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This is an archived copy of the 2012-14 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.utexas.edu/.

Bachelor of Arts, Plan II

The Plan II Honors Program is designed to provide a broad, liberal, and challenging education for a limited number of students whose high school class standing and admission test scores indicate strong academic potential and motivation. The enrollment in Plan II is limited; admission to the program is separate from and in addition to admission to the University. Application materials and information about deadlines are available online at http://www.bealonghorn.utexas.edu/. Transfer students may apply for admission, but an overall grade point average of at least 3.80 is required, and it is the policy of Plan II not to consider applicants who will have earned more than thirty semester hours of college credit at the time of proposed entry into the program.

The Plan II Honors Program includes the basic coursework required of Plan I students, but much of this work is done in small sections that are restricted to Plan II students and taught by professors selected for their excellent teaching records. Additional required courses explore the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences and provide considerable opportunity for individual research, writing, and speaking. The remainder of the student’s program is made up of approved electives.

The academic programs of most Plan II students include thirty-six semester hours or more of elective coursework. The student may use electives to pursue a second major in the College of Liberal Arts or the College of Natural Sciences. Dual degree programs are available in conjunction with most other undergraduate colleges.

Qualified students who are accepted into both the Plan II Honors Program and the Cockrell School of Engineering may pursue a curriculum leading to both the Bachelor of Arts, Plan II, and a bachelor’s degree in engineering. Students interested in this dual degree program must apply both to Plan II and to the Cockrell School. Further information is available from the director of Plan II and from the Office of Student Affairs in the Cockrell School.

Qualified students who are accepted into both the Plan II Honors Program and the McCombs School of Business may pursue a curriculum leading to both the Bachelor of Arts, Plan II, and the Bachelor of Business Administration. Students interested in this dual degree program must apply both to Plan II and to the McCombs School of Business. Further information is available from the director of Plan II and from the McCombs School.

A dual degree program is also available that leads to the degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Plan II, and Bachelor of Architecture. Students must apply both to Plan II and to the School of Architecture. Additional information is available from the director of Plan II and from the School of Architecture.

In addition to the following requirements, the student must fulfill the University's General Requirements and the requirements of the College of Liberal Arts given in Special Requirements of the College.

Special Requirements

Students who fail to maintain a University grade point average of at least 3.25 will be considered for academic dismissal from Plan II. All students whose grade point average falls below 3.25 but not below 2.50 will be put on academic review. Students whose grade point average falls below 2.50 at any point after their first semester in Plan II will be dismissed from the program. In addition, any student who fails one of the following required courses will be dismissed from the program: English 603A, 603B, Philosophy 610QA, 610QB, Social Science 301, Tutorial Course 302, 603A, 603B, 357, 359T, 660HA, 660HB. Students may only register for Tutorial Course 660H or 359T if their University grade point average is 3.25 or higher. All of these stipulations may be appealed and exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis by the director of Plan II in consultation with the associate director, assistant director, and academic advisers. A student who is academically dismissed from the Plan II program is eligible to continue to enroll in the College of Liberal Arts in another academic program if the student fulfills the academic requirements for the Bachelor of Arts, Plan I, and the scholastic standards for continuance in the University given in General Information. Students in scholastic difficulty should discuss their problems with a Plan II academic adviser and the director.

Choice of Work

A degree program must include at least 120 semester hours, including at least thirty-six hours of upper-division coursework. Without special permission from the director and the dean, no more than thirty-six hours in one field of study in the College of Liberal Arts or the College of Natural Sciences and no more than thirty-six hours in courses offered in any other college or school may be counted toward the degree.

Plan II students may use credit by examination to fulfill certain program requirements. More information on testing policies and credit by examination is available from a Plan II academic adviser.

Tutorial Course 302 and two semesters of Tutorial Course 357 are required. Tutorial Course 660H is required of students seeking special honors in Plan II, students pursuing the Plan II degree alone, and students writing creative theses. In exceptional situations, students completing dual degree programs may be approved by the Plan II associate director to enroll in Tutorial Course 359T, Essay Course, in lieu of Tutorial Course 660H. Other requirements for the Bachelor of Arts, Plan II, are outlined below. All courses offered in the Plan II Honors Program are subject to approval by the Plan II Faculty Advisory Committee; in some areas the committee will prescribe certain courses for all students in the program. Current information on these matters is available in the Plan II office.

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 courses with content in the following three areas:

  1. Writing: two flagged courses beyond Rhetoric and Writing 306 or its equivalent
  2. Global cultures: one flagged course
  3. Cultural diversity in the United States: one flagged course

Courses with sufficient content in these areas will be identified in the Course Schedule, registrar.utexas.edu/schedules/, by the appropriate flags. A course may carry more than one flag. The School of Undergraduate Studies monitors flagged courses to ensure that they meet the guidelines set by the General Faculty.

