to serve as your Division Chair and I hope you find a home in our Division.
Joyce Dinglasan-Panlilio, PhD
Associate Professor of Environmental Chemistry and Chair of the Division of Sciences and Mathematics
School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences (SIAS)
Biomedical sciences student and Army veteran Melissa Swain is a Federal Way Mirror Hometown Hero and a Soroptomist Club Live Your Dream scholarship recipient. Tragedy led to her role as a single mother and a research intern with the King County Medical Examiner's office.
In 2019, research by the Center for Urban Waters, led by Ed Kolodziej and then-colleague Zhenyu Tian identified 6PPD-quinone, a derivative of a rubber tire preservative, as the substance that kills coho salmon before they have a chance to spawn.
