Feb 10, 2025  
2018-2019 UNDERGRADUATE CATALOG 
    
2018-2019 UNDERGRADUATE CATALOG [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

College of Humanities and Social Sciences


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DoVeanna S. Fulton, PhD, Dean
S1015, 713-221-8009

David B. Ryden, PhD, Associate Dean
S1015, 713-221-8476

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) offers degrees in traditional liberal arts disciplines and interdisciplinary studies and in select applied programs that serve important needs in our employment and educational market. The college also supports and enriches the broader curriculum and enhances the life of the university community through co-curricular initiatives in the Departments of Arts and Humanities, English, and Social Sciences and in the work of the O’ Kane Theatre, O’ Kane Gallery, and Cultural Enrichment Center.

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences is committed to teaching, research/creative activities, and service. At the heart of CHSS is the value placed on the diversity of humanity and a belief in education as the foundation of an empowered, free, and engaged citizenry capable of individual creativity and social responsibility. Faculty members demonstrate and students develop this capacity through multiple disciplinary perspectives: historical and theoretical inquiry, quantitative and critical/qualitative analysis, and creative cultural production. CHSS students gain crucial communication skills (critical thinking, reading, writing, and speaking) and respect for the breadth of human experience essential for thriving in complex global communities.

Requirements for CHSS Majors

All BA and BS degrees require a minimum of 120 hours. For degree completion, at least 25 percent of the semester credit hours must be earned through coursework completed at UHD. Residency rules also require that18 hours of the upper- level semester credit hours applied to the major must be successfully completed at UHD. Unless otherwise noted in the individual degree plans, an overall minimum grade point average of 2.0 at UHD is required for graduation and a minimum average of 2.0 must be maintained in the degree’s “Major Requirements” area, including concentration areas. All students seeking a bachelor’s degree at the University of Houston-Downtown must complete the general education requirements. See the General Education section of this catalog for more information about these requirements.

Caveats and Exceptions: developmental courses, such as ENG 1300 , MATH 0300 , and MATH 1300  may not be applied to any CHSS BA or BS graduation requirements. No more than 25 percent of semester credit hours from the business college may be applied to a CHSS BA or BS degree. The College reserves the right to limit the number of directed study, internship, service learning, experience learning, and credit-by-examination credit hours that can be applied to degree requirements.

Students are responsible for being aware of all degree requirements and for complying with them.

CHSS Academic Advising
S1001, 713-221-8460

CHSS Advising Staff

Crystal Guillory, Assistant Dean
Reyna Romero, Director of Advising Services
Ben Robles, Assistant Director of Advising Services
Bill Davis, Academic Advisor
Vanessa Aranda-Rojas, Academic Advisor
Karlyli Juarez, Records Specialist

The College provides faculty and professional advisors to:

  • advise majors on degree and graduation requirements
  • assist with course selection
  • inform majors of minor programs at UHD
  • advise majors on career preparation and graduate studies
  • advise student on college and university academic policies

Students are responsible for being aware of all degree requirements and for complying with them without duplicating courses.

Students should always include their full name and UHD ID number in all correspondence and voicemail and they should endeavor to use GatorMail for all email correspondence.

Advising sessions can take place in one of three ways.

  • By appointment: appointments can be set by phone (713-221-8460) in person (1001 S), or online at our CHSS advising website.
  • By walk-in visit: please contact the CHSS webpage, which lists walk-in days.
  • By email: the email address for the CHSS offices is CHSS_Advising@uhd.edu.

The CHSS advising schedule at https://www.uhd.edu/academics/humanities/current-students/advising/Pages/college-advising.aspx contains additional contact information.

Before consulting with a college advisor to register for coursework, students should review the requirements for their academic degree described in this catalog, select potential courses to fulfill degree requirements, and prepare a tentative course schedule. Courses, course status (open or closed), and class times for each academic semester are available online in MyUHD.

Although majors in good academic standing are given access to priority registration and may self-advise and register online via MyUHD, students are strongly encouraged to consult with an advisor before the semester begins.

Majors on academic probation who wish to register for next semester courses must meet with a college advisor and then see the Associate Dean or the Assistant Dean for course approval. CHSS majors on academic suspension who have not attended UHD for the preceding long semester must apply for readmission to the university and then must consult with the Assistant or Associate Dean at least one week prior to the first day of class. With the Associate or Assistant Dean’s authorization, the student will be placed on academic probation and permitted to take a limited number of approved classes.

