University of Texas at El Paso Academic Catalog

Academic Catalog

Bachelor of Multidisciplinary Studies

The Bachelor of Multidisciplinary Studies (BMS) degree gives students an opportunity to pursue a broad, interdisciplinary studies curriculum rather than having to follow a perspective specialized major. As an individualized program of study, the BMS emphasizes a wide-ranging learning experience and a more expanded perspective than that provided by traditional undergraduate majors. Students focus on an interdisciplinary theme, period, set of problems, specialization, or perception not currently available through established majors. There is no minor for BMS students

The BMS degree encourages students to tailor their study to their own personal and professional interests and needs. The degree provides students a fundamental knowledge of skills necessary to competently express themselves, think creatively, solve problems, and understand the nature and function of people and the environment.

Please contact the BMS Team for program questions. 

Marketable Skills

  1. Critical thinking: Analyze and evaluate issues in order to solve problems and develop informed opinions.
  2. Leadership: Step up, think, and act critically and creatively to bring others together to accomplish a common task.
  3. Problem-solving: Find solutions to difficult or complex issues.
  4. Teamwork: Participate as an effective, efficient member of a group in order to meet a common goal.

Admissions Requirements

  • New, transfer, and returning students can declare their intention to work toward a BMS degree if they meet UTEP’s admission requirements.
  •  The admissions process and official transcript evaluations must be completed prior to the creation of a degree plan for a student by a BMS advisor.
  •  All students admitted into the BMS program are required to meet each semester with a BMS advisor to select the courses they want to enroll in and to confirm that the courses selected can be used in the BMS Degree. 
  • If a student wishes to change the major to BMS, it will be done after the initial appointment with the BMS advisor.

Degree Requirements

The Bachelor of Multidisciplinary Studies degree requires a minimum of 120 semester hours, including at least 45 hours at the advanced or upper-division (junior and senior) level. In addition to completing the 42 semester hour University Core Curriculum, each student defines, in consultation with a BMS advisor, three areas of concentration totaling 45 semester hours, including a minimum of 27 hours of advanced work. Each area of concentration is composed of 15 hours, nine (9) hours of which must be advanced. The goal of the concentration is to give students an interdisciplinary foundation that satisfies individual educational and professional goals while maintaining academic rigor and integrity. Thirty-three hours of electives, 18 of which must be advanced, bring the degree total to a minimum 120 semester hours.

Only 66 hours from a two-year institution or community college can apply toward the BMS. A foreign language is not required. A student on the ESOL track who has completed ESOL 1311 AND 1312 are required to complete ESOL 2303.

A 2.0 GPA is required for graduation.

Degree Plan

The BMS requires 120 total credits for completion with a minimum of 45 upper-division credit hours. If you are a transfer student, be sure to consult with an advisor how many credits must be taken at UTEP as students meet the 30-hour residency requirement to complete the degree. A 2.0 GPA is required for graduation.

The BMS degree plan consists of:

Area                                                      Hours
Core Curriculum                                    42
Three Concentrations                           15 Each             9 upper-division Hours in each
Electives                                                  33                     18 upper-division hours
                                                              120 Total          

Concentrations for the BMS degree are determined by the coursework already completed and/or areas of interest applicable to the BMS program. A 2.0 is required in each concentration.

Please be sure to consult the UTEP Undergraduate Catalog and Speak with your academic advisor for institutional requirements.

University Core Curriculum
Complete the University Core Curriculum requirements.42
Concentration 1
Lower Division6 Hours
Upper Division 9 Hours
Total 15 Hours
Concentration 2
Lower Division6 Hours
Upper Division 9 Hours
Total 15 hours
Concentration 3
Lower Division 6 Hours
Upper Division 9 Hours
Total 15 Hours
Total Hours45
Elective Credits
Lower Division15 Hours
Upper Division18 Hours
Total 33 Hours
Total: 120

In addition to completing organized courses, students will be required to submit a final paper or project completed in an upper-level class during their final year of study to a BMS advisor.

