UTEP - Bachelor's of Multidisciplinary Studies

For the curious re: UTEP, this thread represents my knowledge and experience. It is some basic info as well as thoughts and impressions from the students' side. This thread is meant to focus on the program, not myself. I have included much of my information so that the reader will know the frame of reference from which I experienced the university. If you have any further questions, please ask.

First, an overview: UTEP is a traditional B&M university located in El Paso, TX. They have a decent offering of undergraduate programs, and are (reputationally) well-regarded in the field of border studies. UTEP also has several post-grad programs. Their teacher certification program will roll into a Master's if you wish, and has good name recognition. They also, both independently and as part of the UT system (all of the UT campuses), have a good selection of DL classes. You can peruse the class offerings here: https://tis.telecampus.utsystem.edu/Default.aspx?args=SIziKJG+JLZH98hMb/U4UvLPyNK2ernB4NpYwoQxZyE There is a search function on the left. You can search specifics or just leave the field blank and it will show you all available classes. The results are mostly accurate, though on a couple of occasions I have signed up for a class only to be told that the class has been cancelled and not pulled from the TIS (the above link).

What drew me toward UTEP (among other things) was that they advertise a Bachelor's Accelerated Completion program. 8 week classes, accelerated format, plenty of class offerings, wham bam thank you ma'am. They do not, however, actually have the program. There is no BAC through any of the UT system campuses. I am told by my advisor that this is due to state budget cuts. I was distraught when I first learned this; it has turned out to not matter to me because I have been able to structure my degree plan such that I am still finishing by my self-imposed deadline. For whatever reason, they still advertise the BAC, though, so be careful. I'm sure there's a decent bait-and-switch case here. My needs are met, so I stopped bitching about it.

What they do have is a 100% DL Bachelor's of Multidisciplinary Studies. They will allow you to transfer in as many hours as you wish, and perform their own evaluations (and they are thorough) on the courses to award credit as they see fit. I had little issue with my evaluation; it came in about as I had expected it. They have a "residency" requirement of 30 hours, though I have learned that this is flexible. This is not a physical residency requirement. In order for the program requirement to be met, UTEP wants the student to take 30 hours while enrolled in the BMS program from a UT system school. I will wind up having taken 24 hours during my enrollment; my advisor secured an exception to the requirement for me. This is a snapshot of my transcript when I enrolled:
View attachment 349 All of my work had been done at traditional B&M campuses in Texas. UTEP evaluated these 98 hours, and allocated 88 of them toward my BMS. They had no issue with the remaining classes, they just didn't fit in the right holes. The attachment manager on this forum will only allow me to upload one file per post, so I will attempt to post the evaluation in a response.

The BMS is a 120 hour program. 45 required advanced hours. They want the student to have 3 concentrations. The concentrations each require 15 hours, with a minimum of 9 advanced toward each. Mine are Biology, Composite Science, and Liberal Arts. The school is flexible on the concentration field. If you don't find one that suits you, make one up. I wound up not having to go this route, but my advisor assures me that it is a common practice.

Due to the timing of my admission, I started the Fall semester on the day that classes started. Because of that, I basically had to take anything that was left open for this semester. So, I've spent an entire semester studying criminal justice and women's studies. uke: The work has been rigorous, both in the area of work load and difficulty. The professors are first-class, disregarding trivial issues that anyone always has if they are truly engaged in the class. My class list this semester is as follows: CRCJ 3350 Research Methodology in Criminal Justice uke:, CRCJ 4333 Institutional Corrections uke:, CRCJ 4380 Comparative Criminal Justiceuke:, and HUMN 3303 Medieval Society from the Distaff Side uke:. All of these have simply been "filler" classes. I needed the hours for electives and such, but they have no bearing on my academic or professional interests.

To help fill in some of the gaps, I have also begun my testing regimen. I have passed CLEP US Hist 1, CLEP US Hist 2, and CLEP Marketing. I sit this week for CLEP Management and DSST Technical Writing. These tests combined with my spring semester course load complete my graduation requirements. I sit for more next semester, but they are strictly to fulfill post-grad admissions requirements. My course load for spring is as follows: SCED 3312 Methods in Secondary Ed, POLS 2311 US Politicsuke:, HUMN 3330 Challenges of Modern Culture, and EDUC 1300 Principles of Education. This is not an ideal class load, but is much more palatable than my fall term. Note the 1:4 puke ratio.

I settled on this university for a number of factors. As stated previously, the BAC hooked me, but was a fraud. They have good name recognition (at least here in Texas), they are part of the UT system (again good name impact), they have B&M as well as 100% DL offerings (I couldn't get over the hang-up), do not differentiate their diploma, have traditional and some abbreviated class formats, and as a state university they were compatible with my financial aid packages. It is an added benefit that my end-goal is secondary ed, and UTEP has a 100% DL alternative certification program that earns Master's credits.

The cons: BAC bait-and-switch is number 1. As I said, don't make any decisions based on this. Beyond that, they are HUGELY understaffed on an administrative level. My course evaluation took over a month to complete. Admissions, business office, financial aid, registrar, etc. All of the admin offices are extremely difficult to get on the phone during peak times (registration, drop day, etc.). Also, as part of the UT system, there is a fair amount of bureaucracy to wade through in order to accomplish anything. The advisors are overloaded. Mine is a rock star in my opinion. He doesn't have time to return phone calls or answer emails, but if you call repeatedly until he answers, he makes things happen.

All in all, I am satisfied with the university. To me, they are a means to an end, and so I am easier to please were I in a different position. If I were pursuing an education on purely academic terms (sigh, maybe some day), I would probably try to find a more user-friendly university. But for all I know, maybe UTEP is dynamite compared to others. My DL experience is limited to this one run.

I seem to have a knack for marathon threads, so I'm going to cut this one off here. I hope this helps someone. If anyone has any questions, I'm glad to help.

 

What are your plans for this bachelor's? Going on to grad school?

 

Thank you for the write-up. That is a lot of synchronized pukin' however. I would probably enjoy the Medieval Society course, but I could probably do as well with just the reading list .

Phillip

 

Secondary education. I'm pushing for a secondary composite science certification so that I will be licensed to teach any of the classical sciences at the high school level. I do also see a MEd, MAT, or some related degree on the horizon.

:wink1: I know. Did you see the classes? Yuk. The reading list for that class is surprisingly predictable: Tempest, Inferno, Heptameron, Yvain, etc... But the approach to them is different than what I have been exposed to in the past. That particular professor is extremely tough, but I've actually enjoyed the class for the most part.

For some reason, the thread will not let me link to the degree eval. I guess if anyone has any interest in how they initially allocated credit, PM me and I'll email it to you.

Another thing worth mentioning: UTEP does not have an official limit on the number of hours available via CLEP/DANTES, just the aforementioned 30 hour "residency" requirement.

 

Emissary,

Thanks for sharing your degree plan. UTEP's program sounds very flexible and interesting, especially the part where the student is required to complete 3 concentrations! Good luck with the rest of your degree!