SCIENCE LABS NO LONGER PART OF WCJC CORE CURRICULUM

July 16, 2025
Beginning for the Fall 2025 semester, Wharton County Junior College’s core curriculum will no longer require science labs. Science labs remain a requirement for science-related majors but not for non-science majors. Pictured is WCJC student Philip Salinas of Wallis utilizing a microscope under the guidance of WCJC Biology Department Chair Jennifer Mahlmann.

Beginning for the Fall 2025 semester, Wharton County Junior College’s core curriculum will no longer require science labs. Science labs remain a requirement for science-related majors but not for non-science majors. Pictured is WCJC student Philip Salinas of Wallis utilizing a microscope under the guidance of WCJC Biology Department Chair Jennifer Mahlmann.

 

WHARTON, TEXAS – Non-science minded students will soon have a reason to rejoice. Beginning this fall, Wharton County Junior College’s core curriculum will no longer require science labs. Science labs remain a requirement for science-related majors but not for non-science majors.

WCJC is making the change to facilitate the transfer process for those students wishing to transfer to a university without unnecessary course credit hours. The change further promotes the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s focus on completion. The core curriculum is comprised of 42 semester credit hours that every student must take in order to obtain an associate or bachelor degree. Science labs typically comprise two to three semester credit hours of WCJC’s degree.

“By eliminating two semester credit hours of required labs from the core, students may now select another core course that ties directly to their major for transfer,” said WCJC’s Vice President of Instruction Leigh Ann Collins. “This especially benefits business majors — our largest declared major at WCJC — since the business field typically requires science courses but not labs.”

Students pursuing majors in fields of study that require science labs will still be required to take them. The lab hours will count toward the overall 60 semester credit hours required for an associate degree rather than being a component of the core curriculum. For more information on WCJC’s programs and course requirements, visit wcjc.edu.

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