Core Curriculum
TSU General Education Core – Academic Foundation & Credit Transfer
The General Education Core Curriculum at Texas Southern University (TSU) plays a vital role in equipping students with essential knowledge and competencies for college, careers, and lifelong learning. This 42-semester credit hour (SCH) program includes core courses in communication, mathematics, life and physical sciences, philosophy, creative arts, American history, political science, and social sciences.
Designed in alignment with the Texas Common Core Curriculum, this program ensures seamless credit transfer among public colleges, universities, and health-related institutions in Texas. Students who complete the full 42-SCH curriculum can transfer as "core complete" without repeating courses. Those transferring before completion receive credit for successfully completed courses, although they may not fully satisfy another institution’s core requirements.
TSU's curriculum fosters critical thinking, diverse perspectives, and interdisciplinary connections through reading, writing, analysis, discussions, and hands-on learning—preparing students for academic and career success.
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Core Curriculum Objectives at Texas Southern University
The core curriculum at Texas Southern University aims to develop essential competencies in students:
- Critical Thinking Skills: Foster creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, and the ability to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information.
- Communication Skills: Enhance the development, interpretation, and expression of ideas through written, oral, and visual communication.
- Empirical and Quantitative Skills: Improve the manipulation and analysis of numerical data or observable facts to draw informed conclusions.
- Teamwork: Cultivate the ability to consider different viewpoints and work effectively with others towards a shared goal.
- Personal Responsibility: Encourage connecting choices, actions, and consequences to ethical decision-making.
- Social Responsibility: Promote intercultural competence, civic responsibility, and effective engagement in regional, national, and global communities.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Communication 010 (6 hours) | ||
| Freshman English I (ENG 131) | 3 | |
| Freshman English II (ENG 132) | 3 | |
| Mathematics 020 (3 hours) - Select one course: | ||
| College Algebra (MATH 133) | 3 | |
| MATH 1316 | Plane Trigonometry (MATH 134) | 3 |
| Math and Business and Econ I (MATH 135) | 3 | |
| Contemporary Mathematics I (MATH 132) | 3 | |
| Elementary Statistics (MATH 231) | 3 | |
| Life and Physical Sciences 030 (6 hours) - Select six credits (depending on MAJOR): | ||
| Survey of Life Science (BIOL 143) | 3 | |
| Chemistry I (CHEM 131) | 3 | |
| College Physics I (PHYS 237) | 3 | |
| Language, Philosophy & Culture 040 (3 credits) - Select one course: | ||
| American Literature (ENG 235) | 3 | |
| African-American Literature (ENG 244) | 3 | |
| Creative Arts 050 (3 credits) - Select one course: | ||
| Topics in Contemp Art & Culture (ART 135) | 3 | |
| Music Appreciation (MUSIC 136) | 3 | |
| American History 060 (6 credits) - Select two courses: | ||
| Soc & Pol Hist US to 1877 (HIST 231) | 3 | |
| Soc & Pol Hist US Since 1877 (HIST 232) | 3 | |
| Government/Political Science 070 (6 credits) | ||
| American Government (POLSC 235) | 3 | |
| Texas Government (POLSC 236) | 3 | |
| Institutional Options 090 (6 credits) | ||
| Public Address (COMM 136) | 3 | |
| Total Hours | 42 | |