Government Courses
Core Curriculum Component Area 070
The Texas Education Code §51.301 requires Texas public university and community college students to complete six semester hours of coursework in government/political science as part of the Core Curriculum (core component code 070). But the statute does not specify how the required course content (study of Federal and Texas constitutions, structures, and functions) should be distributed across the six required semester hours.
As a result, two patterns of instruction have evolved among Texas universities and community colleges in which Federal and Texas government are studied either separately or in a parallel/comparative manner.
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At UT Austin Federal and Texas constitutions are studied together in GOV 310L to satisfy the content requirement of §51.301; one course chosen from GOV 306C, 312L, or 312P rounds out the semester-hour requirement. Courses at institutions teaching Federal and Texas government in a comparative/parallel pattern transfer as GOV 310L+312L to satisfy the core 070 government requirement.
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Courses at institutions teaching Federal and Texas constitutions separately transfer as 305C and GOV 306C to denote which course is dedicated to the Federal or Texas constitution, structures, and functions. These two evaluations in combination satisfy the core 070 government requirement.
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Introductory Federal government surveys from out-of-state institutions also transfer generically as 305C and must be combined with credit for GOV 310L or GOV 306C to complete the core 070 government requirement.
The Texas Common Course Numbering (TCCN) system identifies two pairs of courses applicable to the legislative requirement:
| TCCN Course | Title | UT Evaluation |
|---|---|---|
| GOVT 2305* | Federal Government (Federal constitution & topics) | GOV 305C |
| GOVT 2306* | Texas Government (Texas constitution & topics) | GOV 306C |
| GOVT 2301 | American Government I (Federal & Texas constitutions) | GOV 310L |
| GOVT 2302 | American Government II (Federal & Texas topics) | GOV 312L |
The two courses offered at another Texas public institution to satisfy the core curriculum 070 requirement always transfer to fulfill the requirement at UT, but combining courses from two institutions with different instructional patterns may omit some state-mandated content.
It is strongly recommended that students complete both required government courses at one institution to avoid problems in completing the core curriculum 070 requirement. Students who choose to take the required courses at two different institutions should at least be certain they transfer as one of the following combinations:
| Acceptable Credit Combinations | Comparable TCCN Designations |
|---|---|
| GOV 310L+312L | GOVT 2301+2302 |
| GOV 310L+305C* | GOVT 2301+2305 |
| GOV 310L+306C* | GOVT 2301+2306 |
| GOV 305C*+306C* | GOVT 2305+2306 |
*Beginning fall 2020, GOV 306C replaced the generic transfer evaluation "GOV 3 TX."
*Beginning fall 2022, GOV 305C replaced the generic transfer evaluation "GOV 3 US."
Other credit combinations usually omit the Texas constitution component of the legislative requirement. For students with such credit, and for those with five or more semester hours of applicable government credit transferred from out-of-state institutions, a one semester hour course is available to complete the requirement – GOV 106C Texas Government, offered by University Extension.