Degree Requirements

• Degrees Granted
• Graduation Under a Particular Catalog
• Degree Plan
• General Requirements for a Baccalaureate Degree
• BA Degree Special Requirements
• BS Degree Special Requirements
• Requirements for a Minor
• Double Major
• Additional Bachelor's Degree
• Degree Requirement Exceptions
• Binding and Distribution of Honors Thesis

 

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Degrees Granted

Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.)
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)
Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.)
Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.)
Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Sciences (B.I.Sci.)
Bachelor of Music (B.M.)
Bachelor of Science (B.S.)
Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering (B.S.B.E.)
Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering (B.S.Ch.E.)
Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (B.S.C.E.)
Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering (B.S.Cp.E.)
Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (B.S.E.E.)
Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering (B.S.I.E.)
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (B.S.M.E.)
Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering (B.S.P.E.T.E.)

 

Master of Architecture (M.Arch.)
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.)
Master of Education (M.Ed.)
Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.)
Master of Hospitality Management (M.H.M.)
Master of Laws (LL.M.)
Master of Music (M.M.)
Master of Science (M.S.)
Master of Science in Accountancy (M.S.Acy.)
Master of Chemical Engineering (M.Ch.E.)
Master of Science in Chemical Engineering (M.S.Ch.E.)
Master of Civil Engineering (M.C.E.)
Master of Science in Civil Engineering (M.S.C.E.)
Master of Electrical Engineering (M.E.E.)
Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (M.S.E.E.)
Master of Industrial Engineering (M.I.E.)
Master of Science in Industrial Engineering (M.S.I.E.)
Master of Mechanical Engineering (M.M.E.)
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (M.S.M.E.)
Master of Petroleum Engineering (M.P.E.)
Master of Science in Petroleum Engineering (M.S.P.E.)
Master of Science in Pharmacy (M.S.Phr.)
Master of Science in Physiological Optics (M.S.P.O.)
Master of Social Work (M.S.W.)
Master of Technology (M.Tch.)
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.)
Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.)
Doctor of Optometry (O.D.)
Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.)
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

   

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Graduation Under a Particular Catalog

Students normally are entitled to graduate under the degree provisions of the catalog in effect at the time of their first completed semester of enrollment. These exceptions apply:

1. A catalog more than seven years old shall not be used.
2. The programs of students who interrupt their enrollment at the University of Houston for more than 13 months shall be governed by the catalog in effect at the time of the students' reentrance to the university. For these purposes, enrollment is defined as enrollment (registration) for and successful completion of at least one three-semester-hour course during a semester or summer session. Students forced to withdraw for adequate cause before completion of a course may petition the dean of the college of their major for a waiver of this provision at the time of withdrawal.
3. Students who change their majors at this university, provided they do not interrupt their enrollment at the University of Houston for more than 13 months, are entitled to graduate under the general degree requirements in effect at the time they enrolled at the university, but must satisfy the college and major degree requirements in effect at the time the change of major becomes effective.
4. Students who add a second major at this university, provided they do not interrupt their enrollment at the University of Houston for more than 13 months, are entitled to graduate under the general degree requirements in effect at the time they enrolled at the university, the college and primary major degree requirements in effect at the time their primary major became effective, and the major degree requirements of the second major (and, if the second major is in a different college from the primary major, the degree requirements of that college) in effect at the time their second major became effective.
5. At the discretion of their college dean, students will be required to comply with all changes in the curriculum made subsequent to the years enrolled. Deletions and additions of courses will be of approximately equal credit so that no student will have an overall appreciable increase of total credits required for graduation.
6. A student who transfers from another Texas public institution of higher education may choose a catalog for the purpose of specifying graduation requirements, based upon the dates of attendance at the receiving institution and at the transferring institution, in the same manner that a non-transfer student may choose a catalog.

Degree Plan

Students are responsible for all requirements of the catalog under which they are graduating. Application for a degree plan should be made to the dean of the college or departmental advisor as soon as the student has completed 60 credit hours. Before applying to graduate, students must meet with their academic advisor. Before certification for graduation can be made, copies of the degree plan must be on file in the college dean's office and in the Registrar's Office, 128 Welcome Center.

 

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General Requirements for a Baccalaureate Degree

All candidates for a bachelor's degree at the University of Houston must meet certain minimum requirements. Additional requirements may be imposed by the individual department or college. Students should refer to the department or college section of this catalog for complete requirements and total number of hours prescribed for the specific degree.

The following are the minimum requirements for a bachelor's degree:

1. Students must complete at least 120 semester hours of courses. At least 36 of the 120 semester hours must be advanced, according to the requirements of respective degree plans.
2. A repeated course cannot be counted as elective credit toward satisfying the requirement for graduation or counted toward the minimum of 120 hours credit toward graduation, unless the course is identified in the Undergraduate Studies catalog as repeatable. Repeatable courses, such as Special Problems or Selected Topics courses, are often designed to be taken more than once for additional credits each time.
3. Students must complete the state-mandated 42 hour core curriculum (see Core Curriculum Requirements section of this catalog).
4. Students must complete all course requirements of the major as specified in the college section of the catalog, some of which may also satisfy university core curriculum requirements.
5. Students must earn a 2.00 minimum cumulative grade point average in courses with the subject code of the minor attempted at the university. Exceptions to this policy may be found in the requirements of specific minors.
6. Students must earn a 2.00 minimum cumulative grade point average in courses with the subject code of the major attempted at the university. Exceptions to this policy may be found in the requirements of specific majors.
7. Students must earn a 2.00 minimum cumulative grade point average at the university.
8. In addition to these general requirements, candidates for graduation must meet all special degree requirements as specified in the appropriate college sections in which the major is completed.
9. Students cannot satisfy any degree requirements in their major with advanced courses that were completed more than seven years before the semester in which the degree is awarded, unless they receive permission from their college dean.
10. Students must complete at least 25 percent of the semester hours required for a degree in residence or if 25 percent includes a fraction of a semester hour, the requirement must be rounded up to the nearest whole number of a semester hour.  a)These residence hours are not to include credit by examination, special problems, or individual research courses taken at the University of Houston.  b)A minimum of nine semester hours of advanced work in the major field must be completed in residence.
11. The last 30 semester hours to be applied toward a bachelor's degree must be taken in residence.

