2021-2022 Core Requirements (Effective Fall 2021)

All students pursuing an undergraduate degree at the university must complete the 42-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 UT 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.

View a printable copy of the 2021-2022 core list.

A single course may not be counted toward more than one core area.

Requirements

First-Year Signature Course (Texas core code 090)
One of the following courses, completed during the first year in residence:

  • Undergraduate Studies 302 or 303
  • Students in the Plan II Honors Program may complete this requirement by taking Tutorial Course 302.

English Composition (Texas core code 010)
Six hours are required.
One of the following courses:

  • Rhetoric and Writing 306
  • Nonnative speakers of English may complete this requirement by taking Rhetoric and Writing 306Q.
  • Students in the Plan II Honors Program may complete this requirement by taking English 303C or Tutorial Course 303C.

AND

A three-hour course with a Writing Flag

Note that 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.

Humanities (Texas core code 040)
The following course:

  • English 316L, 316M, 316N, 316P
  • Students in the Plan II Honors Program may complete this requirement by taking English 303D or Tutorial Course 303D.

American and Texas Government (Texas core code 070)
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 306C*, 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 106C*, 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. View acceptable course combinations for students who might have taken one or both government courses outside of UT.

*GOV 306C replaced the GOV 3TX course number, and GOV 106C replaced the GOV 105 course number. Students with either of these retired course numbers on their records should follow the pairing recommendations of the course numbers they were replaced with.

US History (Texas core code 060)
Six hours are required; three hours may be in Texas history. This coursework partially fulfills the legislative requirement. The following courses may be counted toward this requirement:

  • African and African Diaspora Studies 320C
  • History 314K, 315G, 315K, 315L, 317L, 320E, 320F, 333L, 333M, 334L, 340S, 345J, 345L, 350R, 351P, 355F, 355M, 355N, 355P, 355S, 356G, 356K, 356P, 356R, 356S, 357C, 357D, 365G, 376F

Social & Behavioral Sciences (Texas core code 080)
One of the following courses:

  • Advertising 319
  • African and African Diaspora Studies 303, 324E
  • Anthropology 302, 305, 307, 318L
  • Core Texts and Ideas 302, 365
  • Curriculum and Instruction (EDC) 319
  • Economics 301, 304K, 304L
  • Geography 305, 306C, 319
  • Health and Society 301
  • History 329U
  • Human Development and Family Sciences 304, 304H
  • Human Dimensions of Organizations 301
  • Kinesiology 311K
  • Linguistics 306, 312D, 312E
  • Mexican American Studies 301, 309
  • Psychology 301, 306
  • Radio-Television-Film 303C
  • Religious Studies 310
  • Social Sciences 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, 312S, 313K, 318, 319
  • Special Education 303

Mathematics (Texas core code 020)
One of the following courses:

  • Advertising 309R/P R 309
  • African and African Diaspora Studies 302M, 350
  • Educational Psychology 308
  • Mathematics 302, 305G, 408C, 408K, 408N, 408Q, 408R
  • Philosophy 313
  • Psychology 317L
  • Sociology 317L
  • Statistics and Data Sciences 301, 302F, 320E, 325H
  • Students in the Plan II Honors Program may complete this requirement by taking Mathematics 310P.

Natural Science & Technology, Part I (Texas core code 030)
Choose any two of the following courses from any field of study listed below.

  • Astronomy 301, 307, 309C, 309G, 309L, 309N, 309R, 309S
       Only one of the following may be counted: Astronomy 301 or 307*
  • Anthropology 301, 304, 304T
  • Biology 301E, 302D, 302E, 302F, 302G, 311C, 311D, 315H, 325H, 326M, 446L, 365S
       Only one of the following may be counted: BIO 301L (now retired) and 311C*
       Only one of the following may be counted: BIO 301L (now retired) and 311D*
       Only one of the following may be counted: BIO 301L (now retired) and 301E*
       Only one of the following may be counted: BIO 301M (now retired) and 311D*
       Only one of the following may be counted: BIO 301M (now retired) and 301E*
  • Chemistry 301, 301C, 301H, 301N, 302, 302C, 302H, 302N
       Only one of the following may be counted: CH 301, 301C, 301H, or 301N*
       Only one of the following may be counted: CH 302, 302C, 302H, or 302N*
  • Geography 401C, 301K, 304E/404E
  • Geological Sciences 302C, 302D, 302E, 302G, 302J, 302M, 302N, 302P, 302Q, 303, 303C, 303E, 401, 405
       Only one of the following may be counted: Geological Sciences 401 or 303*
  • Marine Science 307, 308
  • Nutrition 306
  • Physical Science 303, 304; Physics 301, 302K, 302L, 303K, 303L, 309K, 309L, 316, 317K, 317L, 321
       Only one of the following may be counted: PHY 301, 302K, 303K, 309K, 317K, or P S 303*
       Only one of the following may be counted: PHY 302L, 303L, 309L, 316, 317L, P S 304*
  • Science 365
  • UTeach Natural Sciences (UTS) 306J, 306K, 306L, 306M

*Due to content overlap, these courses cannot both be counted toward a degree (including the core curriculum).

Natural Science & Technology, Part II (Texas core code 093)
Choose an additional course from the Part I list above OR choose one of the following courses:

  • Computer Science 302, 303E, 312, 314H
  • Electrical and Computer Engineering 302, 302H
  • Electrical Engineering 302, 302H
  • Engineering Studies 301

Visual and Performing Arts (Texas core code 050)
One of the following courses:

  • African and African Diaspora Studies 311C, 356C, 356D, 356E
  • American Studies 330
  • Architecture 308, 312C, 318K, 318L, 342C
  • Arts & Entertainment Technologies 304, 308C, 336C
  • Art History 301, 302, 303, 325, 327N, 327R, 327S, 328J, 329J, 329N, 329R, 329T, 330G, 330J, 331J, 331K, 331P, 331S, 332K, 332L, 333L, 335J, 337K, 338J, 338L, 338M, 338V, 339J, 339K, 339L, 339M, 339N, 339P, 339R, 341K, 341L, 342J, 345J, 346K, 346L, 347J, 347K, 347L, 347M, 347N, 348N, 349K
  • Classical Civilization 301, 302, 303, 307C, 307D
  • Core Texts and Ideas 350, 351
  • Design 308
  • English 310F, 310S, 321P, 379P
  • Fine Arts 308, 313C
  • Journalism 308S
  • Mexican American Studies 315
  • Music 302L, 303C, 303D, 303E, 303M, 306M, 307, 312C, 334
  • Philosophy 317K, 346K
  • Religious Studies 346M
  • Radio-Television-Film 306
  • Theatre and Dance 301, 307K, 308K, 309K, 317C, 317D

Note that while no single course may be used to fulfill two core areas simultaneously, in most cases students may satisfy both a core requirement and a major requirement with a single course.

Students graduating under a catalog prior to 2016 should follow the recommendations listed above or view the core course list in their undergraduate catalog.