Dean Mary Ann Rankin of the College of Natural Sciences
has filed with the secretary of the Faculty Council proposed addition
of the Texas Interdisciplinary Plan Curriculum in the College of Natural
Sciences chapter in
The Undergraduate Catalog, 2006-2008. The
faculty of the college approved the changes on October 21, 2004. The
dean approved the proposed changes on December 1, 2005, and submitted
them to the secretary on December 12, 2005. The secretary has classified
this proposal as legislation of exclusive application and primary interest
to a single college or school.
The edited proposal was received from the Office of Official Publications on
March 13, 2006, and was sent to the Committee on Undergraduate Degree Program
Review from the Office of the General Faculty on March 30, 2006. The committee
forwarded the proposed changes to the Office of the General Faculty on April
10, 2006, recommending approval. The authority to grant final approval on behalf
of the General Faculty resides with the Faculty Council.
If no objection is filed with the Office of the General Faculty by the date specified
below, the legislation will be held to have been approved by the Faculty Council.
If an objection is filed within the prescribed period, the legislation will be
presented to the Faculty Council at its next meeting. The objection, with reasons,
must be signed by a member of the Faculty Council.
To be counted, a protest must be received in the Office of the General
Faculty by noon on April 21, 2006.
Sue Alexander Greninger, Secretary
The Faculty Council
This legislation was posted on the Faculty Council Web site (
http://www.utexas.edu/faculty/council/)
on April 13, 2006. Paper copies are available on request from the Office
of the General Faculty, WMB 2.102, F9500.
| On page 414,
under the heading GENERAL INFORMATION in the COLLEGE
ACADEMIC PROGRAMS section in the College of Natural Sciences chapter of The
Undergraduate Catalog, 2004-2006, make the following changes: |
TEXAS INTERDISCIPLINARY PLAN (TEXAS IP) CURRICULUM
The Texas Interdisciplinary Plan (Texas IP) curriculum allows students to
pursue an integrated course of study with a focus on the development and application
of critical thinking skills. The eighteen-semester-hour program of study is
designed to complement the student’s major with an interdisciplinary
sequence of courses that may encompass the humanities, the social sciences,
the natural sciences, and the arts. Students have the opportunity to present
an original work in a capstone seminar. Those who plan to pursue the Texas
IP curriculum should apply to the program adviser for admission no later than
the end of their sophomore year. For more information, see http://www.utexas.edu/tip/TexasIP/.
Students who complete the requirements for the Texas IP curriculum receive a
certificate. The requirements are
| 1. |
Critical Thinking Seminar:Liberal Arts 302, Philosophy 311, Natural
Sciences 302, or Natural Sciences 311. Selected courses may be substituted
on a petition basis.
|
| 2. |
Critical Writing Seminar: Rhetoric and Writing 309K or 309S. Selected
courses in the Division of Rhetoric and Writing may be substituted on a
petition basis.
|
| 3. |
Three additional courses, including at least three semester hours of upper-division
coursework, from an interdisciplinary strand prescribed by the Texas Interdisciplinary
Plan; or, with approval of the Texas IP Faculty Advisory Panel, a three-course
interdisciplinary strand designed by the student.
|
| 4. |
Senior Capstone Seminar: Liberal Arts 371 or Natural Sciences
371. |
In the College of Liberal Arts, the Texas IP curriculum may be used to fulfill
the minor requirement in the Bachelor of Arts, Plan I, with the exception
of majors in Latin American studies, if all eighteen semester hours are completed.
Spanish majors pursuing the Hispanic linguistics concentration are also excluded
from using the Texas IP curriculum for the minor. Final approval of the Texas
IP minor coursework rests with the College of Liberal Arts associate dean
for academic and student affairs or the associate dean’s authorized
representative.
In the College of Natural Sciences, the Texas IP curriculum may be used to
complement any major. Some courses that are required by the Texas IP curriculum
will also fulfill degree requirements established by the student’s major
department and given later in this chapter; however, some of the eighteen hours
of coursework in the curriculum may be in addition to the number of hours required
for the degree.
RATIONALE:
The Texas IP is designed to give students the opportunity to designate an
interdisciplinary curriculum that can be integrated within existing degree
plans and is organized around a faculty-approved topic that reflects students'
intellectual interests. The curriculum stresses the application of critical
thinking and writing skills, and the ability to identify and address knowledge
gaps in the chosen topic.
