Core Curriculum
Core Curriculum
All students pursuing an undergraduate degree at the University must complete the forty-two-hour statewide core curriculum. Entering students are only considered core complete if they have submitted a transcript from a Texas public institution of higher education that marks the student core complete based on coursework completed prior to matriculation at The University of Texas at Austin. Entering students who submit undergraduate transcripts from any other institution of higher education, or from a Texas public institution of higher education that does not indicate the student is core complete, may petition to substitute transferred coursework for specific Texas core curriculum requirements.
The list of courses students should choose from to fulfill their core requirements is updated annually and published here. Students should consult the Course Schedule in order to see the core course offerings in any given semester. For more information on core curriculum requirements please see the School of Undergraduate Studies chapter of the Undergraduate Catalog or visit the core curriculum requirements website.
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Core Area |
Sem Hrs |
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First-year Signature Course One of the following courses, completed during the student’s first year in residence: > Undergraduate Studies 302, 303 Students in the Plan II Honors Program may complete this requirement by taking Tutorial Course 302. |
3 |
|
English Composition and Writing Flag Six hours are required. Nonnative speakers of English may take Rhetoric and Writing 306Q instead of Rhetoric and Writing 306. Students in the Plan II Honors Program may take English 303C or Tutorial Course 303C instead of Rhetoric and Writing 306. > A three-hour course with a writing flag designation The writing flagged course counted toward this area of the core may also be used to satisfy other flag and major requirements outside the core curriculum, but may not be used to satisfy any other requirement of the core curriculum. |
6 |
|
Humanities One of the following courses: > English 316L, 316M, 316N, 316P Students in the Plan II Honors Program may complete this requirement by taking English 303Dor Tutorial Course 303D. |
3 |
|
American and Texas Government Six hours are required. This coursework partially fulfills the legislative requirement. ROTC courses may not be substituted for the core courses in government. > Government 310L is required for all students and > Government 312L or 312P may be used to satisfy the second half of this requirement. Transfer students with five or more hours of coursework in U.S. government may complete this requirement of the core by taking Government 105, which includes Texas Constitutional content that is consistent with the legislative requirement. Rules prescribing which pairs of in-residence and transferred government coursework will fulfill the legislative requirement are very strict. Therefore students who plan to take only one government course on campus and the other at another public college in Texas, or who arrive at The University of Texas at Austin having taken one government course and plan to take the other one at the University, should visit the Office of Admissions website for transfer guidance before choosing courses to pair for this core requirement. |
6 |
|
United States History Six hours are required; three hours may be in Texas history. This coursework partially fulfills the legislative requirement. ROTC courses may not be substituted for the core courses in history. Any two of the following courses may be counted: > History 314K, 315G, 315K, 315L, 317L, 320L, 320P, 320R, 333L, 333M, 334L, 340S, 345J, 345L, 350R, 351P, 355F, 355M, 355N, 355P, 355S, 356G, 356K, 356P, 356R, 356S,357C, 357D, 365G, 376F |
6 |
|
Social and Behavioral Sciences One of the following courses: > African and African Diaspora Studies 303, 324E > Anthropology 302, 305, 307, 318L > Core Texts and Ideas 302, 365 > Curriculum and Instruction 319 > Economics 301, 304K, 304L > Educational Psychology 350E, 350L > Geography 305, 306C, 319 > Human Development and Family Sciences 304, 304H > Human Dimensions of Organizations 301 > Linguistics 306, 312D, 312E > Mexican American Studies 301, 309 > Social Science 302C, 302D, 302E, 302F > Sociology 302, 307C, 307D, 307E, 307F, 307G, 307J, 307K, 307L, 307N, 307P, 307Q, 307S, 307T, 308D, 308E, 308F, 308G, 308J, 308K, 308L, 308M, 308N, 309, 309C, 313K, 318, 319 |
3 |
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Mathematics One of the following courses: > African and African Diaspora Studies 302M, 350 > Educational Psychology 308, 371 > Mathematics 302, 305G, 408C, 408K, 408N, 408R > Statistics and Data Sciences 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 325H, 328M Students in the Plan II Honors Program may complete this requirement by taking Mathematics 310P. |
3 |
