Incoming Students
Congratulations on your commitment to pursue your higher education here at UTEP! We have created this page as your point of reference to answer any questions you may have. For information on college-specific pathways, please scroll down.
If you have any concerns, please contact us. See you soon, and Go Miners!
Admissions
To begin your admission to the University, you will need to complete the ApplyTexas form. As part of the preparatory process for New Student Orientation (below), we will visit your ECHS campus to host a series of ApplyTexas application events. Please speak with your ECHS counselor for more information and specific dates.
As you complete the ApplyTexas process, please keep the following important points in mind:
- Select to complete the process for admission to a four-year institution.
- Complete the form as a first-year freshman with dual credit.
- When asked if you have attended a community college, select "No" as your answer. (This question deals with tuition expenses, which you have not been responsible for covering as an ECHS student.)
- When prompted for the number of dual credit hours you have completed, the number you enter will be verified with your official transcripts. You do not need to worry about this figure being exact, when you complete the form. As ECHS students, most of you will enroll at UTEP with a minimum of 60 credit hours.
- When you finish the application process, be sure to click on "Submit" to finalize the process. Without this, your application will not be routed to UTEP Admissions. You will receive a confirmation directly from the website if you complete this step properly.
If you have any questions regarding the admissions process, please contact:
Office of Admissions and Recruitment
Scholarships
Scholarships are great financial opportunities that offset the cost of college. We recommend that you apply for multiple scholarships so that you may increase your chances of receiving this special type of aid. You may also be eligible for scholarship support through the ECHS Academic Success Center, based on your eligibility as a traditional graduate. For more information, please refer to our Scholarships menu above.
If you have any questions regarding scholarships, please contact:
Office of Scholarships
New Student Orientation
In order to register for courses at UTEP, you must go through New Student Orientation. Every semester, we organize an ECHS New Student Orientation (NSO) to support you towards this process. You are required to attend NSO the semester prior to your enrollment at UTEP. For example; if you plan to start at UTEP in Fall 2023, you will need to attend NSO during Spring 2023. If you plan to start at UTEP in Spring 2024, you will need to attend NSO during Fall 2023.
ECHS NSO sessions normally take place over two full days, from 8:00am to 4:00pm. You are required to attend both days in order to meet this requirement. For specific dates and other important details, please refer to our Orientation menu/page.
If you have any questions regarding New Student Orientation, please contact:
Office of New Student Orientation
College Pathways
This section will cover important points to keep in mind, according to the college of your major. Please consider these details carefully and refer to official college websites for updates and other relevant information; links are provided below.
College of Business Administration (COBA)
- COBA students are required to select a Business minor or certificate program, along with their specific majors.
- Be wary of your math placement and statistics requirements for your degree plan. Speak with your advisor about this during NSO.
College of Education (COED)
- COED offers one degree plan, a Bachelor of Education, with a variety of concentrations. These different pathways are specific to Elementary Education, Bilingual Education, and/or Special Education, among others. For a full listing, please refer to the following page on the UTEP Catalog.
- If you would like to teach Grades 7 through 12, you will need to major in the content area you plan to teach, and minor in Secondary Education. The degree plan offered by COED will not apply towards these grade levels. For more information, please speak to a college advisor.
College of Engineering (COEN)
- Architecture is not a major offered at UTEP. Most students interested in this discipline opt to major in Civil Engineering.
- COEN degree plans are very math intensive; most require upper-division math courses, beyond Calculus III.
- All classes are specific to the major you declare. Unlike other colleges, there is no overlap of coursework from one major to another. This means that if you decide to change your major, this will reset your time to graduation to the start of the major courses for your new degree plan; for the most part, this entails a minimum two-year delay to your graduation.
- We strongly recommend early professional exposure and research into the different Engineering disciplines, to ensure that you select the best major fit for you, according to your professional interests and aspirations.
College of Health Sciences (COHS)
- All degree plans have different concentrations attached to them. For a full listing of options, please refer to the following page on the UTEP Catalog.
- There are specific requirements associated with some careers, such as Physical Therapy and/or Coaching. Please speak with a COHS advisor for more information, to ensure that you select the best major for your intended occupation.
- If you are interested in medical, dental, veterinary, and/or Physician Assistant (P.A.) programs, you may consider a major in the College of Science instead. Please see below for additional details.
College of Liberal Arts (CLA)
- All CLA students are required to select a minor. For a full listing of options, according to your major, please click here to access a PDF with specific details.
- CLA degree plans include block electives as a requirement to graduate. Block electives are required in 3 areas: Fine and Performing Arts, Humanities, and Social and Behavioral Sciences. For more information, please speak to your departmental advisor.
- There are two options for students interested in Psychology -- Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and/or Bachelor of Science (B.S.). The B.A. pathway focuses on the social/behavioral aspect of psychology, while the B.S. pathway is geared towards clinical applications. B.S. Psychology majors are also required to complete a minor in Science, as opposed to a humanities minor.
College of Science (COS)
- All COS students are required to take Pre-Calculus as a prerequisite for ALL other science courses in their degree plans. It is important that you enroll at UTEP having already completed both parts of Pre-Calculus at EPCC, or you may need to take MATH 1508 (Pre-Calculus) at UTEP first in order to meet this requirement. If this is the case, you will not be able to take any science courses at UTEP until you complete MATH 1508.
- "Pre-Med," "Pre-Dental," and/or "Pre-Vet" are not majors. These are unofficial titles given to students interested in any of these fields, but they are not specific majors at UTEP, or at other universities/colleges. Please speak to the College of Science CORE advisors, and/or to the Medical Professions Institute, to determine the best options for the health pathway you are interested in pursuing.
School of Nursing (SON)
- The Nursing program at UTEP is separated into 3 distinct phases. As you enter the University, you will be considered a Phase I student; you will need to rank into Phase II and Phase III to complete the program. The complete degree can be found at the following page on the UTEP Catalog.
- Your GPA will be a critically important component towards your ranking. Typically, it is recommended that all of your course grades are A's and B's, to enhance your competitive edge. For specific guidelines, please speak with a Nursing advisor.