For additional information, please see a BMS advisor.

University Core Curriculum

The department may make specific suggestions for courses which are most applicable towards your major.

All courses require a C or better

I. Communication (six hours)

Courses in this category focus on developing ideas and expressing them clearly, considering the effect of the message, fostering understanding, and building the skills needed to communicate persuasively. Courses involve the command of oral, aural, written, and visual literacy skills that enable people to exchange messages appropriate to the subject, occasion, and audience.
Select six hours of the following: 6
For students whose secondary education was in English:
Written and Oral Communication
Writing About Literature
Rhetoric & Composition I
Rhetoric & Composition 2
Rhetoric, Composition & Comm
For students whose secondary education was not in English:
Expos Engl Compos-Spkr Esl
Res & Crit Writng Spkr Esl
Total Hours6

II. American History (six hours)

Courses in this category focus on the consideration of past events and ideas relative to the United States, with the option of including Texas History for a portion of this component area. Courses involve the interaction among individuals, communities, states, the nation, and the world, considering how these interactions have contributed to the development of the United States and its global role.
HIST 1301History of U.S. to 18653
HIST 1302History of U.S. Since 18653
Total Hours6

III. Language, Philosophy & Culture  (three hours)

Courses in this category focus on how ideas, values, beliefs, and other aspects of culture express and affect human experience. Courses involve the exploration of ideas that foster aesthetic and intellectual creation in order to understand the human condition across cultures.
Select one of the following:3
Intro-African Amer Studies
Latina/o Presence in the U.S.
English Literature
English Literature
Intro to American Fiction
Intro to American Drama
Intro to American Poetry
Making of the "Other" Americas
World History to 1500
World History Since 1500
Introduction to Philosophy
Ethics
Introduct to Religious Studies
Seeing & Naming: Conversations
Introduction to Womens Studies
Global Feminisms
Total Hours3

IV. Mathematics  (three hours)

Courses in this category focus on quantitative literacy in logic, patterns, and relationships. Courses involve the understanding of key mathematical concepts and the application of appropriate quantitative tools to everyday experience.
Select one of the following:3
College Algebra
Trigonometry and Conics
Math in the Modern World
Math for Social Sciences I
Calculus I
Precalculus 1,2
Math for Social Sciences II
Statistical Literacy
Elementary Statistical Methods
1 A higher-level course in the calculus sequence can be substituted.
2 TCCN MATH 1314 will also satisfy this requirement.
Total Hours3

V. Life & Physical Sciences  (six hours)

Courses in this category focus on describing, explaining, and predicting natural phenomena using the scientific method. Courses involve the understanding of interactions among natural phenomena and the implications of scientific principles on the physical world and on experiences.
Select one of the following:1-4
Astronomy Lab I
Elem Astronomy-Solar System
Elem Astr Stars & Galaxies
Introductory Biology Lab
Human Biology Laboratory
Topics in Study of Life I
Organismal Biology Laboratory
Introductory Biology
Human Biology
General Biology
Organismal Biology
Human Anat/Physio Lab I
Human Anat/Physio Lab II
Human Anat/Physiology I
Human Anat/Physiology II
Laboratory for CHEM 1305
Laboratory for CHEM 1306
Intro General Chemistry Lab
Intro Organic & Biochem Lab
General Chemistry
General Chemistry
Intro to General Chemistry
Intro Organic & Biochemistry
Environmental Sci. Lab
Non-major Lab for ESCI 1301
Intro to Environment Science 2
Intro to Environmental Sci
Laboratory for GEOG 1306
Physical Geography
Lab for GEOL 1313
Lab for GEOL 1314
Principles of Earth Sci - Lab
Laboratory for Geology 1212
Principles of Earth Sciences
Principles of Earth Science
The Blue Planet
Natural Hazards
Intro to Physical Geology
Intro to Historical Geol
Fundamentals of Nutrition
Wellness Dynamics
Microorganisms and Disease
General Physics I
General Physics II
Laboratory for PHYS 2320
Laboratory for PHYS 2321
Introductory Mechanics
Introductory Electromagnetism
Total Hours 6

