Six Requirements

Interdisciplinary & Contemporary Content

Students acquire knowledge through the symbiotic relationship of interdisciplinary study. For example, science will inform your interpretation of a painting and vice versa, or you will see how law, foreign policy, marketing, and education all influence the economy. Also, all classes will have contemporary content, though it may not be evident in the title. An history professor teaching a course about the Peloponnesian War can use the course’s content inform student’s understanding of modern day conflict.

Information Literacy

Signature Courses will incorporate ways for students to learn and critically examine valid sources of information. This is achieved in various ways with the help of the libraries and various resources on campus.

Written & Oral Communication

All students, through writing and oral presentation, will become effective communicators on the college level. Though the large format courses do not satisfy the writing requirement, there will be ample opportunity to hone these skills, which will be used throughout each student’s academic career.

Top Faculty

Signature Courses may be taught by distinguished faculty from any college or school at the university. These must be regular departmental faculty who have been recommended as good teachers by their department chairs. The program calls for regular faculty in the hope that that incoming students will come to know faculty with whom they may wish to work in later years. (Regular faculty include tenured and tenure-track professors, as well as senior lecturers and, in special cases, adjunct or emeriti professors.)

University Lecture Series

The University Lecture Series gives students an opportunity to interact with leading members of our faculty—scholars, scientists, and civic leaders who are nationally and internationally renowned. Signature Course students will be required to attend one of three lectures, each designed to create a campus-wide conversation.
Find out more about upcoming and past lectures

Gems of the University

The University of Texas has a wide array of world-class resources available to students. From the Harry Ransom Center to Waller Creek, these resources are incorporated into the Signature Course as a means informing course content and student research.