This is an archived copy of the 2016-2018 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.utexas.edu/.

Bachelor of Arts, Plan I

The requirements for the Bachelor of Arts under Plan I are designed to give each student flexibility in the selection of courses to meet individual needs.

A total of 120 semester hours is required. 36 hours must be in upper-division courses. At least 60 hours, including 21 hours of upper-division coursework, must be completed in residence at the University; at least 24 of the last 30 hours must be completed in residence at the University. Provided residence rules are met, credit may be earned by examination, by extension, by correspondence (up to 30 percent of the hours required for the degree), or, with the approval of the dean, by work transferred from another institution. Up to 16 semester hours of classroom and/or correspondence coursework may be taken on the pass/fail basis; this coursework may be counted only as electives.

All students must complete the University’s Core Curriculum. In the process of fulfilling the core curriculum and other degree requirements, all students are expected to complete the Skills and Experience flags:

  1. Writing: three flagged courses beyond Rhetoric and Writing 306 or its equivalent
  2. Quantitative Reasoning: one flagged course
  3. Global Cultures: one flagged course
  4. Cultural Diversity in the United States: one flagged course
  5. Ethics and Leadership: one flagged course
  6. Independent Inquiry: one flagged course

Courses that may be used to fulfill core curriculum and flag requirements are identified in the Course Schedule . They may be used simultaneously to fulfill other requirements, unless otherwise specified. Please note, students may not earn the cultural diversity and global cultures flags from the same course. Students are encouraged to discuss options with a departmental academic adviser. 

The specific requirements for the Bachelor of Arts, Plan I, consist of prescribed work, major and minor requirements, and electives. In some cases, a course that fulfills one of these requirements may also be counted toward the core curriculum; these courses are identified below.

Courses in the major and minor may also be used to fulfill prescribed work requirements unless expressly prohibited. A course in one prescribed work area may not also be used to fulfill the requirements of another prescribed work area; the only exception to this rule is that a course that fulfills one requirement may also be used to fulfill a flag requirement.

The student must fulfill the University's General Requirements  for graduation and the requirements of the College of Liberal Arts. University graduation requirements include a grade point average of at least 2.00 in all courses taken at the University (including credit by examination, correspondence, and extension) for which a grade or symbol other than Q, W, X, or CR is recorded; for the BA, Plan I, the student must also earn a grade point average of at least 2.00 in courses taken at the University and counted toward the major requirements. The student should also refer to the description of his or her major in the section Majors and Minors below, since some majors include higher minimum scholastic requirements.

More information about grades and the grade point average is given in the General Information Catalog .

Prescribed Work

  1. Writing and LiteratureEnglish 316L, 316M, or 316N and two courses beyond Rhetoric and Writing 306 or the equivalent that carry a writing flag. One of these courses must be upper-division. Courses that carry a writing flag are identified in the Course Schedule . They may be used simultaneously to fulfill other requirements, unless otherwise specified.
      
  2. Foreign language: Proficiency in a language other than English is required.  

    The study of a second language contributes in an important way to a broad education for today's students, who live in a world where the overwhelming majority of people do not speak or read English and where much of the knowledge that is disseminated may never appear in English. Knowledge of a second language is important for an appreciation of the culture of the people using that language, and it also helps students to understand the structure and complexities of their own native language. Students with sufficient preparation may be able to use the second language for study in their chosen discipline. An intermediate level of competency as determined by the completion of any one of the following options: 

    a. Certified proficiency on a placement or credit-by-exam test. 

    b. Students with previous experience in the language they plan to use to meet the language requirement must take a language placement test. A student may not select for credit a language course below this placement level without departmental permission. 

    c. A passing grade in a language course listed below: 

