Texas Core Curriculum
Each institution of higher education that offers an undergraduate academic degree program shall develop its core curriculum by using the Board-approved purpose, core objectives, and foundational component areas of the Texas Core Curriculum.
Statement of Purpose
Through the Texas Core Curriculum, students will gain a foundation of knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world, develop principles of personal and social responsibility for living in a diverse world, and advance intellectual and practical skills that are essential for all learning.
Core Objectives
- Critical Thinking Skills
- To include creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, and analysis, evaluation and synthesis of information.
- Communication Skills
- To include effective development, interpretation and expression of ideas through written, oral and visual communication.
- Empirical and Quantitative Skills
- To include the manipulation and analysis of numerical data or observable facts resulting in informed conclusions.
- Teamwork
- To include the ability to consider different points of view and to work effectively with others to support a shared purpose or goal.
- Social Responsibility
- To include intercultural competence, knowledge of civic responsibility, and the ability to engage effectively in regional, national, and global communities.
- Personal Responsibility
- To include the ability to connect choices, actions and consequences to ethical decision-making.
Foundational Component Areas
There are nine Foundational Component Areas (FCA), including one Component Area Option (CAO). The CAO may provide options for students to choose additional courses from the other FCA. Each FCA has a component description as definition, a set number of Semester Credit Hours (SCH) required for completion of a component, and specified core objectives requirements.
The nine Foundational Component Areas are:
History And Constitution Requirements
Senate Bill 254, passed by the 54th Legislature and amended by House Bill 935 of the 60th Legislature, provides that no individuals may receive an undergraduate degree unless they have credit for six semester hours or its equivalent in American history and six semester hours credit in the constitutions of the United States and Texas.
Please see the “American History ” and “Government/Political Science ” core categories respectively for specific information about how these History and Constitution Requirements impact the UH Core Curriculum.
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