Admission and Declaration of Major

Students continuing at UHD who meet the following criteria may be admitted to the College of Humanities and Social Sciences as a declared major:

  • UHD GPA of 2.00 or higher

Students transferring to UHD who meet the following criteria may be admitted to the College of Humanities and Social Sciences as a declared major:

  • Transfer GPA of 2.00 or higher

Students who meet Freshman Admissions criteria may be admitted to the College of Humanities and Social Sciences as a declared major upon admission to UHD.

Students who do not meet the criteria above do not qualify for admission into the College of Humanities and Social Science and will be classified as a pre-major based upon their respective major of interest.

Applying for Graduation

Students planning to graduate from UHD with a major that is housed in CHSS must file an online application for graduation located on MyUHD. It is encouraged that a major meet with a CHSS Advisor before applying and submitting their graduation request online to ensure that all requirements will be met. Students are responsible for completing all steps described within the online application system.

Deadlines for applications for graduation can be found on the academic calendar for a given term. The deadlines for students planning to graduate in a Winter or May term are the same as Fall or Spring term, respectively. Students who do not complete the requirements in the anticipated term must reapply for graduation and repay the graduation fee.

The CHSS Advising Center and Dean’s Office will communicate any information about students’ applications for graduation through GatorMail, so students who have submitted an application for graduation should begin checking their GatorMail a week after the posted deadline.

Requirements for Minors

Students seeking minors in CHSS must maintain a grade point average for all courses taken at UH-Downtown of at least 2.0, receive a grade of C or better in all courses applied toward the minor, and must meet all requirements of the chosen minor, including prerequisites for courses taken toward the minor. Students must complete all requirements for minors in addition to all course work required for the degree before graduation. All minor programs in CHSS, with the exception of a minor in art, require at least 9 hours upper-level course work in residence at UHD. The Art minor requires only 6 hours of upper-level coursework (see full description under the Arts and Humanities section).

To declare a minor, students with majors in CHSS must file a Minor Declaration Form with a CHSS advisor. Students with majors in other colleges who select a minor in CHSS should file the Minor Declaration Form with an advisor in their home college. In both cases, CHSS advisors fill out a form which lists the requirements for the minor, indicating which courses already taken apply toward the minor. This record is thereafter maintained by the home college advisors and the minor is certified by the Associate or Assistant Dean of the home college.

Interdisciplinary Minors

Interdisciplinary Minors offer students the opportunity to explore a subject from multiple perspectives.  Courses in these minors are principally taught by faculty from the Departments of Arts and Humanities, English, and Social Sciences, with select course offerings from faculty in other colleges.  Students must meet the academic Requirements for Minors described above.  Prerequisites for courses to support a minor cannot be waived, and internship/field experience courses cannot be applied to these minors.

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences offers interdisciplinary minors in: Critical Race Studies Minor , Film Studies Minor , Gender Studies Minor , Religious Studies Minor Spanish-English Professional Interpreting Minor , and Spanish-English Professional Translation Minor .

Retroactive Foreign-Language Credit by Exam and Coursework

UHD’s Spanish program administers a free placement exam to all incoming students with prior knowledge of Spanish if they are interested in studying the language at UHD. Currently the placement exam is offered daily in N950, the Foreign Language Lab (please check door for schedule). If a student is placed by the exam into a course beyond SPAN 1401  and s/he earns an A or B after taking it at UHD, the student will receive a maximum of eight (8) semester credit hours with a grade of ‘CA,’ depending on the number of courses bypassed. These retroactive credits may be used as electives or as part of a student’s major or minor degree requirements. The option for earning retroactive credits from UHD is only available to students who have never taken college-level Spanish anywhere before coming to UHD. UHD’s retroactive credit may not be combined with any other means of earning free college credits in Spanish, such as through AP Spanish programs in High School (see description of earning AP credits in Spanish at UHD). No more than 24 semester credit hours of non-course-based credit may be applied to a bachelor’s degree. French also allows bypass credit for FREN 1401 , subject to same conditions that apply to Spanish credit-by-exam. See the French coordinator for details.

Note that previous credit awarded via a similar procedure, for any foreign language, by Houston Community College, Lone Star College, San Jacinto College, and the University of Houston is transferable to UHD.

Graduation with Honors

Programs of Study in the College of Humanities & Social Sciences  

 

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