 

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Bachelor of Arts Degree
Special Requirements

Candidates for any Bachelor of Arts degree must complete at least six semester hours at the 2000-level in one foreign language. Students may satisfy part or all of this requirement by foreign language courses at a higher level or by placement examination.

Deans may waive this requirement for students majoring in their college who can demonstrate that they meet at least one of the following requirements:

1. students presented a TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score to qualify for admission to the university, or
2. successfully completed ENGL 1309 and 1310 in residence, or
3. completed at least eight years of formal education in schools where English was not the primary language of instruction.

 

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Bachelor of Science Degree
Special Requirements

Candidates for any Bachelor of Science degree must complete at least 12 semester hours in the quantitative or formal sciences, i.e., mathematics, computer science, formal logic, statistics, or other disciplines in which quantitative or formal analytical reasoning plays a major part. At least 6 semester hours must be in mathematics. Courses applied to this requirement must either be core-approved mathematics or mathematics/reasoning courses or have at least 6 hours of such courses as prerequisites.

 

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Requirements for a Minor

In most fields of study at the undergraduate level, students may earn a minor by satisfying certain requirements. The general requirements are as follows:

1. Students must complete a minimum of 15 semester hours of work in the minor field.
2. At least nine of the 15 semester hours must be advanced.
3. At least six of the nine advanced semester hours must be taken in residence.
4. Students must earn a 2.00 minimum cumulative grade point average on courses attempted in the minor at the University of Houston.

Departments and colleges may include additional requirements but cannot require more than 21 semester hours of work in the minor field of study.

Not all departments and colleges offer minors, but those that do provide academic advice for the students who seek minors in their areas.

Students should consult the general and departmental requirements listed in the college sections of this catalog for more detailed information on the availability of and requirements for minors.

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Double Major

At the University of Houston, students may earn a baccalaureate degree with two majors (i.e., a double major) provided they meet all the following requirements:

1. The baccalaureate degree must be the same for both majors (e.g.: B.A., B.S., B.B.A., B.F.A.).
2. Students must satisfy the college and major degree requirements for their primary major that were in effect at the time they were admitted into the primary major and those for their second major in effect at the time they were admitted into the second major.
3. Students may not add a second major to a baccalaureate degree they have already received.
4. Students may not receive official university recognition in a single degree for having earned both a major and a minor in the same field of study.
5. Students must earn a 2.00 minimum grade point average in all courses attempted in each major at the university.
6. Students must complete a minimum of nine semester hours of advanced work in residence in each major.

Students pursuing a double major must identify one of the two majors as the primary one for purposes of establishing an academic home of record. Students pursuing a double major should apply for one degree plan for both majors to the dean of the college or departmental advisor of their primary major no later than the beginning of their junior year. The college of the student's primary major will issue the university diploma.

Students pursuing a double major who complete all degree requirements for one major but not the other may graduate with a single major but only after they obtain written approval from the dean of the college of their primary major (and, if their second major is in a different college, from the dean of that college) to change from double- to single-major status.

The University of Houston does not recognize a triple major or any number of majors above two for a single baccalaureate degree. Students who want official university recognition for more than a double major must earn more than one baccalaureate degree.

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Additional Bachelor's Degree

Before being awarded a second bachelor's degree, a student must earn a minimum of 30 semester hours in addition to the minimum hours needed for the first degree, regardless of whether the two degrees are awarded simultaneously or successively. For the third and further bachelor's degree, students must earn a minimum of 30 additional semester hours for each additional bachelor's degree. The minimum number of hours a student must earn for a third or further bachelor's degree will be based on the total number of hours required for the previous bachelor's degree with the greatest number of hours.

All requirements are exactly the same for a second or additional baccalaureate as for the first degree.

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Degree Requirement Exceptions

Students may petition for exceptions to university or college degree requirements with good reason. A petition should be filed with the major department, and it will be forwarded to the office of the dean of the college. College requirements may be decided by the dean, but university requirements (e.g., residency requirements) must be forwarded to the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs for final action.

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Binding and Distribution of Senior Honors Thesis for Undergraduates

Two originals and two copies of the approved honors thesis should be submitted to the office of the dean of the college responsible for the academic field of study in which the thesis was written for binding before or on the college's binding deadline. Students who fail to meet these deadlines may be required to refile applications for graduation for a subsequent semester.

Two original copies of the thesis are retained by the M.D. Anderson Library for public access, one copy goes to the Honors College, and one copy may go to the major department/college responsible for the academic field of study in which the thesis was written. Binding fees for theses vary. Students should check with the office of the dean of the college responsible for the academic field of study in which the thesis was written for specific procedures and requirements.

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Catalog Publish Date: August 19, 2010
This Page Last Updated: May 17, 2011
Effective Date of Archive: August 15, 2011