UGS 303Lower division3 credit hours
UGS 303 First-Year Signature Course
Since 2011, UGS 303 has averaged 3.58 with 53% A’s. In Spring 2026 it averaged 3.73, about the same as other undergraduate UGS classes that term.
Registration detailsBefore you register
Listed for Spring 2027 · UT’s published schedule
UT prerequisites and restrictions
- Who can take it
- Restricted to first-year students.
- Catalog edition
- 2026–27
- Class hours a week
- 3
- Grading
- Letter grade or pass/fail, your choice
- Repeat for credit
- No
- Core curriculum
- First-year signature course (090)
Grade distribution
Spring 2026: 2,166 letter grades, 3.73 average GPA, 67% A’s, 131 sections
Bars show the selected term. Short lines show all terms combined.
Grade counts
| Grade | Students | Share | All terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1,449 | 66.9% | 52.7% |
| A− | 328 | 15.1% | 18.6% |
| B+ | 126 | 5.8% | 9.0% |
| B | 131 | 6.0% | 9.8% |
| B− | 45 | 2.1% | 3.7% |
| C+ | 36 | 1.7% | 1.7% |
| C | 19 | 0.9% | 1.9% |
| C− | 9 | 0.4% | 0.8% |
| D+ | 5 | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| D | 4 | 0.2% | 0.4% |
| D− | 3 | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| F | 11 | 0.5% | 1.0% |
| Q, W, CR, and others | 57 | Not in the average | |
How have grades changed?
UT’s grade reports show 40 terms from Summer 2011 to Spring 2026 (15 falls, 15 springs, and 10 summers).
Grades by term
| Term | Sections | Letter grades | Average GPA | A’s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring 2026 | 131 | 2,166 | 3.73 | 66.9% |
| Fall 2025 | 199 | 3,326 | 3.69 | 63.5% |
| Spring 2025 | 154 | 2,426 | 3.66 | 64.5% |
| Fall 2024 | 222 | 3,673 | 3.67 | 57.4% |
| Spring 2024 | 142 | 2,294 | 3.72 | 66.3% |
| Fall 2023 | 269 | 4,537 | 3.67 | 61.9% |
| Spring 2023 | 139 | 2,283 | 3.60 | 57.7% |
| Fall 2022 | 274 | 4,590 | 3.67 | 62.7% |
| Summer 2022 | 2 | 33 | 3.69 | 48.5% |
| Spring 2022 | 99 | 1,640 | 3.62 | 60.2% |
| Fall 2021 | 252 | 4,074 | 3.66 | 62.1% |
| Spring 2021 | 87 | 1,325 | 3.75 | 66.8% |
| Fall 2020 | 266 | 4,254 | 3.69 | 62.0% |
| Spring 2020 | 72 | 989 | 3.74 | 66.2% |
| Fall 2019 | 296 | 4,840 | 3.66 | 56.9% |
| Summer 2019 | 2 | 30 | 3.79 | 80.0% |
| Spring 2019 | 115 | 1,583 | 3.49 | 51.5% |
| Fall 2018 | 328 | 5,333 | 3.65 | 56.1% |
| Summer 2018 | 3 | 44 | 3.46 | 45.5% |
| Spring 2018 | 187 | 2,874 | 3.53 | 49.7% |
| Fall 2017 | 252 | 4,167 | 3.60 | 49.5% |
| Summer 2017 | 3 | 49 | 3.59 | 42.9% |
| Spring 2017 | 133 | 1,997 | 3.57 | 48.5% |
| Fall 2016 | 334 | 5,612 | 3.58 | 51.0% |
| Summer 2016 | 3 | 47 | 3.49 | 27.7% |
| Spring 2016 | 139 | 2,117 | 3.47 | 46.3% |
| Fall 2015 | 332 | 5,492 | 3.55 | 46.7% |
| Summer 2015 | 6 | 91 | 3.56 | 42.9% |
| Spring 2015 | 135 | 2,014 | 3.46 | 38.8% |
| Fall 2014 | 285 | 4,794 | 3.57 | 50.8% |
| Summer 2014 | 7 | 106 | 3.78 | 73.6% |
| Spring 2014 | 117 | 1,807 | 3.47 | 42.4% |
| Fall 2013 | 325 | 5,512 | 3.48 | 41.3% |
| Summer 2013 | 10 | 154 | 3.77 | 64.3% |
| Spring 2013 | 169 | 2,615 | 3.36 | 37.6% |
| Fall 2012 | 346 | 5,638 | 3.44 | 40.7% |
| Summer 2012 | 9 | 142 | 3.71 | 60.6% |
| Spring 2012 | 138 | 2,114 | 3.36 | 39.9% |
| Fall 2011 | 288 | 4,750 | 3.41 | 38.7% |
| Summer 2011 | 16 | 239 | 3.68 | 66.5% |
What’s UGS 303 about?
Large-group lecture and discussion class focusing on a contemporary issue. Designed to introduce undergraduates to scholarly analysis from an interdisciplinary perspective. Includes an introduction to University resources, such as research facilities, museums, and attendance at University lectures or performances as assigned. Multiple sections may be offered in the fall and spring with various topics and instructors. Only one of the following may be counted: Tutorial Course 302, Undergraduate Studies 302, 303. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Some sections may require additional meeting times; these are identified in the Course Schedule.
Prepare for class
- Interdisciplinary analysis
- Research sources
- Scholarly discussion
Review · Pick a news claim and trace it to the source it cites.
Self-check · A news story links to a survey summary. Where would you look to see exactly how the question was asked?
Show the answer
Start with the survey's published questionnaire or methods appendix. The wording helps explain which question the responses answer.
Instructor evaluations
UT posts its course evaluation results as one public list per term. Open a term and look for UGS 303 in it: Spring 2026 · Fall 2025 · Summer 2025 · Spring 2025.
UT’s CES ratings search · Results before Fall 2022 · Syllabi and evaluations for UGS 303
The guide links UT’s own results and copies no numbers.
What comes before and after?
Courses named by UT
See the registration information above.
This class
Leads to
See the registration information above.
You can get credit for only one of these
Sources
The Spring 2027 listing comes from UT’s printed schedule, checked November 9, 2026.
Class details come from UT’s Undergraduate Studies catalog page, 2026–27 edition, checked October 27, 2026. Match requirements to your own catalog and degree plan.
Grades come from UT’s grade dashboard, updated October 27, 2026. UT leaves out some small classes to protect students’ privacy.
Each letter grade counts once. A− has its own bar. Subject averages cover the same subject, level, and term, including this class. How the averages are calculated.