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Natural Science and Technology, Part I Six hours in a single field of study. The following courses may be counted and should be paired as indicated below: > Astronomy 301, 307, 309C,309G, 309L, 309N, 309R, 309S Choose either Astronomy 301 or 307 and one course from Astronomy 309C, 309G,309L, 309N, 309R, and 309S. > Biology 301D, 301E, 301G, 301L, 301M, 305F, 309D, 311C, 311D, 315H, 325H, 326M, 446L, 365S Choose two courses from Biology 301D, 301L, 301M, 305F, 309D, 301G; or complete one of the following recommended pairs: Biology 311C and 311D, 311C and 326M, 311C and 446L, 311C and 365S, 315H and 325H.* Students in the Plan II Honors Program may pair Biology 301E with 301D, 305F, 309D,311C, or 315H. > Chemistry 301, 301H, 302, 302H, 304K, 305 Students should complete one of the following pairs of courses: Chemistry 301 and 302, 301H and 302H, 304K and 305.* > Geological Sciences 401, 302C, 302D, 302E, 302G, 302J, 302M, 302P, 303, 303C, 303E, 405 Geological Sciences 401 may not be paired with Geological Sciences 303.* > Natural Sciences 306J, 306K, 306L, and 306M Students who use Natural Sciences 306J and 306K to fulfill Natural Science and Technology, Part I may also use either 306L or 306M to fulfill the requirements for Natural Science and Technology, Part II. > Physical Science 303, 304; Physics 301, 302K, 302L, 303K, 303L, 309K, 309L, 316, 317K, 317L, 321 Students should complete one of the following pairs of courses: Physics 301 and 316, 302K and 302L, 303K and 303L, 309K and 309L, 317K and 317L, Physical Science 303 and 304. Physical Science 303 may not be counted with Physics 301, 302K, 303K, 309K, and 317K to complete Natural Science and Technology, Part I; Physical Science 304 may not be counted with Physics 302L, 303L, 309L, 316, and 317L to complete Natural Science and Technology, Part I. Students in the Plan II Honors Program may pair Physics 321 with any of the physics or physical science courses listed above.* If Plan II students do not use Biology 301E or Physics 321 to fulfill Natural Science and Technology, Part I, they may use one of them to fulfill the Natural Science and Technology, Part II requirement as long as the two parts are in different fields of study. Students who take the Natural Sciences 306J and 306K sequence to complete Natural Science and Technology, Part I may not use physical science or physics coursework to satisfy Natural Science and Technology, Part II. Students who use physical science or physics coursework to satisfy Natural Science and Technology, Part I many not use Natural Sciences 306J to complete Natural Science and Technology, Part II. *See the School of Undergraduate Studies website for a complete listing of allowed six-hour pairings. |
6 |
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Natural Science and Technology, Part II Three hours in a field of study different from the field counted toward the preceding requirement. Courses listed under Natural Science and Technology, Part I may be counted toward this requirement unless otherwise specified above; the following courses may also be counted:* > Anthropology 301, 304, 304T > Computer Science 302, 303E, 312 > Geography 401C, 301K, 404E > Natural Sciences 306J, 306K, 306L, and 306M Students who use Natural Sciences 306J and 306K to fulfill Natural Science and Technology, Part I may also use either 306L or 306M to fulfill the requirements for Natural Science and Technology, Part II.
Students who take the Natural Sciences 306J and 306K sequence to complete Natural Science and Technology, Part I may not use physical science or physics coursework to satisfy Natural Science and Technology, Part II. Students who use physical science or physics coursework to satisfy Natural Science and Technology, Part I many not use Natural Sciences 306J to complete Natural Science and Technology, Part II. Students who use Natural Sciences 306J and 306K, physics, or physical science courses to complete Natural Science and Technology Part I may not use Science 365 to complete Natural Science and Technology Part II. *View a pairing chart for help choosing courses for Part II. |
3 |
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Visual and Performing Arts One of the following courses: > African and African Diaspora Studies 311C, 356C, 356D, 356E > Architecture 308, 309W, 318K, 318L, 342C > Art History 301, 302, 303, 325, 327N, 327R, 327S, 328J, 329J, 329N, 329R, 330G, 330J, 331J, 331K, 331P, 332K, 332L, 333L, 335J, 337K, 338J, 338L, 338M, 338V, 339J, 339K, 339L, 339M, 339N, 339P, 339R, 341K, 341L, 342J, 345J, 346L, 347J, 347K, 347L, 347M, 347N, 348N, 349K > Arts and Entertainment Technologies 304, 308C > Classical Civilization 301, 302, 303, 307C, 307D > Core Texts and Ideas 350, 351 > English 310F, 321P, 379P > Music 302L, 303C, 303D, 303E, 303M, 306M, 307, 312C, 334 |
3 |
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Total 42 |
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