New Student Courses

The Office of New Student Courses offers required courses students will take to help them be more successful in their academic careers at UTA. Whether it is your first time in college or transferring in from another institution, we are there to support your journey!

UT Arlington’s New Student Courses, housed within the Division of Student Success, are designed to orient students to life on the Maverick campus by providing them with essential resources for their student success, instruction on critical thinking skills for academic success, and access to faculty and peer networks. These courses are for undergraduate students who are entering their first semester of coursework at UTA and they are required for both first time in college students and transfer students.  Students are required to enroll in one of three major-specific courses (UNIV 1000, UNIV 1131 or UNIV 1101) or a departmental equivalent course.  Students should work with their academic advisor to enroll in the appropriate course for their major.  Students who have not yet declared a major should enroll in one of the Division of Student Success’s UNIV sections.  If a student would like to drop a New Student Course, they will need to get permission to do so and work with their academic advisor on that process.  Students are allowed 3 attempts to pass a UNIV course.  Transfer students who are non-degree seeking or who already hold a bachelor’s degree are not required to take a New Student Course, but they may still be required to take an equivalent course as determined by their college/school/department.  Transfer students may also meet an equivalency standard for the course if they have taken a similar one at their previous institution.  To determine if a student has a transfer equivalency, they should work with their academic advisor and fill out the transfer equivalency form.