University of Texas at El Paso Academic Catalog

Academic Catalog

Minor in Humanities

The purpose of any minor is to broaden the academic and cultural skills of students to enable them to achieve greater success in both their undergraduate and graduate academic careers. A Humanities Minor, therefore, provides a gateway to careers in professions such as the law, education, business management, personnel management, government service, and many creative areas such as art, creative writing, and individual entrepreneurial options, activities such as creating an independent business. 

Students can fashion a minor concentration in the Humanities based upon their own plans and interests. All students should design a proposal for a coherent course of study. All proposals must be approved by the Director of the Humanities Program and be on file in the Humanities Office.

Complete 18 hours including:

  • 9-hours of Humanities courses, or 6-hours of Humanities courses and 3 hours of Humanities 4390
  • 9 hours of advanced-level courses to include courses from Art, Art History, Communication, Music, Literature, Religious Studies, Jewish Studies*, Theatre, Humanities, Languages and Linguistics*, History, Philosophy, Women’s Studies*, Chicano Studies*, Asian Studies*, Border and Latin American Studies*, and African American Studies*.

* Apply to Humanities Minor when topics are from the Humanities.

Marketable Skills

Students will gain the following marketable skills:

  • Confidence: Be self-assured through appreciating your own talents, abilities, skills, and qualities. The difficulty of Humanities Classes confirms student abilities.

  • Problem-solving: Find solutions to difficult or complex issues by being able to discover and evaluate diverse sets of evidence. Humanities Minors are well suited to deal with problems in many areas.

  • Social responsibility: Act ethically and responsibly for the benefit of society and the public good. Humanities Minors examine a variety of social contexts and the reactions to them.
  • Writing: Communicate using text in a clear and concise manner. Humanities classes typically contain substantial writing components to develop the expressive skills of students.

Additionally, students will develop:

1. The ability to articulate complex ideas clearly and effectively.

2. The ability to identify and examine evidence applicable to a variety of problems.

3. Skills to discover a variety of evidence applicable to a variety of problems.

4. The ability to support ideas with relevant reasons and examples to solve a variety of problems. 

Many students that go into education as a result of the program, develop the ability to sustain a well-focused, coherent discussion and progress to a conclusion.

Degree Plan

Humanities:
Select nine hours of the following:9
Ancient Cultures
Faith and Reason
Modern Culture & Thought
Iliad Odyssey and the Bible
Paths of the Prophet
Medieval Women
Jewish Women of the Holocaust
American Cultural Studies
Protest in Art and Literature
Inclusion in the Digital Age
Media and Social Justice
Special Topics in Humanities
Electives:
Select nine hours of upper-division courses from at least two of the following areas: 19
Art
Communication
Music
Literature
Religious Studies
Jewish Studies
Theatre Arts
Humanities
Languages and Linguistics
History
Philosophy
Women's Studies
Chicano Studies
African American Studies
1 All proposals must be approved by the department.
Total Hours18