VI. Political Science  (six hours)

Courses in this category focus on consideration of the Constitution of the United States and the constitutions of the states, with special emphasis on that of Texas. Courses involve the analysis of governmental institutions, political behavior, civic engagement, and their political and philosophical foundations.
Required Courses:
POLS 2310Introduction to Politics3
POLS 2311American Gover & Politics3
Total Hours6

VII. Social and Behavioral Sciences  (three hours)

Courses in this category focus on the application of empirical and scientific methods that contribute to the understanding of what makes us human. Courses involve the exploration of behavior and interactions among individuals, groups, institutions, and events, examining their impact on the individual, society, and culture.
Select one of the following:3
Intro-Phys Anth/Archeolog
Intro-Cultural Anthropology
Cultural Geography
Intro to Linguistics
Econ for Engrs & Scientists
Intro to Chicano Studies
Asian American Studies
Interpersonal Communication
Mass Media and Society
Principles of Macroeconomics
Principles of Microeconomics
Introduction to Ed Psychology
Action Research in Classrooms
Introduction to Linguistics
Cultural Geography
Community Service
An Intro. to Linguistics
Lang. Inside & Out: Sel Topics
Introduction to Psychology
Introduction to Sociology
Cultural Geography
Total Hours3

VIII. Creative Arts (three hours)

Courses in this category focus on the appreciation and analysis of creative artifacts and works of the human imagination. Courses involve the synthesis and interpretation of artistic expression and enable critical, creative, and innovative communication about works of art.
Select one of the following:3
Art Appreciation
History of Art I
History of Art II
Chicana/o Fine Arts Appreciat
Dance Appreciation
Intro-Art of Motion Pict.
Music Appreciation
Jazz to Rock
Music, Culture, and Society
Introduction to Theatre
Total Hours3

IX. Component Area Option (six hours)

a. A minimum of 3 SCH must meet the definition and corresponding Core Objectives specified in one of the foundational component areas. b. As an option for up to 3 semester credit hours of the Component Area Option, an institution may select course(s) that: (i) Meet(s) the definition specified for one or more of the foundational component areas; and (ii) Include(s) a minimum of three Core Objectives, including Critical Thinking Skills, Communication Skills, and one of the remaining Core Objectives of the institution's choice.
Intro to Global Business
Public Speaking
Business/Profession Comm
Intro-Computational Thinking
Computer Programming Sci/Engr
Eng Innovation and Leadership
Introduction to Leadership
Inquiry in Math & Science
Seminar/Critical Inquiry
Total Hours0

4-Year Sample Degree Plan

BACHELOR OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY STUDIES
FRESHMAN
Fall15
General Core Math
General Core Component Area
Rhetoric & Composition I
Concentration I lower division course
Concentration II lower division course
Spring15
Rhetoric & Composition 2
General Natural Science Lecture
General Natural Science Lab
General Core Component Area
Concentration I lower division course
Concentration II lower division course
SOPHOMORE
Fall15
General Natural Science Lecture
History of U.S. to 1865
General Creative Arts
Concentration I upper division course
Concentration II upper division course
Spring15
General Lang, Phil & Culture course
History of U.S. Since 1865
General Social & Behavioral course
Concentration I upper division course
Concentration II upper division course
JUNIOR
Fall15
Introduction to Politics
Concentration I upper division course
Concentration II upper division course
Concentration III lower division course
Concentration III upper division course
Spring15
American Gover & Politics
Concentration III lower division course
Concentration III upper division course
Lower Division Elective
Upper Division Elective
SENIOR
Fall15
Concentration III upper division course
Lower Division Elective
Lower Division Elective
Upper Division Elective
Upper Division Elective
Spring15
Lower Division Elective
Lower Division Elective
Upper Division Elective
Upper Division Elective
Upper Division Elective
Total Hours120