Core Curriculum
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (Coordinating Board), with the assistance of its Undergraduate Education Advisory Committee, designed a 42 semester credit hour (SCH) core curriculum for all undergraduate students in Texas public higher education institutions.
The Coordinating Board approved the new core to be implemented in Fall 2014. Its purpose is to ensure that Texas undergraduate students enrolled in public institutions of higher education develop the essential knowledge and skills they need to be successful. The core curriculum helps make the process of transferring lower-division course credit among public colleges, universities, and health-related institutions throughout the state easier.
As of Fall 2014, all incoming freshman students to Texas public institutions will complete the new core curriculum requirements. Students enrolled prior to Fall 2014 may graduate under the previous rules for the core curriculum and must consult the Core Curriculum WebCenter for a list of courses.
Core Curriculum Courses
The courses listed on this site have been approved for inclusion in an institution’s core curriculum. No institutional representative may approve course substitutions or waivers of the institution's core curriculum requirements for any currently enrolled student, with certain exceptions noted in Coordinating Board rules Chapter 4.28 (k). All common core courses are grouped in eight Foundational Component Areas and one Component Area Option. Each Foundational Component Area has a maximum number of semester credit hours required.
The completed core curriculum is exactly 42 semester credit hours.
Resources
Texas Education Code (legislative statutes)
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Core Curriculum requirements: Texas Education Code 61.821-822
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American History requirement: Texas Education Code 51.302 (first adopted by the Texas Legislature in 1955)
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Government/Political Science requirement: Texas Education Code 51.301 (first adopted by the Texas Legislature in 1929)
Texas Administrative Code (Coordinating Board rules)
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Information about specific course equivalencies at Texas institutions can be found on the Texas Common Course Numbering System (TCCNS) website.