Signature Courses (UGS 302) are small, 18-student classes that offer first-year students the opportunity to interact closely with a faculty member and their peers through class discussion. These courses have an expansive array of topics taught by faculty from almost every college and school at the university. In these seminar-format classes, students acquire knowledge through the symbiotic relationship of interdisciplinary study. For example, science will inform your interpretation of a painting and vice versa, or you will see how law, foreign policy, marketing, and education all influence the economy. Information literacy and research will play a major role in the fulfillment of the course’s Writing Flag. Seminars also introduce you to the resources of the university and assist you in identifying interesting subjects for further research and future careers.
The large-format Signature Courses (UGS 303) are a way to expose students to some of UT’s top faculty, who do some of their best teaching in a large format. These courses range from 50-200 students, but discussion sessions of 17 students create the intimate environment found in the seminars. The large-format courses are similar to seminars in their requirements (i.e., interdisciplinary and contemporary content, oral presentation, information literacy, use of campus resources, the Helen and Jeff Herbert Family University Lecture Series) except that only select UGS 303 courses carry the Writing flag.
Difficult Dialogues Signature Courses feature dialogue-based learning, in which students engage with the course topic from multiple points of view. Faculty are trained to teach students the skills they need to participate in constructive dialogue about controversial and potentially divisive issues. UGS 302 DD Courses are small seminars of 18 students, while UGS 303 DD Courses enroll 30 students. Both types of Difficult Dialogues courses carry the Writing flag. Each semester a Difficult Dialogues Public Forum features guest speakers on a topic of current interest; student participation may be required by the course instructor. Visit this page for more information about the program.
View the course schedule to see a list of current UGS 302 and 303 courses.
Learn how to plan or propose a Signature Course.