General Education at ßÙßÇÂþ»
Students follow the General Education program in effect for the year they matriculate at ßÙßÇÂþ». For example, students matriculating in Summer 2024, Fall 2024, or Spring 2025 would follow the General Education requirements as stated in the 2024-2025 Academic Guide. Generally, a student's catalog year is the same as the academic year in which they matriculate at ßÙßÇÂþ». If you are not sure which requirements apply to you, please contact your school/college advising office for assistance.
Note: Some General Education courses may have more than one General Education listed. However, except for Composition, Oral Communication, Joint Composition/Oral Communication, or World Language classes, General Education courses may be used to fulfill only one General Education requirement. For example, a course may be designated as Composition, Social Sciences, and Diversity: Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice. You will either receive credit for Composition + Diversity: Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice or for Composition + Social Sciences. If you have questions about what General Education requirements a course will fulfill, please contact your school/college's advising office.
Requirements may differ by catalog year; please follow the Academic Guide (formerly Bulletin) and planning sheet for your catalog year. If you have questions, please see your academic advisor.
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- Previous Guides or Bulletins can be found on the Academic Guide site on the left navigation.
Changes to General Education for Students First Enrolled Before Fall 2023
Effective in Fall 2023, ßÙßÇÂþ» phased in SUNY’s new General Education Framework. Some additional changes were made in Fall 2026. Your requirements did not change, but you might see some name changes!
General Education Categories
Students must earn credit for each of the following general education categories:
| C - Composition | M - Mathematics |
| O - Oral Communication | L - Laboratory Sciences |
| J - Joint Composition and Oral Communication* | H - Humanities |
| D - Diversity: Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice | N - Social Sciences |
| USD - U.S. Diversity: Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice | A - Aesthetics |
| WL - World Languages** | GL - Global Issues |
| Y - Physical Activity | S - Wellness |
| B - Both Physical Activity and Wellness*** |
Notes:
*Students need to take either a) one C and one O course; or b) one J - Joint Composition and Oral Communication course.
**The WL requirement is met by earning credit for WL1, WL2, and WL3 courses. Further information regarding the WL requirement is listed below.
***Students need to take either a) one Y and one S course; or b) one B - Both Physical Activity and Wellness course.
If you have questions about your specific requirements, please check with your college/school's academic advising office.
Name Change Categories
The following general education categories have had name changes as detailed below:
| Current Name | Former Name |
| Diversity: Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice - D | Pluralism in the United States - P |
| U.S. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice - USD | U.S. History Pluralism - USP |
| World Language - WL1, WL2, WL3 | Foreign Language - FL1, FL2, FL3 |
| Global Issues - GL | Global Interdependencies - G |
DegreeWorks Example
World Language Requirements
For detailed information about World Language Requirements for traditional and transfer students, please click here.
Students with Disabilities
Students with documented disabilities who feel their disabilities will impact their academic tenure at ßÙßÇÂþ» should contact the Office for Services for Students with Disabilities at ext. 7-2686 or 607-777-2686, or email.
Appeals and Petitions
ßÙßÇÂþ» students must successfully complete all General Education requirements as a condition of graduation. Generally speaking, General Education requirements are not waived for any students. However, we are aware that some students with special circumstances feel their situation warrants a waiver of one of the General Education requirements. Appeals of General Education requirements are considered by the University Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UUCC), the committee which oversees ßÙßÇÂþ»'s General Education program.
Submitting an Appeal
Students may submit appeals of the General Education requirements by using the . Please note that this form requires a ßÙßÇÂþ» email address. If you experience problems using the form, please contact Undergraduate Education.
IMPORTANT: Before you submit a petition, please read the information below to see if your question has already been answered or if additional documentation will be required.
Specific Questions ßÙßÇÂþ» Appeals
- I took a course last semester (last year, etc.) that I think should have fulfilled
a General Education requirement but it didn't. Is there anything I can do?