    RequirementsHours
    ASL 311DAmerican Sign Language III: Intermediate3
    ARA 611CIntensive Arabic II6
    BEN 312LSecond-Year Bengali II3
    CHI 612Accelerated Second-Year Chinese6
    CHI 412LSecond-Year Chinese II4
    CZ 611CIntensive Czech II6
    CZ 412LSecond-Year Czech II4
    DAN 612Accelerated Second-Year Danish6
    DCH 612Accelerated Second-Year Dutch6
    FR 611CIntermediate French6
    GER 612Accelerated Second-Year German: Readings in Modern German6
    GK 312KIntermediate Greek II3
    GK 312LIntermediate Greek II: Biblical Greek3
    GK 610CIntermediate Modern Greek6
    GK 310KSecond-Year Modern Greek II3
    HEB 612CIntensive Biblical Hebrew II6
    HEB 611CIntensive Hebrew II6
    HIN 312LSecond-Year Hindi II3
    ITL 611CIntermediate Italian6
    JPN 611DIntermediate Japanese6
    KOR 412LSecond-Year Korean II4
    LAT 311Intermediate Latin I3
    MAL 312LSecond-Year Malayalam II3
    NOR 612Accelerated Second-Year Norwegian6
    PSH 312LSecond-Year Pashto II3
    PRS 611CIntensive Persian II6
    PRS 612CIntensive Persian for Heritage Speakers6
    POL 611CIntensive Polish II6
    POL 312LSecond-Year Polish II3
    POR 611DSecond-Year Portuguese6
    RUS 611CIntensive Russian II6
    RUS 412LSecond-Year Russian II4
    SAN 312LSecond-Year Sanskrit II3
    S C 312LSecond-Year Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian II3
    SEL 611CIntensive Slavic and Eurasian Languages II6
    SEL 312LSecond-Year Slavic and Eurasian Languages II3
    SPN 611DSecond-Year Spanish6
    SPN 612Accelerated Intermediate Spanish for Heritage Learners6
    SWA 611CIntensive Swahili II6
    SWE 612Accelerated Second-Year Swedish6
    TAM 312LSecond-Year Tamil II3
    TEL 312LSecond-Year Telugu II3
    TUR 611CIntensive Turkish II6
    URD 312LSecond-Year Urdu II3
    YID 612Accelerated Second-Year Yiddish6
    YOR 312LSecond-Year Yoruba II3
    YOR 611CIntermediate Yoruba6

    d. Students who wish to meet the requirement with proficiency in a language not listed in the table above should contact the Texas Language Center

  3. Social science: Three semester hours chosen from a list of approved courses, in addition to the course used to fulfill the social and behavioral sciences requirement of the core curriculum. Courses on the approved list are primarily in anthropology, economics, geography, linguistics, psychology, and sociology, but not every course in these fields is approved. Courses that are approved to count toward any core curriculum area other than social and behavioral sciences may not be counted toward this requirement.
     

    The list is available each semester in the Student Division on the College of Liberal Arts website .

  4. Mathematics: Three semester hours in mathematics, excluding Mathematics 301, 316K, and 316L. Some courses that fulfill this requirement may also be counted toward the mathematics requirement of the core curriculum.
     
  5. Natural science: Six semester hours in natural sciences, in addition to the courses counted toward the science and technology requirements of the core curriculum. Courses used to fulfill this requirement must be chosen from the fields of study listed below; no more than three hours may be in either the history of science or the philosophy of science.
     

    To satisfy the mathematics and science and technology requirements of the core curriculum and the mathematics and natural science requirements of the BA, Plan I, a student may count (1) no more than 12 hours in mathematics, computer science, and statistics and scientific computation combined; and (2) no more than nine hours in any single field of study.

    1. Astronomy
    2. Biology
    3. Chemistry
    4. Geological sciences
    5. Marine science
    6. Nutrition
    7. Physical science
    8. Physics
    9. Mathematics (excluding Mathematics 301), computer science, statistics and data sciences
    10. Other alternative science courses approved by the dean
    11. Approved alternative courses in history of science and philosophy of science

    Lists of approved courses in science and the history and philosophy of science are available each semester in the Student Division and on the College of Liberal Arts website .

  6. Cultural expression, human experience, and thought: Three semester hours chosen from a list of approved courses. The course(s) must be in a field of study taught in the College of Liberal Arts. A course counted toward any requirement of the core curriculum may not also be counted toward this requirement.
     

    A list of approved courses is available each semester in the Student Division and on the College of Liberal Arts website .

Electives

In addition to the core curriculum, prescribed work, and major and minor, the student must complete enough elective coursework to provide the 120 semester hours required for the degree. These 120 hours may include no more than 12 hours of conference courses and internship courses combined as described in Conference Courses and Internship Courses ; 12 hours of Bible courses; nine hours of designated coursework in air force science, military science, or naval science; 16 hours completed on the pass/fail basis; 39 hours in any one field of study in the College of Liberal Arts or the College of Natural Sciences, unless major requirements state otherwise; and 39 hours in any other single college or school of the University. Mathematics courses at the level of college algebra may not count toward elective hours.

Majors and Minors

Major Requirements

The Bachelor of Arts, Plan I, requires the completion of all requirements for one major.  The number of semester hours required in the major varies with the field selected. Unless the requirements of the major state otherwise, a major consists of at least 24 but no more than 42 semester hours, with at least 15 hours in upper-division courses. Of these 15 hours, six must be taken in residence. At least 18 hours of coursework in the major, including six hours of upper-division coursework, must be completed in residence at the University.

Minors

Students in most majors must also fulfill the requirements of a minor. The minor consists of a specific number of semester hours of coursework completed outside the student’s major field. The requirements of the minor are established by the offering department. Only one minor may be declared per major. Before planning to use a course to fulfill the minor requirement, the student should consult the department that offers the course.

At least nine of the hours required for the minor must include coursework not used to satisfy the requirements of the student's major. Courses used to fulfill the requirements for a minor must be taken on the letter-grade basis, and half of the required semester hours must be taken in residence.