The following are the specific requirements of the Plan II program. In some cases, a course that is required for the BA, Plan II, may also be counted toward the core curriculum; these courses are identified below.

  1. English 603 or Tutorial Course 603. Either course also meets the English composition and humanities requirements of the core curriculum.
     
  2. 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.
     
  3. Students must complete four semesters or the equivalent in a single foreign language. The foreign language requirement is the attainment of certain proficiency, as well as the completion of a specified number of courses; however, the courses taken to gain this proficiency are not electives and may not be taken on the pass/fail basis. Any part of the requirement may be fulfilled by credit by examination.

    To achieve proficiency in a foreign language as rapidly as possible, qualified students are encouraged to take intensive foreign language courses. Information about these courses is available from the departments that offer them.

    Courses used to fulfill the foreign language requirement must be language courses; literature-in-translation courses, for example, may not be counted.

  4. Social Science 301. This course also meets the social and behavioral sciences requirement of the core curriculum.
     
  5. Six semester hours of non–United States history in the same geographic area.
     
  6. Eighteen semester hours of coursework as outlined below. To satisfy the core curriculum and the mathematics and natural science requirement of the BA, Plan II, a student may count (1) no more than twelve hours in mathematics, computer science, and statistics and scientific computation combined; and (2) no more than nine hours in any single field of study. Substitutions do exist for some of the requirements outlined below; each Plan II student should meet with a Plan II academic adviser to discuss her/his individual academic plan.

    1. Mathematics 310P. This course also meets the mathematics requirement of the core curriculum. Algebra courses at the level of Mathematics 301 or the equivalent may not be counted toward this requirement. Students who enter the University with fewer than three units of high school mathematics at the level of Algebra I or higher must take Mathematics 301 or 303D without degree credit to remove their deficiency.
    2. A three-hour course in logic or modes of reasoning designated for Plan II students, currently Tutorial Course 310 or a section of Philosophy 313Q.
    3. Six hours of coursework in astronomy, biology, chemistry, geological sciences, physical science, or physics. This coursework may be used to fulfill the science and technology, part I, requirement of the core curriculum.
    4. Biology 301E and Physics 321. Either of these courses may also be used to fulfill the science and technology, part II, requirement of the core curriculum. A three-hour course in astronomy, chemistry, or geological sciences designated for Plan II students may be taken in place of Physics 321.
    5. Any remaining courses needed to provide eighteen hours of work must be chosen from the following fields. No more than three hours may be in the history of science or the philosophy of science. A list of approved alternative courses (items 10 and 11) is available in the Student Division and at http://www.utexas.edu/cola/student-affairs/Academic-Planning/Majors-and-Degrees/Course-Lists.php.
      1. Astronomy
      2. Biology
      3. Chemistry
      4. Geological sciences
      5. Marine science
      6. Nutrition
      7. Physical science
      8. Physics
      9. Mathematics, computer science, and statistics and scientific computation
      10. Other alternative science courses approved by the dean
      11. Approved alternative courses in history of science and philosophy of science
  7. Philosophy 610Q.
     
  8. An approved three-hour course in art history, music history, or history of theatre and dance; or a three-hour upper-division course in classical civilization, humanities, literature, or philosophy.

Electives

In addition to the core curriculum and the preceding specific requirements, 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 twelve hours of conference courses and internship courses combined as described in Conference Courses and Internship Courses; twelve hours of Bible; nine hours of designated coursework in air force science, military science, or naval science; nineteen hours completed on the pass/fail basis; thirty-six hours in any one field of study in the College of Liberal Arts or the College of Natural Sciences; and thirty-six 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.

Order of Work

The usual order of work for students in Plan II is outlined below, although it is possible to make exceptions when there is good reason for doing so. There is some variation in the order of work for students in premedical, predental, and dual degree programs, for teacher certification candidates, and for students concentrating in science. Students in these areas should consult the director or an academic adviser.

Suggested Four-Year Plan

First Year:

Second Year:

Third and Fourth Years:

  • Three semester hours in the visual and performing arts
  • Three semester hours of humanities or courses in the history of fine arts
  • Six semester hours of American history
  • Six semester hours of Tutorial Course 357
  • Tutorial Course 359T or 660H
  • Physics 321 and three additional hours of science
  • Elective courses sufficient to make a total of at least 120 semester hours, with only upper-division courses usually being approved for third- and fourth-year students

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