Our New Core Curriculum
A “university of the first class,” as the Texas Constitution calls us to be, cultivates the knowledge, judgment, and curiosity that enable students to continue learning and growing throughout their lives.
This is the purpose of a core curriculum. While a degree in a major provides specialized knowledge, the Core provides a broad intellectual foundation and common learning experience shared by all undergraduates. It introduces students to fundamental questions, ideas, and modes of inquiry while developing the habits of mind essential to a well-rounded education and human flourishing.
Our new Core Curriculum will provide every UT student with a rigorous and balanced education across the arts and humanities, social sciences, and STEM, preparing graduates for successful careers, thoughtful citizenship, and purposeful lives.
An Education for a Changing World
The need for a broad education has never been more important. The path from student to educated citizen develops enduring capacities: the ability to read deeply, write clearly, approach difficult questions with curiosity and analyze them with clarity, and cultivate sound judgment and prudent wisdom.
As new technologies transform how we work, communicate, and navigate life’s hardships and opportunities, a university education must combine the insights of the ages with the tools to thrive in a dynamic future. The new Core will help students navigate a changing world with discernment, curiosity, and resilience.
What Students Will Learn
The new Core will be organized around three foundational domains of knowledge: Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, and STEM. Together, they represent complementary ways of understanding human life, society, and the world around us. Across these areas, students will encounter enduring questions and consequential ideas that extend beyond any single discipline. They will examine questions of meaning and purpose, citizenship and self-government, scientific discovery, and the opportunities and challenges created by technological innovation.
How Students Will Learn
The new Core is designed to transcend a mere list of requirements. It will offer a shared intellectual experience that connects students across majors and disciplines. It will equip students to think well: to ask difficult questions, engage competing perspectives, arrive at well-reasoned judgments, and communicate those in a compelling and winsome manner. Students will develop these skills while acquiring a knowledge base grounded in the classic texts and thinkers that form a foundational education. These capacities are relevant for every profession. They matter equally for the responsibilities students assume as citizens, emerging leaders, and members of their communities.
Why Now
Our Core Curriculum has not undergone a meaningful review in more than twenty years. In Fall 2025, President Davis charged a faculty task force with undertaking a fundamental reconsideration of the Core and recommending how UT Austin could provide a stronger general education for every undergraduate. The Task Force worked diligently over the past year, consulting with faculty across campus, UT students, and academic leaders at other universities. The Task Force’s final report is included below.
"This is the promise of a first-class education. It cultivates graduates capable of leadership, service, curiosity, and lifelong learning. These are the traits we must build in a modern world where information is abundant, but wisdom is scarce. I am grateful to the faculty and students who helped define this new Core Curriculum, and for the leadership and support of Chairman Kevin Eltife and our Board of Regents as we advance this important work."
—President Davis
Component Areas
Arts & Humanities
Students will take courses in the following areas: Great Questions of Human Life; Western Civilization; U.S. History; Masterworks of Literature; Culture and the Arts
Social Sciences
Students will take courses in the following areas: Principles of American Politics; World Politics and Cultures; Foundations of Social Science
STEM
Students will take courses in the following areas: Great Ideas in Science; Computer Science and AI; Natural Science and Engineering; Math, Statistics, and Data Science
Task Force Report
With insight from faculty, students, and academic leaders, the Core Curriculum Task Force recommended an overhaul of the Core.
FAQs
The frequently asked questions provide additional information about the process, context, and future plans for the Core.
Timeline
Designing and implementing the new Core will require transition time. New courses should be available beginning Fall 2027.
Core Curriculum Task Force
The Task Force is made up of 22 distinguished faculty members from across the University.
News and Updates
Renewing Our Core Curriculum
The University of Texas at Austin has a duty to educate students for successful careers, thoughtful citizenship, and purposeful lives that benefit our state and nation. A strong core curriculum is central to that mission.
New Core Curriculum Refocuses Undergraduate Education at UT Austin
For the first time in more than 20 years, The University of Texas at Austin has undergone an extensive review of its Core Curriculum and will implement a new Core Curriculum as the foundational education for all undergraduate students.
Preparing Students for Leadership and Citizenship — The New Core Curriculum Task Force
Teaching an excellent core curriculum is one of the most fundamental public services of our University. Our students are entering a complex and challenging world.