• Degrees »
• Degrees

Graduation Requirements Checklist

In addition to the specific course requirements for your degree plan, be aware that there are general graduation requirements that every student in the College of Engineering must complete.  University graduation requirements are outlined in the Catalog of Studies, as are the College requirements.   Some of that information is highlighted here, but this outline is not complete.  Refer to the catalog when necessary.

1.  Residency Requirement 

The full senior year must be completed in residence except that a senior who has already met the minimum residency requirement will be permitted to earn not more than 12 of the last 30 hours in extension or correspondence courses or in residence at another accredited institution granting the baccalaureate degree. No more than six of these 12 hours may be correspondence courses. The minimum residence requirement is 36 weeks and 30 semester hours. Residency for the senior year is defined as a period during which the student must be enrolled in courses offered on the campus in Fayetteville. This is intended to provide adequate contact with the University and its faculty for each student who is awarded a degree. Colleges and departments have the authority to prescribe residence requirements that exceed those described here.

2.  Grade-Point Average

A candidate for a degree from the College of Engineering must have earned a grade-point average of no less than 2.00 on all courses in the student’s major area of study, all engineering courses, and all work completed at the university and presented for the degree.  Grades on work taken at other colleges and presented for transfer credit must also meet this standard.

3.  Courses That Do Not Count Toward a Degree

The following courses do not count toward degree credit: ANTH 0003, PHSC 0003, ENGL 0003, MATH 0003, CIED 0003, MATH 1203, MATH 1213, MATH 1285, and ENGL 2003.

4.  "D" Rule

No student will be allowed to graduate if the student has “D” grades in more than 15 percent of all credit earned in this institution and presented to meet the requirements for a degree.

5.  68 Hour Rule

Students who transfer into the University may present for degree credit no more than 68 hours of lower division course work (1000 and 2000 level). 

6.  Advanced Composition

Every undergraduate student is required to take and pass ENGL 2003 Advanced Composition unless exemption can be gained.  ENGL 2003 will not count as part of the total number of hours required for a degree in the College of Engineering.

7.  State Minimum Core

The University of Arkansas has adopted a “State Minimum Core” of 35 semester-credit-hours of general education courses that are required of all baccalaureate degree candidates. This is in compliance with Arkansas Act 98 of 1989 and the subsequent action of the Arkansas State Board of Higher Education. Beginning in the fall semester of 1991, all state institutions of higher education in Arkansas have a 35-hour minimum core requirement with specified hours in each of six academic areas. The University and the College of Engineering have identified those courses that meet the minimum requirement, and they are listed in the chart below.

Students should consult the requirements for specific departments and programs when choosing courses for use in the UA University Core.

Every student in the College of Engineering is required to complete a minimum of 18 semester hours in the humanities and social sciences. Six semester hours must be at the 3000-level or above. A list of approved upper-level humanities/social science courses is available in departmental offices and the dean’s office.

No more than nine semester hours from any single discipline may be presented for degree credit. To meet the University Core requirements, the total number of hours (both upper level and lower level) in the fine arts/humanities courses must be at least six, and the social science hours must total at least nine (in addition to the U.S. history or government requirement). The six hours of courses at the 3000 and 4000 level may be in the fine arts and humanities area, the social science area, or divided between the two areas. Since some of the humanities and social science courses are specified in some of the curricula, e.g., ECON 2143 in chemical and mechanical engineering, the student should consult the curriculum of the department in which he/she is enrolled prior to selecting upper-level electives.