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Core Curriculum

The 2026-2027 UTRGV’s Core Curriculum consists of 42 credit hours grouped in eight Foundational Component Areas and one Component Area Option.

Requirements

010 - Communication (2 courses - 6 hours required; minimum grade of C)

CourseCourse Name
ENGL 1301Rhetoric and Composition I
ENGL 1302Rhetoric And Composition II
Or
ENGL 1305Writing Cultural Studies

020 - Mathematics (1 course - 3 hours required; minimum grade of C)

Choose one:

CourseCourse Name
MATH 1314College Algebra
MATH 1414College Algebra
MATH 1324Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences
MATH 1332Math for Liberal Arts
MATH 1342Elementary Statistical Methods
MATH 1343Introduction to Biostatistics
MATH 2412Precalculus
MATH 2413Calculus I

030 - Life and Physical Sciences (2 courses - 6 hours required; lecture only)

Choose two:

CourseCourse Name
ASTR 1401Introduction to Astronomy I
ASTR 1402Introduction to Astronomy II
BIOL 1406General Biology I
BIOL 1407General Biology II
BIOL 2401Anatomy and Physiology I
BIOL 2402Anatomy and Physiology II
CHEM 1311General Chemistry I
Or
CHEM 1309Chemistry for Engineers
CHEM 1312General Chemistry II
ENVR 1401Introduction to Environmental Science I
ENVR 1402Introduction to Environmental Science II
GEOL 1403Physical Geology
GEOL 1404Historical Geology
PHYS 1401General Physics I
PHYS 1402General Physics II
PHYS 2425Physics for Scientists and Engineers I
PHYS 2426Physics for Scientists and Engineers II
PSCI 1421Physical Science I
PSCI 1422Physical Science II
 

040 - Language, Philosophy and Culture (1 course - 3 hours required)

Choose one:

CourseCourse Name
ANTH 1302Human Cultures in World Prehistory
ANTH 1354The Anthropology of Expressive Culture
ENGL 2321Introduction to British Literature
ENGL 2326Introduction to American Literature
ENGL 2331Introduction to World Literature
ENGL 2341Introduction to Literature
ENGL 2351Introduction to Mexican American Literature
Or
MASC 2351Introduction to Mexican American Literature
FREN 2382Introduction to French Literature (in English)
GWSP 1301Introduction to Gender, Women's, and Sexuality Studies
GWSP 2301Concepts in Gender and Sexuality
HIST 2321World History I
HIST 2322World History II
MASC 2301Introduction to Mexican American Studies
MUSI 1309World Music Cultures
PHIL 1300Critical Thinking
PHIL 1301Introduction to Philosophy
PHIL 1304Introduction to World Religions
PHIL 1305Introduction to Latin American Philosophy
PHIL 1306Introduction to Asian Philosophy
PHIL 1310Ethics, Happiness, and the Good Life
PHIL 1312Introduction to Social and Political Philosophy
PHIL 1366Philosophy and History of Science and Technology
PHIL 2306Introduction to Ethics
PHIL 2322Ethics, Health, and Culture
PHIL 2326Ethics, Technology and Society
PHIL 2351Religion in the Global Community
SPAN 2320Latina/o Culture and Civilization in Spanish
SPAN 2330Introduction to Spanish and Latin American Literature

050 - Creative Arts (1 course - 3 hours required)

Choose one:

CourseCourse Name
ARTS 1301Art Appreciation
ARTS 1303Art History I, Prehistoric to the 14th-Century
ARTS 1304Art History II, 14th-Century to the Present
DANC 2323Dance Appreciation
ENGL 2312History of Film as Visual Art
Or
FILM 2312History of Film as a Visual Art
ENGL 2316Poetry Appreciation
FREN 2323Introduction to French Cinema in English
MUSI 1306Music Appreciation
MUSI 1308Music History and Literature I
MUSI 1310History of Rock
PHIL 1330Philosophy, Art, and Film
THTF 1310Theatre Appreciation
THTF 2366Cinema Appreciation

060 - American History (2 courses - 6 hours required)

Choose one:

CourseCourse Name
HIST 1301U.S. History I
HIST 2327Mexican American History I
Or
MASC 2327Mexican American History I

Choose one:

CourseCourse Name
HIST 1302U.S. History II
HIST 2328Mexican American History II
Or
MASC 2328Mexican American History II

070 - Government/Political Science (2 courses - 6 hours required)

Choose one:

CourseCourse Name
POLS 2305U.S. Federal Government & Politics

Choose one:

CourseCourse Name
POLS 2306Texas Government & Politics

080 - Social and Behavioral Sciences (1 course - 3 hours required)

Choose one:

CourseCourse Name
ANTH 1324Human Evolution
ANTH 2302Introduction to Archeology
ANTH 2351Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
ECON 1301Introduction to Economics
ECON 2301Principles of Macroeconomics
ENGL 2315Humans and Language
HDOS 2301Introduction to the Human Dimensions of Organizations
MEDH 2311Introduction to Medical and Health Humanities
PSYC 2301General Psychology
SOCI 1301Introduction to Sociology

090 - Integrative/Experiential Learning Option (6 hours required)

Applied Communication and Literacies (maximum 3 hours)

CourseCourse Name
COMM 1311Fundamentals of Human Communication
COMM 1315Public Speaking

Humanities (maximum 3 hours)

Students may also select an additional three-hour course from the (040) Language, Philosophy, and Culture area to complete the six required hours in the (090) Component Area Option.

CourseCourse Name
PHCE 1301Introduction to Public Heritage and Community Engagement

Science Labs (maximum 3 hours)

Students may use up to 3 hours from the lab component of any of the science courses listed in the Life & Physical Sciences component area (030) for the Integrative/Experiential Learning component area. Courses that have a separate lab are also listed below.

CourseCourse Name
ASTR 1401Introduction to Astronomy I
ASTR 1402Introduction to Astronomy II
BIOL 1406General Biology I
BIOL 1407General Biology II
BIOL 2401Anatomy and Physiology I
BIOL 2402Anatomy and Physiology II
CHEM 1111General Chemistry I Lab
Or
CHEM 1109Chemistry for Engineers Lab
CHEM 1112General Chemistry II Lab
ENVR 1401Introduction to Environmental Science I
ENVR 1402Introduction to Environmental Science II
GEOL 1403Physical Geology
GEOL 1404Historical Geology
PHYS 1401General Physics I
PHYS 1402General Physics II
PHYS 2425Physics for Scientists and Engineers I
PHYS 2426Physics for Scientists and Engineers II
PSCI 1421Physical Science I
PSCI 1422Physical Science II

Interdisciplinary (maximum 4 hours)

CourseCourse Name
ANTH 2311Global Health and Social Justice: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Illness and Inequality
ENST 1301Introduction to Environmental Studies
HONR 2388Honors Humanities II
INDS 2390Humanities in the World
INDS 2190Humanities and Service Learning
QUMT 2398Decision Analytics

Technologies (maximum 3 hours)

CourseCourse Name
CSCI 1380Introduction to Programming in Python
CSCI 1381Introduction to Programming C++

Language Diversity and Writing (maximum 4 hours)

CourseCourse Name
SPAN 2321Spanish in the United States
WRLS 1100Language Exploration Lab
WRLS 2301Multilingual Writing in Academic and Community Contexts

Nutrition

CourseCourse Name
NUTR 2350Discovering Nutrition