Minors and Certificates

Engineering Students may receive a minor in addition to their engineering degree. There are also valuable certificate programs through the McCombs School of Business and the Department of Computer Sciences.

Certificate in Business Foundations through the McCombs School of Business

Students may use three of the upper division Business Foundation courses to fulfill nine hours of Career Gateway Electives if they obtain a Business Foundations Certificate.

The Business Foundations Program (BFP) at UT's top-rated McCombs School of Business can supplement any undergraduate field of study. Students can equip themselves with the business fundamentals necessary to turn passions into successful careers.

The BFP offers six business courses (two lower-division and four upper-division) for non-business majors, which can be taken in any combination as a supplement to any undergraduate program. Students may take as many or as few classes as desired to fulfill electives or satisfy a student's college requirements for a minor.

All students, except business majors, who are in good academic standing at the university (2.0 overall UT GPA), may enroll in BFP courses. Students need to simply register for the courses when ready. There is no application form needed to begin registering and taking the classes.

For students who wish to receive a Business Foundations Certificate, there are two additional required classes: one in Economics and one in Statistics. These classes can be taken at any time before registration for FIN 320F and are not prerequisites for registration in other BFP classes. The Economics and Statistics classes are already required across UT for many students as part of existing degree programs and may not add any additional hours.

Read more about the Business Foundations Certificate (PDF 67 KB file), and see the McCombs School of Business web page on this program.

Certificate in Elements of Computing from the Computer Sciences Department

Students may use three of the upper division Element Program courses to fulfill nine hours of Career Gateway Electives if they obtain an Elements of Computing Certificate.

From logical thought to programming concepts, database design to web site development, 3-D graphics to networking, these classes are designed to help you succeed in business, music, education, science, communications, law, design, engineering, film, medicine, and beyond.

Regardless of their field of study, college students live in a digital information age. The Elements of Computing Program is a set of courses intended to help students understand the sophisticated technologies they use everyday as well as gain the computer skills that employers value. Elements courses are intellectually stimulating and personally rewarding, and they can supplement any undergraduate program.

Goals of the Elements program

• Provide students with knowledge of computer science that employers find valuable
• Support study in other disciplines requiring computational proficiency.

Elements Program Requirements

For successful certification, students must complete 12 semester hours of Elements courses, including CS 303E or equivalent and at least six hours of upper-division courses. Students must submit the certification form to the Undergraduate Advising Office in TAY 2.126 after they have completed the program requirements. The certificate may be used as part of a resume or as proof of computational knowledge.

Read more about the Elements Program (PDF 46 KB file), and see the Computer Sciences web page on this program.

General Information on Minors

While a minor is not required as part of any engineering degree program, the student may choose to complete a minor in a field outside the Cockrell School of Engineering. A student may complete only one minor. The minor consists of at least twelve semester hours in a single field, including at least six hours of upper-division coursework. Six of these hours must be completed in residence. A course to be counted toward the minor may not be taken on the pass/fail basis, unless the course is offered only on that basis. Only one course counted toward the standard requirements of the student's degree may also be counted toward the minor.

Foreign Language Minors

If the minor is in a foreign language other than that used to fulfill the basic education foreign language requirement, the twelve hours may be lower-division but must include at least six hours completed in residence and at least six hours beyond course 507 or the equivalent.

The Minor Approval Process

All minors must be approved by the ME department's faculty adviser and the Office of the Dean. The Cockrell School of Engineering allows the student to minor in any field outside of the college in which the university offers a major. However, prerequisites and other enrollment restrictions may prevent the student from pursuing a minor in some fields. Before planning to use specific courses to make up the minor, the student should consult the department that offers those courses.

The Minor Approval Form

Students should complete and submit the Minor Approval Form by the semester they are expecting to graduate. After submitting the form, it will be approved by the department before being reviewed by the Engineering Office of Student Affairs for final approval by the Dean.

The information on Minors came from the Cockrell School of Engineering Minors web page.