The UT Academic Experience
The UT Academic Experience defines the academic life of students at The University of Tampa. Students pursue an integrated core program that provides a breadth of knowledge and experience necessary to pursue more concentrated study within a major and beyond. University of Tampa students benefit from an educational experience that creates a broad-based learning community dedicated to a lifetime of exploration, discovery and growth.
All University of Tampa students complete a general curriculum distribution program that includes 45 credit hours of coursework. Some of that coursework must be completed in the first year, while other requirements must be satisfied within the first two years of study. The total UT Academic Experience is interwoven within the major and minor programs of study so that each complements the other throughout each student’s academic career.
The University of Tampa faculty as a whole, which determines curricular content and defines the course of study, has designed the UT Academic Experience so that each undergraduate is ensured a complete and comprehensive liberal arts foundation upon which to build major and minor areas of study. Additionally, the UT Academic Experience offers each student opportunities to master skills and bodies of knowledge that transcend the goals of any individual classroom experience. The expectations that faculty members have set for each student are embodied in the following nine goals:
I.To learn to communicate effectively through reading, writing, speaking, listening and observing, so as to acquire, develop and convey ideas and information.
II.To examine issues rationally, logically and coherently.
III.To demonstrate an understanding and proficiency in the use and application of computers across fields of learning.
IV.To understand the foundations of science, scientific methods and the impact of science upon society.
V.To demonstrate a basic understanding of and proficiency in mathematics.
VI.To be able to synthesize the knowledge of, and understand issues emanating from, a variety of disciplinary perspectives.
VII.To exhibit an aesthetic awareness through the creation of art or the formation of a critical response to the arts.
VIII.To identify personal values, recognize the principles underlying personal views and actions and those of others, and to defend personal positions.
IX.To understand both the commonality and diversity of human social existence in an increasingly interdependent world.
The number of credit hours required for undergraduate majors and minors will depend on the fields of concentration, but may not be fewer than 24 for a major and 15 for a minor. Requirements for specific majors and minors are found within the chapters for the John H. Sykes College of Business; College of Arts and Letters; College of Natural and Health Sciences; College of Social Sciences, Mathematics and Education; Office of Graduate and Continuing Studies; and Military Science . At least 15 credit hours of the undergraduate major, exclusive of internship work, must be earned at The University of Tampa.
Every undergraduate candidate for a degree must declare a major. Students are required to declare a major by the time they have completed 60 hours of course credit and should do so in consultation with their faculty advisers or the University Academic Advising Office. The student may also, if desired, complete the requirements for more than one major or minor. The completion of such majors or minors will be noted on the student’s permanent academic record. An additional major will not be officially noted unless at least 24 hours of credit apply independently to that major and do not count toward the hours required by the primary major. A minor will be noted only if additional coursework is required outside the major(s). Some part of the minor must be earned in residency at UT. A minor may not be earned in biochemistry, elementary education, social sciences, marine science or nursing, or if the student is pursuing the Bachelor of Liberal Studies degree.