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Fall 2007 - Summer 2008

College of Liberal Arts
and Social Sciences

General CLASS Degree and
Certification Programs Information

Degree Requirements

All candidates for bachelor's degrees in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) - Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Music - must meet the following general college requirements. Since some major fields of study may impose additional or higher requirements, students should refer to the department section of this catalog for complete requirements and total number of hours required for a specific major.

The following are the minimum college requirements for a bachelor's degree in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS).

1. Satisfactory completion of at least 120 semester hours of acceptable credit. (Students sometimes may be able to use a single course to satisfy more than one degree requirement; however, a student may not "double count" such a course for purposes of satisfying the 120 semester hour requirement.)
   
   
2. Satisfactory completion of all university core curriculum requirements.

3. Satisfactory completion of at least 30 semester hours of credit in residence at the University of Houston.
4. Satisfactory completion of the last 30 semester hours of credit to be applied toward the degree in residence at the university.
5. Satisfactory completion of at least 36 semester hours of credit in advanced courses (i.e. 3000- or 4000-level). Repeated advanced courses may not count towards this requirement.
6. Satisfactory completion of at least 27 semester hours of credit in one major field of study.
7. Satisfactory completion of at least 18 semester hours of advanced credit in one major field of study. (Students seeking teacher certification must fulfill specific requirements stated under Teacher Certification Program in the College of Education section of this catalog.)
8. Satisfactory completion of at least 15 semester hours of credit, at least 12 of which shall be advanced, in the major, in residence at the university.
9. A minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.00 on all work attempted in residence at the university.
10. A minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.00 on all work attempted in the major in residence.

1. Students shall not receive course credit by special examination in any field of study in CLASS if they have ever enrolled in course work in that field of study at the University of Houston or any other ac-credited college or university.
   
   
2. Courses designated as remedial courses, such as ENGL 1300, MATH 1300, or READ 1300, shall not apply toward the 120 hour semester requirement for any degree in CLASS.
   
   
3. Students shall not apply credit for any TMTH (Technical Math) courses toward the core curriculum degree requirements for any degree in CLASS, unless the course was successfully completed while they were majors in the College of Technology.
   
   
4. Students shall not apply more credit toward their degrees in CLASS than is indicated below for the following courses:
   
   
   No more than a combined total of 8 semester hours from DAN 1106, 1107, 1110, 1111, 1112, 1113, 1115, 1211, 1213, and 1215.
   
   
   
   No more than a combined total of 8 semester hours from MUSI 1100, 1101, 1102, 1103, 1110, 1120, 1121, and 1140.
   
   
   
   No more than a combined total of 8 semester hours from THEA 1111 and 1112.
   
   
   
5. Unless they are obtaining a minor in Kinesiology, or are candidates for teacher certification with a second teaching field in Kinesiology, students may apply credit toward any degree in CLASS for only the following courses offered by the Department of Health and Human Performance:
   
   

   1. No more than three semester hours in KIN or PEB physical activities.
      
      
   2. KIN 1252, 3300, 3301, 3304, 3305, 3306, 3309, 3325, 3360, 4200, 4307, 4310, 4315, 4325, 4345, 4350, 4355, 4360, 4365, 4370.

    

6. Courses numbered 6000 or higher are normally limited to graduate and postbaccalaureate students. Students may request permission from their department or college to enroll in these classes.

In addition to meeting the general university and college degree requirements previously stated, candidates for the Bachelor of Arts degree in CLASS must complete the following college requirements, all of which may be satisfied either by course credit or credit by examination:

1. Satisfactory completion of six semester hours of credit at the 2000-level or higher in one foreign language.
   
   
2. Satisfactory completion of nine additional semester hours of credit in three of the following fields of study:
   African American studies (AAS), American cultures (AMER), anthropology (ANTH), Arabic (ARAB), art (ART), art history (ARTH), Chinese (CHNS), classical studies (CLAS), communication (COMM), communication disorders (COMD), dance (DAN), economics (ECON), English (ENGL), French (FREN), geography (GEOG), German (GERM), Greek (GREK), Hebrew (HEBR), history (HIST), honors (HON), interdisciplinary studies (ILAS), Italian (ITAL), Japanese (JPNS), Latin (LATN), Latin American Studies, Mexican American studies (MAS), music (MUED, MUSA, and MUSI), philosophy (PHIL), political science (POLS), psychology (PSYC), religious studies (RELS), Russian (RUSS), sociology (SOC), Spanish (SPAN), theatre (THEA), Turkish (TURK), Vietnamese (VIET), women's studies (WOST), world cultures and literature (WCL)
   - with the following restrictions:
   
   1. credit must be in a field of study outside the student's major.
   2. credit must be in addition to that used to satisfy any core curriculum requirement.
   3. credit must be in addition to that used to satisfy the B.A. degree's foreign language requirement.
      
