UT Austin students will change the world. To do so, you must be prepared to communicate effectively, engage in ethical decision-making and independent problem-solving, and understand the diverse, data-dense world around us.
The Skills and Experience Flags are a unique and innovative feature of all undergraduate degrees at The University of Texas at Austin. The Flags are designed to provide the enriched education that all students will need to become effective future leaders in our society and a constantly evolving workplace. Throughout your UT coursework, you will earn Flags in the following six areas:
- Cultural Diversity in the United States (1 course)
- Ethics (1 course)
- Global Cultures (1 course)
- Independent Inquiry (1 course)
- Quantitative Reasoning (1 course)
- Writing (2 or 3 courses, depending on your degree plan)
As of the 2016-18 catalog, all incoming students will need to earn one of each Flag with the exception of the Writing Flag, which, depending on your major, requires either 2 or 3 courses. Speak with your academic advisor or check the Flag requirements by catalog to determine which Flags you need for your major and catalog.
A single course can carry up to three Flags. However, the same course cannot be used to satisfy the Global Cultures and Cultural Diversity Flags even if the course carries both Flags.
Why Flags?
According to a recent survey of US employers, when employers hire new graduates and describe the best preparation for career success, they place just as high a priority on skills like written communication, ethical decision making, and critical thinking as they do on field-specific knowledge learned within the major. Employers expect that graduates will be prepared to work and communicate with people whose cultural backgrounds may differ from their own, and that they will be able to work with numbers and understand statistics. The Flags are designed to ensure that every UT Austin undergraduate, regardless of major, graduates from UT with a broad education that prepares them for these expectations and for success in a changing workforce.