The State of Texas has designed a general education core curriculum to ensure that undergraduate students enrolled in public institutions of higher education will develop the essential knowledge and skills for success in college, in a career, in their communities, and in life-long learning. 

All undergraduates at Texas Southern University complete a 42 semester credit hour (SCH) program of core curriculum courses.  The required components of the core curriculum are courses in communication; mathematics; life and physical science; language, philosophy and culture; creative arts; American history; government/political science; and social and behavioral sciences.

The core curriculum facilitates the transfer of lower-division course credit among public colleges, universities, and health-related institutions throughout the State of Texas. Students who successfully complete a 42 semester credit hour core curriculum at one institution are able to transfer “core complete” to another public Texas public institution without having to repeat any core curriculum courses. Students who transfer without completing the entire core curriculum receive credit for each of the core courses they successfully complete; however, courses may not satisfy the receiving institution’s core curriculum requirements.