General Information
Mission
The School of Undergraduate Studies oversees the components of a college education that are shared by all undergraduates at the University. The mission of the school includes the responsibility for sustaining a dynamic common curriculum and enriching the undergraduate experience through innovative advising, career counseling, academic assistance, learning communities, interdisciplinary programs, and undergraduate research. The overall functions of the school are organized as follows:
Common Curriculum
- To instill in each student the distinctive traits of a University of Texas at Austin graduate and broadly educated person.
- To ensure a high-quality core curriculum by working closely with the other colleges and schools to set and enforce standards for the courses required of all undergraduate students.
- To develop and maintain innovative classes for first-year students.
- To set standards for and to evaluate courses that satisfy campus-wide requirements in writing and speaking, ethics and leadership, global cultures, cultural diversity, quantitative reasoning, and independent inquiry.
- To support ongoing curricular innovation and teaching excellence in these courses and throughout the undergraduate curriculum.
Strategic Advising
- To offer advising services that help students find coherent paths through the University that suit their academic and career interests, focusing on students who are unsure of their majors or who are considering a change.
- To help students explore the resources of the University in areas that interest them.
- To provide training and resources for advisers from every college and school.
Career Counseling
- To expand self-knowledge and workplace knowledge students need for making sound career choices.
- To guide students as they plan and prepare for graduate or professional school and the world of work.
Academic Assistance
- To provide multiple avenues by which students can develop the ability to succeed academically.
- To help students improve performance inside and outside traditional classrooms.
Learning Communities
- To support student success by cultivating community-based academic experiences, especially for first-year students.
- To foster leadership among students in these communities.
Interdisciplinary Programs
- To create and coordinate interdisciplinary certificate and degree-granting programs, working closely with the other colleges and schools.
- To develop integrated strands of courses for satisfying campus-wide requirements.
Undergraduate Research
- To foster undergraduate participation in the University’s creative activity and research.