      
3. Satisfactory completion of one of the following requirements:
   1. a second bachelor's degree.
   2. a second major.
   3. an approved minor.
   4. a senior honors thesis.
   5. Teacher Certification.
   6. Interdisciplinary Studies option #1: at least 18 hours, at least nine of which must be advanced and completed in residence, in at least two fields of study. No more than three hours can be in the student's major. The final 12 hours of the plan of study must be approved in advance by the chair of the student's major and the Director of Academic Affairs. Additional work may be required. The application for this option may be obtained from the student's primary advisor or the Dean's Academic Affairs Center.
   7. Interdisciplinary Studies option #2: a cluster of at least nine hours of separate courses at the advanced (3000-4000) level that deals with complementary content as viewed from different disciplinary perspectives. Each course must come from a different department and no more than one course can be from the student's primary major. The cluster shall be constructed by the student and the appropriate instructors so as to promote interdisciplinary study and must be approved in advance by the three instructors involved, the student's academic advisor, the faculty director of the student's major, and the Director of Academic Affairs. The application for this option may be obtained from the student's primary advisor or the Dean's Academic Affairs Center. All signatures of approval must be completed prior to the 12th day of class for all fall or spring semesters and 4th day of class for summer terms. Additional work may be required and no previous course work may be used for this option.
      
      
4. Satisfactory completion of the stated requirements for the major.

Bachelor of Science Degree

In addition to meeting the general university and college degree requirements previously stated, candidates for the Bachelor of Science degree in CLASS must complete the following college requirements, all of which may be satisfied either by course credit or credit by examination:

1. Satisfactory completion of six semester hours of credit in the formal sciences (i.e., mathematics, computer science, formal logic, or statistics), at least three of which must be in mathematics, unless the student satisfied the core curriculum requirement in Mathematics/Reasoning with a course in mathematics. Courses used to satisfy this requirement shall be selected from either those in the Mathematics or Mathematics/Reasoning categories of the core curriculum or those that have as a prerequisite at least six hours of such core curriculum courses.
   
   
2. Satisfactory completion of at least two semester hours of credit in the natural sciences (i.e., biochemistry [BCHS], biology [BIOL], chemistry [CHEM], geology [GEOL], physics [PHYS]). Laboratory courses may be used to satisfy this requirement.
   
   
3. Satisfactory completion of nine additional semester hours of credit in three of the following fields of study:
   African American studies (AAS), American cultures (AMER), anthropology (ANTH), Arabic (ARAB), art (ART), art history (ARTH), Chinese (CHNS), classical studies (CLAS), communication (COMM), communication sciences and disorders (COMD), dance (DAN), economics (ECON), English (ENGL), French (FREN), geography (GEOG), German (GERM), Greek (GREK), Hebrew (HEBR), history (HIST), honors (HON), interdisciplinary studies (ILAS), Italian (ITAL), Japanese (JPNS), Latin (LATN), Latin American Studies, Mexican American studies (MAS), music (MUED, MUSA, and MUSI), philosophy (PHIL), political science (POLS), psychology (PSYC), religious studies (RELS), Russian (RUSS), sociology (SOC), Spanish (SPAN), theatre (THEA), Turkish (TURK), Vietnamese (VIET), women's studies (WOST), world cultures and literature (WCL)
   -with the following restrictions:
   
   1. credit must be in a field of study outside the student's major.
   2. credit must be in addition to that used to satisfy any core curriculum requirement.
   3. credit must be in addition to that used to satisfy the BA degree's foreign language requirement.
      
