Texas High School Endorsement Curriculum Requirements

Use this handy document to review the course requirements for each of the five endorsements on the Foundation High School Program. 

A student may earn an endorsement by successfully completing:

• Curriculum requirements for the endorsement (Foundation High School Program and the required series of courses) 
• A total of four credits in mathematics 
• A total of four credits in science 
• Two additional elective credits

The STEM Endorsement

This endorsement focuses mainly on the STEM career cluster and is recommended for students interested in going into a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics related career. The STEM endorsement is attained by completing a coherent sequence, or series of courses, from one of the following:

• CTE courses with a final course from the STEM career cluster
• Computer science
• Mathematics
• Science
• A combination of no more than two of the categories listed above

The Business and Industry Endorsement

The Business and Industry endorsement is designed to help students focus on courses related to a student’s interests in the business field as a career. If a student is interested in becoming an architect, project manager, financial advisor, or information technology specialist, this may be an appropriate endorsement for them to pursue. The Business and Industry endorsement is attained by completing a coherent sequence, or series of courses, selected from one of the following:

• CTE courses with a final course from the Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources; Architecture and Construction; Arts, Audio/Video, Technology, and Communications; Business Management and Administration; Finance; Hospitality and Tourism; Information Technology; Manufacturing; Marketing; Transportation, or Distribution and Logistics career clusters
• The following English electives: public speaking, debate, or advanced broadcast journalism including newspaper and yearbook
• Technology applications
• A combination of credits from the categories listed above

The Public Service Endorsement

This endorsement prepares students to work directly with people in a public service capacity in fields such as education and government. The Public Service endorsement can be earned by completing a coherent sequence, or series of courses, selected from one of the following:

• CTE courses with a final course from the Education and Training; Government and Public Administration; Health Science; Human Services; or Law, Public Safety, Corrections, and Security career clusters 
• Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC)

The Arts and Humanities Endorsement

The Arts and Humanities endorsement is an endorsement that allows students to focus on courses directly related to fine arts, English literature, foreign languages, and social studies. This would be appropriate for students who are interested in a career in the entertainment industry. The Arts and Humanities endorsement can be attained by completing a coherent sequence, or series of courses, selected from one of the following:

• Social studies
• Four levels of the same language other than English
• Two levels each of two languages other than English
• American Sign Language (ASL)
• Courses from one or two categories (art, dance, music, and theater) in fine arts
• English electives that are not part of business and industry

The Multidisciplinary Endorsement

This endorsement supports occupations that are multidisciplinary in nature but is also recommended for students who are unsure of their career path. The Multidisciplinary Studies Endorsement can be earned by completing a coherent sequence, or series of courses, selected from the following:

• Four advanced courses that prepare a student to enter the workforce successfully or postsecondary education without remediation from within one endorsement area or among endorsement areas that are not in a coherent sequence
• Four credits in each of the four foundation subject areas, to include English IV and chemistry and/or physics
• Four credits in AP®, IB®, or dual credit selected from English, mathematics, science, social studies, economics, languages other than English, or fine arts