- Unfortunately, once a course has been completed, it cannot be designated as meeting a General Education requirement.
- My advisor said this General Education requirement was fulfilled, but my degree audit
says I still need the requirement. I think I was misadvised. Can I appeal this?
- If you appeal on the grounds that you were misadvised about your General Education requirements, you must provide documentation of the advising error in order for your petition to be considered. Specifically, if you state in your appeal that your advisor told you that a particular General Education requirement was completed or that you did not need to take a course to fulfill a particular General Education requirement, you must provide a statement from the advisor in which they affirm that you were misadvised. This documentation is necessary for your appeal to be considered; it does not guarantee your appeal will be granted.
- I had a degree audit that showed I was done with this General Education requirement,
but my new degree audit says I still need to take the course. I think the degree audit
misadvised me. Can I appeal this?
- If you appeal on the grounds that you were misadvised about your General Education requirements, you must provide documentation of the advising error in order for your petition to be considered. Specifically, if you state in your appeal that your degree audit showed that a particular General Education requirement was completed and that you did not need to take a course, you must provide a hard copy of the degree audit with your petition. This documentation is necessary for your appeal to be considered; it does not guarantee your appeal will be granted.
- I have a medical condition or disability that prevents me from taking Physical Activity
courses. Can the Physical Activity requirement be waived?
- If you are requesting a waiver of the Physical Activity requirement on the basis of a medical condition or a documented temporary or permanent physical disability, you should first contact the University Health Service. Students with serious medical conditions or temporary or permanent disabilities may be assigned to the ACR (adaptive, corrective, rehabilitative) program or have the requirement waived.
- Petitions for waivers on this basis must be accompanied by a letter from the medical director of the Decker Student Health Services Center stating that, in the doctor's medical opinion, the Activity requirement should be waived.
- Please be aware, however, that the doctor's decision may be to assign you to the ACR program rather than waiving the requirement.
- Please note after getting a recommendation from the Decker Health Center, you must fill out our appeal form for final approval by UUCC. UUCC must approve the appeal to receive the waiver.
Transfer Student Info
For all requirements, transfer students from other SUNY schools who have been certified as meeting the SUNY-wide General Education requirement prior to matriculation at ßÙßÇÂþ» will have met the corresponding ßÙßÇÂþ» requirement. Please note, because the SUNY-wide World Language Requirement is one college-level course, transfer students who fulfilled the SUNY-wide World Language requirement may need additional coursework.
Courses transferred from schools outside the SUNY system will be evaluated solely in terms of ßÙßÇÂþ»'s General Education requirements. Contact your advisor for more information.
Comparison of ßÙßÇÂþ» and SUNY General Education Requirements
The table below shows the names of the SUNY General Education requirements and the corresponding ßÙßÇÂþ» requirements for transfer students.
| SUNY Requirements | Corresponding ßÙßÇÂþ» Requirements |
| Diversity: Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice | Diversity: Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice |
| Basic Communications |
Composition, Oral Communication or Joint Composition + Oral Communication |
| World Language | World Language |
| Humanities | Humanities |
| Mathematics | Mathematics |
| Natural Sciences | Laboratory Sciences |
| Social Sciences | Social Sciences |
| The Arts | Aesthetics |
|
World History and Global Awareness* |
Global Issues (renamed from Global Interdependencies) |
| N/A |
Physical Activity, Wellness or Both Physical Activity/Wellness** |
*Note: ßÙßÇÂþ» does not have a requirement that corresponds with SUNY’s
World History and Global Awareness requirement. In some cases, courses that fulfill
the SUNY World History and Global Awareness requirements, depending on content, may
fulfill ßÙßÇÂþ»â€™s Global Issues requirement. Please see your advisor for more information.
**Note: There is no corresponding SUNY Requirement for the Physical Activity and Wellness
Requirement. However, some courses may transfer with the category. Please see your
advisor for more information.