The University of Texas at DallasSchool of Interdisciplinary Studies
The University of Texas at Dallas

Interdisciplinary Studies Degree Plan Rules

BA & BS

  1. Up to a maximum of three lower level courses (or 9/nine hours) can be used in the IS degree plans for the Foundations, Concentrations and Advanced Electives combined.
  2. In the Concentration, at least 3 prefixes must be used, so that the degree is truly Interdisciplinary.
  3. No more than 21 hours total of a particular subject can be used in the Foundations, Concentrations, and Advanced Electives combined. (For Management courses both the BA and ACCT courses are considered to be the same prefix.)
  4. No minors are allowed for the BS and BA degrees in Interdisciplinary studies, since the degrees in and of themselves reflect diversity.
  5. An accounting foundation is NOT allowed
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University Rules:

ALL students are responsible for reading the current catalog.

Some of the rules about which students most frequently inquire are explained below. If there is any ambiguity in the explanation below, the catalog is the authoritative version.

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DROPPING COURSES

The last date for withdrawing from classes every semester is published in the catalog and class schedule.

Prior to census day (12th class day):

  • Freshmen, new students, and undeclared majors must obtain a signature from their academic advisor to drop a class.
  • Students with declared majors submit their Drop form to the Office of the Registrar.
  • Courses dropped during this time will NOT show on the student's transcript.

Through the fourth week of class students must have their drop form signed by both their academic advisor and the course instructor.

  • A grade of "W" (withdrawn) will appear on the transcript.

During the fifth through the ninth week, in addition to the advisor and instructor signature, the Drop form will indicate the instructor's determination of "WP" (withdrawn passing) or "WF" (withdrawn failing).

After the ninth week of class students may only drop a class for NON-ACADEMIC reasons.

Students are advised to be aware of the last date for drops each semester and to make their decisions about dropping by the date.  Failure to attend a class and not drop will result in a grade of F.

* See 2004-2006 Undergraduate or Graduate Catalogs for more details. 

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Electives and Credit/No Credit Grading

The four degrees in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies include from 24 to 30 hours of unrestricted electives. You may choose these from among any of the undergraduate courses. You may, of course, take electives for grade credit, but they are the only courses that may be taken on a credit/non-credit basis in the program. (An exception to this rule is a course that is offered only on a credit/no credit basis. Such a course may be put into the appropriate Foundations, Concentrations and/or Option Areas.) To take an elective on a credit/no credit basis, you must file a form in the Record's Office by Census Day of the semester in which you take the course.

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Graduation

You must file a graduation application and complete a total of 120 hours - 51 hours of which must be upper division to graduate from UTD. These hours may include transfer hours approved by the Records Office. Up to twelve semester hours of graduate courses may be taken as part of the hours needed to graduate. This course work will not be counted toward graduate credit. 24 of your last 30 hours must be taken at UTD. To graduate, you must have an overall average of 2.00 and a 2.00 GPA in the major and related courses. Only courses taken for grades at UTD are calculated into the GPA; neither transfer courses nor credit/no credit courses are used in the calculation of your GPA. For IS students, the major and related courses are BIS 3320, a three hour IS course, 18 hours in the Concentration, and 12 hours from the Foundation considered by your Advisor most relevant to the topic of your Concentration. Similarly for AMS students, the major and related courses consist of BIS 3320, AMS 3302, a Core III and a Core IV course, 18 hours in Option area 1 and 6 hours in Option area II. For Gender Studies the major and related courses consist of 12 hours of Gender Studies Core Courses, 3 hours of Disciplinary Methods, and 27 hours of Major-related courses.

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Graduation with Honors

The requirements for graduation with honors of cum laude, magna cum laude, and summa cum laude are explained in the catalog. You may also ask in the Interdisciplinary Studies office for more information on the requirements for Senior Honors Projects/Papers. The completion of a minimum of 45 hours at UTD are necessary for any level of high honors. In order to graduate magna or summa cum laude, see the Associate Dean in the semester prior to the semester in which you intend to graduate for advice on registering for an honors project. The Associate Dean may also be able to suggest a faculty member who would be an appropriate Senior Honors supervisor.

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Incomplete Grades

See the undergraduate catalog. In summary, this designation is only appropriate for students who have completed at least 70% of their course work and are unable to complete the course because of some unexpected and unavoidable situation that arises at the end of the term. Incompletes are good for a single long semester to give the student a chance to complete the work. If the work is not completed by the end of the semester, then the X is changed to a grade of F in the course.

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Retaking Courses

A student may repeat a course any number of times to improve the grade in the course. The grade from the first repeat will replace the original grade to satisfy degree requirements, and for calculation of the GPA. Any further repeats will be used in the calculation of a student's GPA, but the course will still only count once for credit toward the degree. All grades will appear on a student's transcript. To repeat a course, the student must fill in a Repeated Course Adjustment Form in the Records Office. Courses for which transfer credit is given cannot be taken a second time for credit at UTD, unless the student wishes to refuse the transfer credit. If a student fails a course at UTD, the course must be re-taken at UTD.  For more information go to

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Scholastic Probation

If your cumulative grade point average or your average in your major and related courses falls below 2.00 in any given semester, you will be placed on academic probation. You must earn a GPA of 2.20 in any subsequent semester until your grade point average is restored to 2.00. While you are on probation, you may not register for more than a maximum of 12 semester hours and the Associate Dean may further restrict these hours. If you do not meet the terms of probation, you will be suspended from the university. For help with study habits, paper writing, or mathematics, please see the Learning Resources Center located in the library on the first floor.

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