Bachelor’s Degree Requirements

General Requirements for a Bachelor’s Degree

All candidates for a bachelor’s degree at UH-Victoria must meet the following outline of minimal requirements. Additional requirements may be imposed by the individual academic college.*

1. Complete a minimum of 120 semester hours of work, unless enrolled in a plan that requires additional hours.* With exception to the RN to BSN and B.A.A.S. programs, at least 36 of the 120 semester hours are to be advanced (upper-division), according to the requirements of the respective degree plans, and at least 18 of these 36 advanced semester hours must be in the student’s plan. The RN to BSN program requires at least 30 of the minimum 120 semester hours to be advanced. The B.A.A.S. programs require at least 40 of the minimum 120 semester hours to be advanced.  Any change or substitution must have the approval of the appropriate dean or with the advice and consent of the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs.
2. Core Curriculum: State law requires that all University of Houston-Victoria students complete a general education Core Curriculum of 42 semester credit hours that serves as a broad foundation for the undergraduate degree. UH-Victoria’s 42-hour core curriculum is based on a series of basic intellectual competencies–reading, writing, speaking, listening, critical thinking, and computer literacy-that are essential to the learning process in any discipline. The University’s Core Curriculum requirements are described in the sections that follow. These requirements must be met by every student pursuing a baccalaureate degree program at UH-Victoria, regardless of his or her major.

General Core Curriculum guidelines:

1. A course taken for core credit cannot be counted in the hours applied to the major (no “double dipping”). If a course in a student’s major field is also approved for core credit, the student must elect to take the course either for core credit or for credit toward the major, provided the department of the student’s major approves.
2. No upper-division course shall be approved to fulfill a foundational component area requirement in the core curriculum, unless the course is on the institution’s list of core curriculum courses approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
3. A core class cannot be taken for more than one core area. This includes courses that are cross-listed in two or more departments and are approved for two or more areas of the core.
4. A minimum of 42 hours are required for the core.
5. In accordance with the Texas Education Code, Chapter 61, Subchapter S, the UHV Core Curriculum consists of 42 semester credit hours of coursework. If a student successfully completes the entire core curriculum at another public institution of higher education in Texas, that block of courses may be transferred to any other public institution of higher education in Texas and must be substituted for the receiving institution’s core curriculum. Students will receive academic credit for each of the courses transferred and may not be required to take additional core curriculum courses at the receiving institution unless the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has approved a larger core curriculum at that institution.
   
   Students who have completed a portion of the Core Curriculum at another Texas public institution of higher education may use that coursework to satisfy UHV Core Curriculum requirements if:
    

• the course is designated as meeting a Core Curriculum requirement at the institution, and
• the course fits within the UHV Core Curriculum.
  
  For transfer purposes, the designated Texas Common Course Numbering (TCCN) System courses will be accepted in transfer in lieu of these courses. Students should consult with an academic advisor to determine the sequence of courses in the Core Curriculum and the major.

6. If a student does not complete all of the Core Curriculum at another Texas public institution of higher education before matriculating at UHV, the student will receive credit for the portion completed and then may be required to complete additional courses from the UHV Core Curriculum. Note: Some degree programs require completion of core courses (e.g., speech and computer literacy/proficiency) even if the student is certified as core complete by way of transfer from a Texas public institution of higher education. See individual degree program descriptions in this catalog for more information.
7. Except as described in #5, substitutions for core courses are not permitted.
8. If a class counts as a core at another Texas public institution, UHV must accept that class for the area of the core for which it was taken.
9. Courses from private or out-of-state institutions must be evaluated for core credit based on their teaching and testing of the approved core educational objectives. Requests for evaluation of potential core courses should be sent to the student’s academic college. Courses must meet UHV’s approved core educational objectives and may require review by faculty in that particular discipline. Additional documentation such as official transcript(s) and/or course syllabi may be required.
10. Any student concurrently enrolled at more than one institution of higher education must follow the core curriculum of the institution in which they are classified as a degree-seeking student. Accordingly, all undergraduate degree-seeking students at UHV must meet the core curriculum requirements set for by UHV to be considered core complete.

Core Curriculum for Students First Entering College in Fall 2014 or after.

