Undergraduate Catalog
2003-2005

How to Read this Catalog

The information presented below will help the reader to interpret this catalog correctly. The "Definition of Terms" section provides a guide to the terminology of academic regulations and procedures and course descriptions. The sections entitled "Course Numbering" and "Course Punctuation" explain the significance of the course numbering system used at the University of Houston and the meaning of the punctuation of those numbers. This is generic information only; for specific course descriptions or degree requirements, see the appropriate department listing.

Definition of Terms

Academic notice. Freshman students who earn less than a 2.00 grade point average in the first semester of enrollment at UH are placed on academic notice. Students on academic notice are not on probation and cannot be suspended. Students on academic notice must be advised by the University Studies Division/Academic Advising Center and their major departments.

Advanced courses (upper level). For undergraduate students, these normally are courses offered on the junior and senior levels (3000, 4000, and 5000 series).
Attempted hours. Course work for which a student earns a letter grade of A, A–, B+, B, B–, C+, C, C–, D+, D, D–, or F.

Audit. To take a course without credit.

Class schedule. List of courses and sections for a specific semester, including names of instructors; day, hour, and place of class meetings; and detailed registration procedures.

College or school. One of 13 major academic divisions within the university that offers specialized curricula.

Core Curriculum. Courses that must be taken by candidates for any bachelor’s degree. A new Core Curriculum was adopted by the university, effective Fall 1999. See Academic Regulations and Degree Requirements section for a description. For the previous Core Curriculum, see previous catalogs. See the current semester’s class schedule for detailed Core Curriculum listings.

Corequisite. A course that must be taken at the same time as the course described.

Course load. The number of semester hours for which a student enrolls in a given term.

Credit (see semester hour). Certification given for successful completion of academic work.

Cumulative grade point average (see grade points). The cumulative grade point average is based upon work taken at the University of Houston, including courses that are repeated, for which grade point values are assigned. The cumulative grade point average indicates overall performance and is computed by dividing the total number of grade points earned by the number of semester hours attempted, excluding hours for which a grade of S or U is earned.

Degree plan. A statement of degree requirements, made no later than the time the student has accumulated 60 credit hours.

Department. Division of instruction within a college, such as Department of Chemistry in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

Double major. A baccalaureate degree with two majors. Both majors must be the same type of degree (e.g., B.A., B.S., B.F.A., etc.).

Drop. Official dropping of one or more of the courses for which students are registered. Usually initiated by students but can be done in certain instances by faculty or other campus personnel.

Elective. A course which is not specifically designated but which students choose to take as part of their degree plan.

Former student. A University of Houston student not currently enrolled in classes.

Grade points (see cumulative grade point average). Points per semester hour assigned to passing grades, according to the numerical values of the grades.

Graduate study. Academic work toward the master’s or doctoral degree.

Laboratory. Descriptive of work other than class work, such as experimentation and practical application.

Lecture. A class session in which an instructor speaks on a specific topic.

Major. Primary field of study. Students may choose one or two.

Major, unspecified. This designation, which may be used by freshmen enrolling in certain colleges, indicates that students have selected the college, but not a specific major within the college.

Minor. Secondary field of study.

Nonadvanced courses. Courses offered on the freshman and sophomore levels (1000 and 2000 series).

Noncredit course. A course for which no credit can be earned.

Overload. Course load of more semester hours than students are normally permitted to schedule in a given period, requiring approval of the college dean.

Petition. A formal request to be filed at the appropriate office for a specific academic action, such as a waiver for a degree requirement.

Postbaccalaureate. Students who have degrees but are not enrolled in a formal graduate degree program.

Prerequisite. Requirement to be met before a certain course may be taken.

Priority registration. The first cycle of computer-aided registration, which allows students to register well in advance of a semester.

Probation, academic or disciplinary. A status resulting from unsatisfactory grades or conduct.

Readmission. Students on academic suspension must petition for permission to reenroll at the University of Houston. Readmission is neither automatic nor guaranteed.

Records, permanent. Cumulative record of students’ courses, grades, credits, classification, address, social security number, etc.

Registration. Enrollment for a semester, including selection of classes and payment of fees and tuition.

Section. A division of a course for instruction. A course may be taught in one or more sections or classes, depending on enrollment in the course.

Semester hour. Unit of measurement of college work. One semester hour is normally equivalent to one hour of class work or from two to six hours of laboratory work per week for a semester.

Seminar. A small group of advanced students engaged in special study under the guidance of a faculty member.

Stop roster. The roster of students whose schedule fee statements will be held pending resolution of any academic, disciplinary, or financial problem.

Student number. Students’ social security numbers are their permanent identification numbers.

Summer session. Term of study during which courses are offered in sessions of various lengths. Each session (Summer I, II, III, IV) is equivalent to a semester in terms of class hours and credit granted.

Suspension, academic or disciplinary. A status in which students are not permitted to register for courses for a specified time period. (See Readmission from Academic Suspension.)

Texas Academic Skills Program (TASP). An instructional program designed to ensure that students attending public institutions of higher education in Texas have the academic skills to perform effectively in college-level course work. The TASP includes a testing component.

Transcript. The record of an individual student, listing course work, grades earned, and credits received.

Tuition and fee statement. The fee bill printout of schedule, tuition and fees for a given semester.

University Studies Division. All newly admitted undergraduate students are members of the University Studies Division for at least one semester. Students who have a declared major also have available to them the services of the major department/college advisors.

University Studies Division students. Students who have not yet declared a major. Students with 60 or more hours may matriculate as a University Studies Division student only once and for only one semester, unless fulfilling contract requirements.

Undergraduate study. Work taken toward a baccalaureate degree.

Voice Information Processing (VIP). Touchtone telephone system used to register for or adjust courses as well as to access information.

Withdrawal. Official withdrawal from all courses during a semester at the university. Students usually initiate withdrawal; under certain circumstances faculty or other campus personnel may take this action.

Course Numbering

All courses are identified by instructional area and number. The first digit of the four-digit numbers indicates course level (1—freshman, 2—sophomore, etc.). The second digit corresponds exactly with the number of semester hours of credit given for the course. The third and fourth digits are for departmental use.

Nonadvanced hours for undergraduate students are courses in the 1000 and 2000 series. Advanced hours for undergraduate students are courses in the 3000, 4000, and 5000 series. Courses in the 6000 series and higher are primarily for graduate students and are listed in the university’s Graduate and Professional Studies catalog. Each course listed shows the semester hours of credit assigned to that specific course, for example, Cr. 3, following the course title. This information is usually followed by hyphenated numbers such as (2–3), which designate lecture-laboratory hours. The first digit indicates the number of class hours per week in the lecture portion of the course. The second digit indicates the number of class hours per week reserved for the laboratory portion of the course.

Course Punctuation

One of the following marks may immediately precede or follow the course number, or may separate a series of course numbers.

A colon (:) following a course number indicates that the course may be taken as an independent one-semester course. This also applies when two course numbers are separated by a colon.

A comma (,) between course numbers indicates that both courses must be taken before credit is received for either, but the second course may be taken first.

A hyphen (-) between course numbers indicates that both courses must be taken before credit is received for either, and the courses must be taken in the sequence in which they are shown.

A semicolon (;) between course numbers indicates that the first course may be taken and justify credit without completion of the second course, but the second course cannot be taken without the first as a prerequisite.