Mission

The School of Undergraduate Studies serves students by sustaining a dynamic common curriculum and by enriching the undergraduate experience through innovative advising, learning communities, interdisciplinary programs, and undergraduate research.

COMMON CURRICULUM:
To instill in each student the distinctive traits of a University of Texas graduate and broadly educated person. To ensure a high-quality core curriculum by setting and enforcing standards for the courses required of all undergraduate students, working closely with the other colleges and schools. To develop and maintain innovative classes for first-year students. To set standards for and to evaluate courses that satisfy campus-wide requirements in writing and speaking, ethics and leadership, global cultures, cultural diversity, quantitative reasoning, and independent inquiry. To support ongoing curricular innovation and teaching excellence in these courses and throughout the undergraduate curriculum.

STRATEGIC ADVISING:
To offer advising services that help students find coherent paths through the university that suit their academic and career interests, focusing on students who are unsure of their majors or who are considering a change. To help students explore the resources of the University in areas that interest them. To provide training and resources for advisors from every college and school.

LEARNING COMMUNITIES:
To cultivate community-based academic experiences, especially for first-year students, through seminars, interest groups, residence hall-based interaction with faculty, and honors programs. To foster leadership among students in these communities, especially through training student mentors.

INTERDISCIPLINARY PROGRAMS:
To create and coordinate interdisciplinary certificate and degree granting programs, working closely with the other colleges and schools. To develop integrated strands of courses for satisfying core requirements.

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH:
To foster undergraduate participation in the creative activity and cutting edge research that flourish at a top university.