Field of Study

Field of Study (FOS)

The University of Houston-Downtown will accept Field of Study credits from any Texas public institution of higher education for all active Field of Study curricula as per the rules of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB)  A Field of Study (FOS) curriculum is a set of lower-division courses that transfer and apply to a degree program.  The FOS is different for each degree program.  Faculty across the state have agreed on which courses are part of the current FOS for the different majors; these FOS range from 12 credit hours to 18 credit hours.  This set of FOS courses is guaranteed by state law to transfer as a block to any Texas public institution of higher education and be applied to the appropriate major. 

As explained by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board:  “If a student has completed the FOS, the Texas common core curriculum, and any university or college courses required of all students regardless of major, then the student is finished with all the lower-division courses for the degree program at any Texas public institution.”

If a student transfers with some of the FOS courses completed, then each completed FOS course is guaranteed to transfer and apply to the degree program, although the institution many require that student to take additional lower-division courses as part of that degree program.

Students who are transferring to UHD should ask advisors to review their transferred courses to be sure that any FOS courses are applied to their degree plans as expected.  Not all programs have a THECB-approved FOS.  If there is a dispute about application of transfer courses in an FOS that cannot be resolved between the two institutions, students may contact the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for resolution.