Undergraduate Academics

Robert Smith, Ph.D. Provost and Senior Vice President Office of the Provost 104 Administration Building Box 42019 Lubbock, TX 79409-2019 T 806.742.2184 F 806.742.1331 www.depts.ttu.edu/provost

Quick Links Overview Uniform Undergraduate Degree Requirements Core Curriculum Multicultural Requirement Foreign Language Requirement Writing Intensive Requirement Academic Regulations Undergraduate Honors Academic Status Policy (Probation/Suspension) Graduate-On-Time Incentives Undergraduate Fields of Study

Overview

Students are responsible for their academic progress. Students seeking assistance with academic progress or experiencing academic difficulty should consult their academic dean and advisor. For information about Academic Advising and Support, click here.

Each undergraduate student accepted for admission will matriculate in one of the university’s degree-granting colleges or areas, including the Colleges of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Architecture, Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, Engineering, Honors, Human Sciences, Mass Communications, Visual and Performing Arts, Outreach and Distance Education, and the Office of the Provost. A student’s major subject is the degree program in which he or she is working. A student interested in pursuing a double major or dual degree should contact his or her academic dean and advisor for specific requirements.

All baccalaureate degrees conferred by Texas Tech University are based on the satisfactory completion of specific authorized degree programs comprised of a minimum of 120 semester hours. Requirements for undergraduate degrees are established at three different levels:

1. The university as a whole (Uniform Undergraduate Degree Requirements).
2. The college or area through which the degree is conferred (General Degree Requirements).
3. The particular degree program in which the student is working (Requirements for the Major).
   

Students should familiarize themselves with all three sets of requirements that must be fulfilled before the degree is granted. Students should consult their academic dean and advisor whenever any question arises concerning academic status or progress. Matters specifically requiring the dean’s approval include the following:

• Concurrent enrollment
• Pass/fail option
• Credit by examination
• Withdrawal and honorable dismissal from the university
• Graduation requirements and candidacy for a degree
• Applicability of transfer credits to degree programs

Students pursuing an interdisciplinary bachelor’s degree in University Studies should consult their academic advisor whenever directed by the Undergraduate and Graduate Catalog to consult their academic dean.

 

Uniform Undergraduate Degree Requirements

The Uniform Undergraduate Degree Requirements apply to all Texas Tech undergraduates regardless of their major or college. The requirements have five components:

• General Requirements
• Core Curriculum Requirement
• Multicultural Requirement
• Foreign Language Requirement
• Writing Intensive Requirement
  

General Requirements

Residence Credit. The minimum actual residence required of each student is two consecutive semesters or the equivalent, and the minimum amount of residence work required is one-fourth of the total hours applicable toward the degree sought. In addition, the last 30 hours of coursework must be from Texas Tech. Texas Tech resident students may apply coursework completed at a distance through the university’s College of Outreach and Distance Education (ODE) toward a bachelor’s degree with prior approval of their academic dean. Students who have failed a course taken in residence may take that course or a degree-plan alternative through ODE with prior approval of the academic dean.

The term “residence” as a degree requirement should not be confused with “residence” in the state of Texas for tuition purposes. “Residence credit” used here means credit for work done while enrolled in and attending classes taught under a Texas Tech course number, including distance education courses and those taught at locations other than the Lubbock campus.

Graduation Under a Particular Catalog. A student is expected to complete the degree requirements set forth in a particular university catalog. Normally this will be the catalog in effect at the time the student enters a post-secondary school program, assuming that the program has not changed from the original degree objective. For the student who changes a degree objective after beginning a college career, the degree requirements in effect when the student is officially admitted to the college from which the degree is to be received will be applicable. Only with the specific approval of the academic dean may a different catalog be selected. In no case may a student complete the requirements set forth in a catalog more than seven years old. When necessary, a catalog issued later than the student’s first registration may be selected by the academic dean in conference with the student.

The annual catalog is published each summer, and its provisions apply during the following school year, beginning with the fall semester and extending through the summer terms. A student who registers for the first time in the university during a summer session is subject to the degree requirements set forth in the catalog effective for the fall semester immediately following the initial enrollment.

Filing “Intent to Graduate.” Students must file an “Intent to Graduate” or “Application for Degree” form with their college at least one calendar year before they plan to graduate. Veterans must file a degree plan by the time they have accumulated 64 semester hours. At this time students also will file a degree plan and receive a list of courses remaining to be taken to fulfill their program degree requirements.

Students will be granted only conditional admission to candidacy if they file a late application for a degree in the semester or summer session in which they expect to complete the work for a bachelor’s degree but have less than the number of grade points required for graduation.

Commencement Exercises. Diplomas are awarded at the end of each semester and the summer terms. Commencement exercises are held at the end of each long semester and at the end of the second summer term. Students may participate only in the commencement exercises that immediately follow completion of their degree.

Second Bachelor’s Degree. No second bachelor’s degree is conferred until the candidate has completed at least 24 semester hours—exclusive of credit by examination—in addition to the courses counted toward the first bachelor’s degree. A second bachelor’s degree sought by a student who did not graduate from a public Texas university must include the required Core Curriculum.
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Foreign Language Requirement

Students graduating from Texas Tech University should be able to express, negotiate, and interpret meaning in a second language.

Students of French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish should be able to express, negotiate, and interpret meaning at the intermediate–low level as measured by the American Council of Teaching Foreign Languages Proficiency Guidelines.

Students of Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Russian should be able to express, negotiate, and interpret meaning at the novice-high level as measured by the American Council of Teaching Foreign Languages Proficiency Guidelines.

Unless the second year of credit in a single foreign language has been received before entrance into the university, one year (or the equivalent) of a single language must be taken at the college level. This can be accomplished, for example, by successful completion of FREN 1502 or 1507. For most programs in the College of Arts and Sciences, sophomore level proficiency is required. International students whose native language is not English and who graduated from a secondary school using primarily their native language may satisfy this requirement by bringing their certificate of graduation to the academic dean’s office.

Students who take freshman level courses to satisfy the foreign language graduation requirement may not use those courses to satisfy any other specified university degree requirements. Hours in the required freshman level language courses may count toward free elective hours included in any baccalaureate degree.

The foreign language requirement may be met through credit by examination, described elsewhere in this catalog. Students who petition to complete the foreign language requirement via study abroad through a non-Texas Tech affiliated program must agree to have foreign language credit applied to their degrees based on scores on a language placement test administered by the language laboratory after their return from the study abroad. Approval to do this must be granted in advance by the student’s associate dean. For more information, consult the Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures.

Writing Intensive Requirement

Each degree program will include six hours of writing intensive coursework in the specific area of study. The fundamental objective of a writing intensive course is for students to write often and receive critical review from the course instructor. Students should be required to rewrite, based on the instructor’s critique.

The writing intensive course emphasizes the process as well as the products of writing. Faculty use writing to reinforce student learning. Students’ writing should formulate ideas, raise questions, and express considered opinions. Students’ written work should analyze, integrate, and synthesize as well as communicate.
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