      
4. Satisfactory completion of one of the following requirements:
   
   1. a second bachelor's degree.
   2. a second major.
   3. an approved minor.
   4. a senior honors thesis.
   5. Teacher Certification.
   6. Interdisciplinary Studies option #1: at least 18 hours, at least nine of which must be advanced and completed in residence, in at least two fields of study. No more than three hours can be in the             student's major. The final 12 hours of the plan of study must be approved in advance by the chair of the student's major and the Director of Academic Affairs. Additional work may be required.
   7. Interdisciplinary Studies option #2: a cluster of at least nine hours of separate courses at the advanced (3000-4000) level that deals with complementary content as viewed from different disciplinary perspectives. Each course must come from a different department and no more than one course can be from the student's primary major. The cluster shall be constructed by the student and the appropriate instructors so as to promote interdisciplinary study and must be approved in advance by the three instructors involved, the student's academic advisor, the faculty director of the student's major, and the Director of Academic Affairs. The application for this option may be obtained from the student's primary advisor or the Dean's Academic Affairs Center. All signatures of approval must be completed prior to the 12th day of class for all fall or spring semesters and 4th day class for summer terms. Additional work may be required and no previous course work may be used for this option .
      
      
5. Satisfactory completion of the stated requirements for the major.

Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree

Candidates for the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in CLASS must satisfactorily complete the university core curriculum requirements previously listed and the stated requirements for the major.

Bachelor of Music Degree

Candidates for the Bachelor of Music degree in CLASS must satisfactorily complete the university core curriculum requirements previously listed and the stated requirements for the major.

CLASS Minors - Minimum Requirements

Minimum requirements for a minor in CLASS are:

1. Fifteen semester hours of which nine must be advanced.
2. Nine semester hours in residence of which six must be advanced.
3. A 2.00 cumulative grade point average on all courses attempted in the minor field at the University of Houston.

For additional requirements and other information regarding minor courses of study, refer to the specific department section and contact the department that offers the minor.

The Bauer College of Business Administration, in cooperation with CLASS, offers five minors in International Area Studies: African Studies, Asian Studies, European Studies, and Latin American Studies. Students interested in a minor in one of the International Area Studies should contact the Office of Student Services in the Bauer College of Business Administration for more detailed information.

Advanced Degrees

The university offers several advanced degrees through CLASS. For more information about advanced degrees, refer to the appropriate department or the Graduate and Professional Studies catalog.

Teacher Certification Programs

The University of Houston offers bachelor's degree programs that meet the Texas State Board of Education requirements for the Provisional Teaching Certificate.

Programs of study leading to certification are approved jointly by CLASS and the College of Education. In this college, students may pursue certification in Art, Dance, English, French, German, History, Italian, Journalism, Latin, Music, Spanish, Social Studies Composite, and Speech Communication.

Students will take professional education courses in the College of Education and subject matter courses in this college. Advisors in CLASS will prepare students' degree plans. Consult academic advisors in the department of the major each semester and regularly consult with advisors in the College of Education. See the College of Education section of this catalog for a more complete explanation of these options.

Note: Rules and regulations are set forth by the State of Texas and are subject to change at any time. The College of Education reserves the right to make changes to accommodate the State Board for Educator Certification, the Coordinating Board, and university decisions.

CLASS Requirements for Entry into College of Education's Quality Education for Students and Teachers (QUEST) Sequence

To be eligible to apply for acceptance into the College of Education's QUEST Sequence, students whose primary major is in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLASS) must satisfy all of the following requirements.

1. Achieve at least minimum passing scores on the Texas Higher Education Assessment (THEA): Reding 250, Math 230, Writing 240.
2. Demonstrate speech proficiency. This may be done by earning a grade of C or higher in either COMM 1331 or 1332.
3. Demonstrate computer proficiency. This may be done by satisfactorily completing CUIN 3313.
   

To qualify for admission to the QUEST sequence in any teaching field(s) in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, students must satisfy the following requirements in addition to those required for their bachelor's degrees.

1. Have an overall cumulative grade point average of at least 2.50 .
2. Have a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.50 on all courses taken to satisfy the major requirements in the teaching field(s).

For further information on teacher certification programs, consult the College of Education section of this catalog or academic advisors in the major fields of study offered for teacher certification in this college.

University of Houston
College of Education
Office of Student Services
112 Farish Hall
Houston, TX 77204-5002
713-743-5046

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Last updated:
Thursday, October 25, 2007 - 11:30 AM

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