Curriculum
Petitions
Petitions for the modification of degree requirements are submitted through the Academic Advisors in Student Affairs, or in Liberal Arts departments. Only Advisors should advise students on petitions.
Petitions requesting a course substitution must be accompanied by a syllabus.
Petitions substituting an in-residence course must also be accompanied by a memo, extending the same opportunity to all students pursuing the credential.
Faculty Advisor recommendations for petition approval will be considered by Academic Affairs, but are not considered binding.
Academic Affairs will not overrule a Faculty Member’s recommendation for petition denial.
Policies
In addition to the minimum requirements for a major, interdisciplinary degree plans should require three courses in the major field of study: introductory, intermediate or foundational, and a capstone course, for a minimum of nine hours. Interdisciplinary degree plans should also require a fourth course, in methods, that may be satisfied by courses offered by other academic units, for a minimum of three hours.
Conference Course Forms must be submitted by the fourth class day of the semester.
Requirements
All courselist memos must be supported by syllabi. In some cases, course descriptions are acceptable.
Development & Implementation of New Programs
New programs should be submitted as Catalog proposals in the Fall of an even-numbered year, for inclusion in the Catalog beginning the following, even-numbered year.
Some new credentials may be offered in the Catalog Supplemental, subject to approval by the Provost’s Office.
General Curriculum & Degree Criteria
Curriculum Administration
The Associate Dean for Academic & Faculty Affairs works with faculty committees and key staff to ensure that policies and requirements for Liberal Arts degrees continue to meet the College's commitment to academic and intellectual excellence.
Academic Affairs is responsible for the interpretation and enforcement of current degree requirements, as listed in the Undergraduate Catalog.
The Office of Academic & Faculty Affairs also oversees the development and implementation of new degree programs, majors and minors, concentrations, certificate programs, and general curriculum and degree-related criteria.
About Degrees and Majors
Degrees
The College of Liberal Arts offers the Bachelor of Arts, Plan I; the Bachelor of Arts, Plan II; the Bachelor of Science in Behavioral and Social Data Science; the Bachelor of Science in Economics; the Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science; and the Bachelor of Science in Psychology.
Bachelor of Arts, Plan I
The requirements for the Bachelor of Arts degree include courses in the natural sciences, the social and behavioral sciences, and the humanities. The degree is designed to give each student flexibility in the selection of courses to meet individual goals and interests by allowing non-prescribed electives in virtually every program offered in the college. Students must select a major and, in most cases, a minor, in any of the departments of the College of Liberal Arts. A current list of majors offered through the College of Liberal Arts is available on the website. For more information, see the section on Majors below.
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 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.
Bachelor of Science in Behavioral and Social Data Science
The Bachelor of Science in Behavioral and Social Data Science is designed for students interested in understanding, classifying, and predicting human behavior, emotions, and intentions. This major offers interdisciplinary training at the intersection of data analytics and human behavior. Students will think creatively and critically about the prediction of human behavior and how to work with a variety of data types, such as physiology, neuroimaging, language, and/or health-related outcomes. Students are also trained in experimental design and ethics, enabling them to evaluate new research findings and communicate their findings in written and oral presentations. What distinguishes this major from related majors is that it provides significant training in the analysis and understanding of human behavior – at the level of the individual, social group and society. Students who successfully complete this program will develop a technical toolkit to tackle the most ambitious problems involving human behavior and help create the next-generation data science workforce. Training will be offered in the curation, visualization, analysis, and ethical treatment of real-world data using programming languages including R and python. The program is designed to prepare graduates primarily for entry level data science careers in industry, although positions in other settings, such as government, nonprofit agencies, universities and other research settings, may also be appropriate. The degree is offered by the College of Liberal Arts.
Bachelor of Science in Economics
The Bachelor of Science in Economics is an alternative to the Bachelor of Arts, designed to include a more extensive natural science curriculum that better prepares students for employment in technical and research jobs, and for graduate study in economics and related disciplines. Students interested in areas of economics that heavily utilize mathematics, statistics, data science, and computation have the opportunity to develop breadth and depth in fields that complement their areas of interest within economics. To accomplish this goal, the curriculum for the Bachelor of Science in Economics incorporates substantial emphasis on mathematics, statistics, and computer science courses.
Bachelor of Science In Environmental Science
The Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science degree program is designed for students interested in an interdisciplinary scientific perspective on environmental and sustainability issues, analysis, and management. The degree program provides the broad foundation in physical, life, and social sciences needed for a career or graduate study in environmental science and related fields such as climate change, ecology, and conservation. Students who complete the program successfully will be able to assess environmental issues critically from multiple perspectives; to perform field, laboratory, and computer analyses; and to conduct original research. The program is designed to prepare graduates for careers in local, state, and federal government laboratories and nonprofit agencies, environmental consulting firms, environmental education and out-reach agencies, and universities and other research settings. The degree is offered by the College of Liberal Arts with a major in geographical sciences, by the College of Natural Sciences with a major in biological sciences, and by the Jackson School of Geosciences with a major in geological sciences. The degree programs share common prescribed work, but each major has its own specific requirements. Students may earn only one Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science degree from the University.
Bachelor of Science in Psychology
As an alternative to the Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Psychology, the Bachelor of Science in Psychology is designed to offer students a more extensive scientific program that may better prepare them for graduate study or employment in research fields. Students interested in mathematics-based or physiology-based areas of psychology have the opportunity to develop more breadth and depth in the fields that complement their area of interest within psychology. To accomplish this goal, the curriculum for the Bachelor of Science in Psychology puts more emphasis on natural sciences.
Degree-Related Restrictions
University requirements state that 1) a student may not receive the same degree title twice, and 2) no second bachelor's level degree will be conferred until the candidate has completed at least twenty-four semester hours in addition to those counted toward the bachelor's degree that requires the higher number of hours of credit.
A student may not earn more than one Bachelor of Arts degree from the University. Therefore, a student who completes the Bachelor of Arts, Plan II and the Bachelor of Arts Plan I requirements for another major offered through the College of Liberal Arts or the College of Natural Sciences earns only one degree.
A student may not earn both the Bachelor of Arts with a major in psychology and the Bachelor of Science in Psychology.
A student may not earn both the Bachelor of Arts with an intercollege major in kinesiology and health and the Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology.
For the Bachelor of Arts degree, the major subject is not shown on the diploma. This includes Plan II graduates who have completed a second major.
Majors
The Bachelor of Arts, Plan I, requires the completion of all requirements for one major offered through the college.
If the major requires a concentration or specialization, a student may officially complete only one within the major.
The number of semester hours required in the major varies with the field selected.
All students pursuing a major under the BA Plan I, with the exception of International Relations and Global Studies majors, must complete a minor.
At least nine of the hours required for the minor must include coursework not used to satisfy the requirements of the student's major.
A current list of majors offered through the College of Liberal Arts is available on the website.
Catalog Instructions
Chairs and Directors should consult with their Curriculum Committee before the beginning of each Fall semester in an even-numbered year, to propose changes to their majors, minors, certificates, or honors programs, for consideration by the Curriculum Design and Assessment Committee.
The College of Liberal Arts will post proposed approved curriculum changes for online review for ten business days for faculty review.
Any objections they might have should be sent to jes@austin.utexas.edu.
The faculty Curriculum Design & Assessment Committee will review all objections, making recommendations to the Dean concerning both how to address them and in what forum.
The Dean will make final decisions on proposed curriculum changes and forward the recommendation to the Office of the General Faculty.