The University of Texas at Arlington

The University of Texas at Arlington is committed to ensuring that students take a common core of courses during their tenure at the institution. These courses are central to any career a student may choose, since they provide basic skills, perspectives and knowledge. The remainder of a student’s course work will focus on the methods, skills and knowledge appropriate to whatever field or discipline he or she chooses. One virtue of a core curriculum, besides the obvious practical one of helping graduates adapt to a rapidly changing economy, is that it provides a common cultural experience. This shared experience facilitates both appreciation and criticism of the values, norms and institutions of one’s culture.

The specific aims of UT Arlington’s core curriculum are to ensure that each graduate: (1) be able to read and write clear, correct English; (2) understand the features and exemplars of the major literary forms; (3) understand the basic principles of critical thinking, argument and mathematical relationships (as well as the relations among these); (4) understand and appreciate the scientific method of problem analysis (as well as the principal results in various fields); (5) comprehend the nature of historical research and the relevance of historical events to contemporary situations; (6) be able to analyze political and economic phenomena, including the functioning of and relations among national, state and local governments; (7) understand various forms of art and aesthetic principles; and (8) have a practical and theoretical knowledge of various human cultures, past and present.

For a complete overview of the University's Core Curriculum, visit the Undergraduate Catalog. 

Included as part of the Core Curriculum are two categories that can be fulfilled by a number of different courses:  Fine Arts and Social/Cultural Studies.  Students are required to complete three hours in each category.  To make it easier to identify which courses satisfy these Core Curriculum categories, please refer to the course lists below: