The 2026-2027 list of core courses can be found in the 2026-2027 Undergraduate Catalog. See 'Bachelors Degree Program Regulations'
Symbols Key
Campus: B - Offered in Brownsville; E - Offered in Edinburg; O - Offered Online; T - Travel Required
Bolded Course Number*: Program Admission Requirement
Min Grade: A - Excellent; B - Good; C - Satisfactory; D - Below Average; CR - Credit; P - Passing; S - Satisfactory.
Core: 010 - Communication; 020 - Mathematics; 030 - Life and Physical Sciences; 040 - Language, Philosophy & Culture; 050 - Creative Arts; 060 - American History; 070 - Government/Political Science; 080 - Social and Behavioral Sciences;
Core: 090 - Applied Communication and Literacies; Humanities; Leadership; Science Labs; Interdisciplinary; Technologies; Language Diversity & Writing
Fall – Year 1, Semester Total Hours: 15
Fall – Year 1 Art (Studio Art), Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) Courses (15 total credit hours)
| Semester |
Credit Hours |
Campus |
Course Number |
Course Title |
Minimum Grade |
Core |
Prerequisite |
Additional Notes |
| Fall |
3 |
B/E/O |
Choose 1 |
Communication |
C |
010 |
For all 010 courses: Satisfactory scores on English portion of ACT test and TSI examination or ENGL 0301. For ENGL 1302, a grade of "C" or better in ENGL 1301. |
See General Education Core for more details. Options: ENGL 1301 |
| Fall |
3 |
B/E/O |
ARTS 1303 or 1304 |
Art History I or Art History II |
|
050 |
|
Satisfies General Education Core. |
| Fall |
3 |
B/E |
ARTS 1311 |
2D Foundations |
|
|
|
Satisfies Major-Specific Requirement. |
| Fall |
3 |
B/E |
ARTS 1316 |
Drawing I |
|
|
|
Satisfies Major-Specific Requirement. |
| Fall |
3 |
B/E/O |
POLS 2305 |
U.S. Federal Govt & Politics |
|
070 |
|
|
| Fall |
|
B/E/O |
UNIV |
1301 Foundations of Academic and Career Success, 1101 Academic and Career Success, 1001/1300 Living and Working by Design |
|
|
|
As required, based on a number of factors such as credit hours earned, TSI status, high school rank, major declaration, etc. |
Spring – Year 1, Semester Total Hours: 15
Spring – Year 1 Art (Studio Art), Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) Courses (15 total credit hours)
| Semester |
Credit Hours |
Campus |
Course Number |
Course Title |
Minimum Grade |
Core |
Prerequisite |
Additional Notes |
| Spring |
3 |
B/E/O |
Choose 1 |
Communication |
C |
010 |
For all 010 courses: Satisfactory scores on English portion of ACT test and TSI examination or ENGL 0301. For ENGL 1302, a grade of "C" or better in ENGL 1301. |
See General Education Core for more details. Options: ENGL 1302 or ENGL 1305 |
| Spring |
3 |
B/E/O |
Choose 1 |
American History |
|
060 |
|
See General Education Core for more details. Options: HIST 1301 or HIST 2327 |
| Spring |
3 |
B/E/O |
Choose 1 |
Mathematics |
C |
020 |
College Ready TSI status in Mathematics or MATH 0314/0332/0342. |
See General Education Core for course options. MATH 1314 or higher recommended. |
| Spring |
3 |
B/E |
ARTS 1312 |
3D Foundations |
|
|
|
Satisfies Major-Specific Requirement. |
| Spring |
3 |
B/E |
ARTS 1317 |
Drawing II |
C |
|
|
Satisfies Major-Specific Requirement. |
Fall – Year 2, Semester Total Hours: 16
Fall – Year 2 Art (Studio Art), Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) Courses (16 total credit hours)
| Semester |
Credit Hours |
Campus |
Course Number |
Course Title |
Minimum Grade |
Core |
Prerequisite |
Additional Notes |
| Fall |
3 |
B/E/O |
Choose 1 |
American History |
|
060 |
|
See General Education Core for more details. Options: HIST 1302 or HIST 2328 |
| Fall |
4 |
B/E/O |
Choose 1 |
Life and Physical Sciences |
|
030/090 |
May apply pending course selection |
See General Education Core for course options. 1 credit hour of lab may apply to category 090. |
| Fall |
3 |
B/E/O |
Choose 1 |
Integrative/Experimential Learning Option |
|
090 |
|
See General Education Core for course options. |
| Fall |
3 |
B/E |
ARTS 1303 or 1304 |
Art History I or Art History II |
|
|
|
ARTS 1303 and ARTS 1304 must both be completed. One will be applied to the core curriculum, the other to the major requirements. |
| Fall |
3 |
B/E |
ARTS 23XX |
Studio Art Lower Level Elective |
C |
|
|
See Degree Plan for course options. |
Spring – Year 2, Semester Total Hours: 16
