Degrees: Undergraduate-Level

Bachelor of Arts (BA) Degrees

The specific requirements of individual majors leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree vary widely. There are more than 50 majors from which to choose across seven divisions of study, or academic schools, on campus - architecture, business, engineering, humanities, music, natural sciences and social sciences - with each school offering a Bachelor of Arts degree option.* No academic department or program may specify more than 80 semester credit hours (including prerequisites, required courses, and related laboratories) for their major leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree. Students pursuing the Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in architecture must complete at least 45 semester credit hours in coursework outside of major requirements.

Bachelor of Science (BS) Degrees

  • in the Wiess School of Natural Sciences

The Bachelor of Science degree is offered with majors in astrophysics; biosciences; chemical physics; chemistry; earth, environmental and planetary sciences; environmental science; mathematics; neuroscience; and physics. The specific degree requirements vary from field to field and differ from those of the Bachelor of Arts in that there are greater technical requirements. No academic department or program may specify more than 80 semester credit hours (including prerequisites, required courses, and related laboratories) for their major leading to the Bachelor of Science degree. 

  • in the George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing

The Bachelor of Science degree in a given engineering field is distinct from the Bachelor of Arts degree in that it should meet greater technical requirements than the associated BA degree with a major in the same engineering field. In establishing a departmental major for the Bachelor of Science degrees, academic departments or programs may specify up to a defined maximum number of hours of coursework towards that major (including prerequisites, required courses, and related laboratories). The Bachelor of Science degree is offered with majors in statistics or operations research, along with the following named Bachelor of Science in engineering degrees:

  • Bioengineering (BSBE degree)
  • Chemical Engineering (BSChE degree)
  • Civil Engineering (BSCE degree)
  • Computer Science (BSCS degree)
  • Electrical and Computer Engineering (BSECE degree)
  • Environmental Engineering (BSEnvE degree)
  • Materials Science and NanoEngineering (BSMSNE degree)
  • Mechanical Engineering (BSME degree)

For the declared majors associated with the named Bachelor of Science in engineering degrees, the Bioengineering department specifies up to 99 total semester credit hours of coursework towards its major; the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering department up to 95 semester credit hours; the Civil and Environmental Engineering department up to 92 for Civil Engineering and up to 91 for Environmental Engineering; the Computer Science department up to 72; the Electrical and Computer Engineering department up to 83; the Materials Science and NanoEngineering department up to 91; and the Mechanical Engineering department specifies up to 87 total semester credit hours of coursework.   

To earn the corresponding named Bachelor of Science in engineering degrees, students must meet the following minimum total semester credit hours of coursework: 

  • Bioengineering majors — a total of at least 131 semester credit hours 
  • Chemical Engineering majors — a total of 127 semester credit hours 
  • Civil Engineering majors — a total of at least 125 semester credit hours 
  • Computer Science majors — a total of at least 120 semester credit hours 
  • Electrical and Computer Engineering majors — a total of at least 125 semester credit hours  
  • Environmental Engineering majors — a total of at least 124 semester credit hours  
  • Materials Science and NanoEngineering majors — a total of at least 125 semester credit hours 
  • Mechanical Engineering majors — a total of at least 127 semester credit hours  

These named degree programs leading to the Bachelor of Science degrees in Bioengineering (BSBE), Chemical Engineering (BSChE), Civil Engineering (BSCE), Electrical and Computer Engineering (BSECE), Materials Science and NanoEngineering (BSMSNE), and Mechanical Engineering (BSME) are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org. 

Other Bachelor’s Degrees 

The professional Bachelor of Architecture (BArch) degree offered by the School of Architecture requires a fifth year of study and a one-year preceptorship. The Bachelor of Music (BMus) degree offered by the Shepherd School of Music requires advanced courses in performance and ensemble in addition to the core music curriculum.

*Note: While the Glasscock School of Continuing Studies does have graduate-level degree and graduate certificate offerings, they do not offer any undergraduate-level degree programs at this time.