Fall 2014 or later Core courses presently offered:

1. Other Requirements
   1. A 2.0 grade point average is the minimum permitted for graduation, as applied to credit hours attempted at this institution. Students are therefore expected to maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.0. Averages below that number may result in probation and suspension, as specified in the section entitled ‘Academic Probation or Suspension’. For graduation requirements and academic probation and suspension, only the last completion grade recorded for repeated courses is used in computing the grade point average for courses at UHV. However, all courses attempted are included in the grade point average, including repeated courses, for undergraduate graduation with honors. Any grade of I not made up by the date of graduation will be treated as an F for the determination of graduation requirements.
   2. A cumulative grade point average of 2.0 (A=4.0) is required for all hours attempted in the plan at this institution. Grades for repeated courses are computed as in IIIA above. Students in the College of Business cannot accumulate more than two D’s in the business plan. Any grade of I not made up by the date of graduation will be treated as an F for the determination of graduation requirements.
   3. 30 of the last 36 advanced semester hours must be completed with UH-Victoria. These residence hours are not to include correspondence work. The following regulations are in effect:
      • Maximum correspondence credit applicable to the degree is 18 semester hours, with no more than six applicable toward the plan.
      • Complete a minimum of six semester hours of advanced work in the plan field in residence at this university.
   4. In addition to these general requirements, the candidate for graduation must meet all special degree requirements outlined by the appropriate academic program of the student’s plan.
   5. Students must be clear from academic probation at the time of graduation.
   6. In addition to other graduation requirements, students in teacher education programs must meet all requirements for admission to and retention in the teacher education program.
   7. All students entering with less than 30 semester hours are required to take UNIV 1300 - First Year Seminar, or UNIV 1302 - Freshman Seminar:  English Satellite, or UNIV 1303 - Freshman Seminar: Math Satellite.”

Undergraduate Double Majors

Students may earn and receive credit for more than one plan (major). This provision is often referred to as a “double major”, consisting of a first plan and an additional plan or, in rare instances, more than one additional plan. The following conditions apply:

• The plans must lead to the same baccalaureate degree (e.g., both must lead to a B.A. or B.S.), rather than one leading to a B.A. and one to a B.S.). Otherwise, the conditions for an additional bachelor’s degree apply.
• Both plans (majors) must be on UH-Victoria’s Inventory of Approved Degree Programs with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
• Non-disciplinary majors such as Applied Arts and Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies shall not be allowed in multi-major degree programs. Additionally, Computer Science and Computer Information Systems majors are not eligible to double major.
• Only one plan will be used for institutional data reports, whichever one the student indicates as the primary plan.
• Both plans (majors) will be noted on the transcript and diploma of students who are certified with double majors.
• The major requirement hours completed for each additional major must be unique to each major, and completed with the University of Houston-Victoria.
• Students must earn a 2.00 minimum grade point average in all courses attempted in each major at the university.
• A student may elect to stop pursuing the double major at any time before certification for graduation by submitting a Change of Plan (Major) form. The student would continue with just the one primary major.
• Only one degree is awarded for a double major.
• Students pursuing a double major typically complete both majors before being graduated. However, students pursuing a double major who complete all degree requirements for one major but not the other may graduate with a single major and, as long as a student is continuously enrolled with UHV, excluding summers, a student can complete the remaining requirements for the second major without being subject to an additional 30 hour requirement. This applies only to undergraduate double majors. Students pursuing an additional or dual degree must complete the additional 30 hour requirement.

In the case where a student completes all degree requirements for just one major, the transcript and diploma will reflect only one major. When the second major is completed, the student should notify their academic advisor to confirm completion of the second major. Once the academic advisor confirms completion with the Registrar’s Office, the second major will be posted to the student’s transcript with the completion term/date noted. The student must forfeit the issued diploma to the Registrar’s Office in order to receive a diploma reflecting both majors.

Additional Bachelor’s Degree

The fact that a student has a bachelor’s degree from UH-Victoria or from another recognized institution does not preclude receiving an additional bachelor’s degree from UH-Victoria. A student pursuing a dual degree will, upon completion of all requirements, receive two separate degrees. E.g., two B.A.s, two B.S.s, or a combination of either B.A, B.S., B.B.A., etc. Students may not pursue more than two degree programs concurrently.

A student pursuing a second/dual degree must complete all university, college, and department/curricular requirements for the second degree not covered in the first. The following conditions apply:

• The courses taken to satisfy core curriculum, general education, and all other common lower-division requirements can be counted to meet the completion requirements of both degree programs.
• Both degrees/majors must be on UH-Victoria’s Inventory of Approved Degree Programs with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
• For each subsequent bachelor’s degree, the student must complete a minimum of 30 unique semester hours in addition to those earned toward previous degrees, and must be completed with the University of Houston-Victoria.
• Dual bachelor’s degrees: If two bachelor’s degrees are conferred simultaneously, the student must complete a minimum of 30 hours beyond the requirements of the single degree. Graduation will occur when the student has completed the requirements for both degrees.
• Students completing dual bachelor’s degrees receive two diplomas.