Program Overview

Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies

The Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies is a 120-hour degree program that requires students to complete a core curriculum, major requirements, and elective courses.

Core Curriculum Requirements

The core curriculum consists of 42 hours of coursework, including:

• Communication (6 hours)
  • 3 hours of Communication (RHET 1302)
  • 3 hours of Communication Elective (BIS 3320)
• Social and Behavioral Sciences (15 hours)
  • 6 hours of Government (GOVT 2301 and GOVT 2302)
  • 6 hours of American History
  • 3 hours of Social and Behavioral Sciences Elective
• Humanities and Fine Arts (6 hours)
  • 3 hours of Fine Arts (ARTS 1301)
  • 3 hours of Humanities (HUMA 1301)
• Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning (6 hours)
  • 6 hours of Calculus (MATH 1325 and 1326 or MATH 2417 and 2419)
• Science (9 hours)
  • At least one course with a substantial laboratory component

Major Requirements

The major requirements consist of 60 hours of coursework, including:

• Major Preparatory Courses (6-8 hours)
  • Either MATH 1325 Applied Calculus I and MATH 1326 Applied Calculus II
  • Or MATH 2417 Calculus I and MATH 2419 Calculus II
• Major Core Courses (12 hours)
  • Three Science IS courses
  • BIS 3320 The Nature of Intellectual Inquiry
• Major Related Courses (42 hours)
  • Two Foundations: 12 hours each (24 student credit hours)
    • Foundation I consists of courses taught by the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Computer Science, or Science courses from the School of Behavior and Brain Sciences
    • Foundation II is drawn from Arts and Humanities, Behavior and Brain Sciences (if not used for Foundation I), Computer Science (if not used in Foundation I), Economical, Political and Policy Sciences, Interdisciplinary Studies, and Management
  • One Concentration: 18 hours
    • Each student devises, in consultation with his/her advisor, the topic for the Concentration and selects 18 semester credit hours of course work related to the topic, drawn from at least three academic disciplines
    • Appropriate IS course work may be selected
    • Three courses must be science courses and one must be a statistics course

Elective Requirements

The elective requirements consist of 27 hours of coursework, including:

• Advanced Electives (6 hours)
• Guided Elective (1 hour)
  • BIS 1100 Interdisciplinary Studies Freshman Seminar
• Free Electives (20 hours)

Honors in Interdisciplinary Studies

To graduate with honors in Interdisciplinary Studies, students must meet the following requirements:

• GPA: 3.900 cumulative GPA, 3.900 GPA in courses described below, and a total of 30 upper level UT Dallas hours as described below
• Required courses:
  • BIS 3320 The Nature of Intellectual Inquiry (3 hours)
  • Foundation I - Natural Science and Mathematics (6 hours)
  • Concentration (15 hours)
• Options:
  • 6 hours of Practice Teaching
  • 6 hours of Internship
  • 3 hours of Internship and one three hour ISIS/AMS/GST course
• Notation on Transcript: Honors in Major