Spring – Year 2 Art (Studio Art), Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) Courses (16 total credit hours)
| Semester |
Credit Hours |
Campus |
Course Number |
Course Title |
Minimum Grade |
Core |
Prerequisite |
Additional Notes |
| Spring |
3 |
B/E/O |
Choose 1 |
Language, Philosophy & Culture |
|
040 |
|
See General Education Core for course options. |
| Spring |
4 |
B/E/O |
Choose 1 |
Life and Physical Sciences |
|
030/090 |
May apply pending course selection |
See General Education Core for course options. 1 credit hour of lab may apply to category 090. |
| Spring |
3 |
B/E |
ARTS 23XX |
Studio Art Lower Level Elective |
C |
|
|
See Degree Plan for course options. |
| Spring |
3 |
B/E |
ARTS 23XX |
Studio Art Lower Level Elective |
C |
|
|
See Degree Plan for course options. |
| Spring |
3 |
B/E |
ARTS 23XX |
Studio Art Lower Level Elective |
C |
|
|
See Degree Plan for course options. |
Fall – Year 3, Semester Total Hours: 18
Fall – Year 3 Art (Studio Art), Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) Courses (18 total credit hours)
| Semester |
Credit Hours |
Campus |
Course Number |
Course Title |
Minimum Grade |
Core |
Prerequisite |
Additional Notes |
| Fall |
3 |
B/E/O |
POLS 2306 |
Texas Government & Politics |
|
070 |
|
|
| Fall |
3 |
B/E |
ARTS 23XX |
Studio Art Lower Level Elective |
C |
|
|
See Degree Plan for course options. |
| Fall |
3 |
B/E |
ARTS 3311 |
Intermediate Drawing |
|
|
Grade of C or better in ARTS 1317. |
Satisfies Major-Specific Requirement. |
| Fall |
3 |
B/E/O |
ARTS 33XX-43XX |
Studio Art Advanced Elective |
C |
|
|
See Degree Plan for course options. |
| Fall |
3 |
B/E/O |
ARTS 33XX-43XX |
Studio Art Advanced Elective |
C |
|
|
See Degree Plan for course options. |
| Fall |
3 |
B/E/O |
ARTS 335X-435X |
Art History Advanced Elective |
|
|
|
See Degree Plan for course options. |
Spring – Year 3, Semester Total Hours: 16
Spring – Year 3 Art (Studio Art), Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) Courses (16 total credit hours)
| Semester |
Credit Hours |
Campus |
Course Number |
Course Title |
Minimum Grade |
Core |
Prerequisite |
Additional Notes |
| Spring |
1 |
B/E/O |
Choose 1 |
Integrative/Experimential Learning Option |
|
090 |
|
See General Education Core for course options. |
| Spring |
3 |
B/E/O |
ARTS 335X-435X |
Art History Advanced Elective |
|
|
|
See Degree Plan for course options. |
| Spring |
3 |
B/E/O |
ARTS 33XX-43XX |
Studio Art Advanced Elective |
C |
|
|
See Degree Plan for course options. |
| Spring |
3 |
B/E/O |
ARTS 33XX-43XX |
Studio Art Advanced Elective |
C |
|
|
See Degree Plan for course options. |
| Spring |
3 |
B/E/O |
ARTS 33XX-43XX |
Studio Art Advanced Elective |
C |
|
|
See Degree Plan for course options. |
| Spring |
3 |
B/E/O |
ARTS 33XX-43XX |
Studio Art Advanced Elective |
C |
|
|
See Degree Plan for course options. |
Fall – Year 4, Semester Total Hours: 12
Fall – Year 4 Art (Studio Art), Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) Courses (12 total credit hours)
| Semester |
Credit Hours |
Campus |
Course Number |
Course Title |
Minimum Grade |
Core |
Prerequisite |
Additional Notes |
| Fall |
3 |
B/E/O |
Choose 1 |
Social and Behavioral Sciences |
|
080 |
|
See General Education Core for course options. |
| Fall |
3 |
B/E/O |
ARTS 33XX-43XX |
Studio Art Advanced Elective |
C |
|
|
See Degree Plan for course options. |
| Fall |
3 |
B/E/O |
ARTS 33XX-43XX |
Studio Art Advanced Elective |
C |
|
|
See Degree Plan for course options. |
| Fall |
3 |
B/E/O |
13XX-43XX |
Free Elective |
|
|
|
|
Spring – Year 4, Semester Total Hours: 12
Spring – Year 4 Art (Studio Art), Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) Courses (12 total credit hours)
| Semester |
Credit Hours |
Campus |
Course Number |
Course Title |
Minimum Grade |
Core |
Prerequisite |
Additional Notes |
| Spring |
3 |
B/E |
ARTS 4340 |
Portfolio for Studio Art |
|
|
Student must be of Senior standing. |
Satisfies Major-Specific Requrement. |
| Spring |
3 |
B/E |
ARTS 4397 |
BFA Exhibit in Stuio Art |
C |
|
Student must be of Senior standing. |
Satisfies Major-Specific Requirement. |
| Spring |
3 |
B/E/O |
ARTS 33XX-43XX |
Studio Art Advanced Elective |
C |
|
|
See Degree Plan for course options. |
| Spring |
3 |
B/E/O |
ARTS 335X-435X |
Art History Advanced Elective |
|
|
|
See Degree Plan for course options. |
