General Education

Academic Director: Angela Francis, PhD
CUNY School of Professional Studies
101 West 31st Street, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10001
Email Contact: angela.francis@cuny.edu

The General Education Curriculum, also called Common Core Curriculum, is an educational experience shared by all CUNY School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) students. The CUNY SPS General Education Curriculum is part of CUNY’s Pathways General Education Framework, requirements that undergraduate students across CUNY must satisfy. The three elements of this framework:  the Required Common Core, the Flexible Common Core, and the CUNY SPS College Option Core, foster knowledge of human culture and the natural world (in science, social science, mathematics, humanities and the arts), intellectual and practical skills (in communication, quantitative reasoning, information literacy, critical thinking and inquiry), and individual and social responsibility (civic engagement, ethical reasoning, and intercultural awareness).

Transfer Credit Evaluation

Undergraduate transcripts from other institutions are carefully evaluated to give applicants credit for courses taken elsewhere that fulfill Common Core requirements. If you have concerns about how courses completed at another institution have been evaluated for transfer credit, please contact your advisor to review your Transfer Evaluation Credit Report. If, after appealing your Transfer Evaluation Credit Report, CUNY SPS determines that additional credit is not warranted, SPS will issue its decision in writing within fifteen business days.  If you wish to appeal CUNY SPS’s decision, you may submit your appeal to CUNY’s Office of Academic Affairs.  

For more information about student rights and responsibilities under the Pathways Common Core Curriculum, click here. 

ePermit Students 

Students who are currently enrolled in a degree program at a CUNY campus may register for CUNY SPS courses through ePermit (PDF). In many cases, CUNY SPS courses are considered equivalent to and may be substituted for courses in CUNY degree programs. Through ePermit, students file an online request to take a CUNY SPS course. As part of the ePermit process, registrars and faculty advisors at the student’s home college must approve this request. Students are kept informed via email of the status of their permit requests. If the student’s home college rejects the request, he or she is notified via email, with the reason indicated in the email message.

Note: Students who entered CUNY SPS before fall 2013 will automatically be required to continue with the General Education requirements in place at the time of their matriculation into their current degree program. However, they will have the option to follow the new Pathways General Education requirements as outlined below. To determine which path is right for you, contact your advisor. To view the General Education requirements prior to Fall 2013 visit http://sps.cuny.edu/filestore/1/5/9/9_c906f2c514a6211/1599_124d18a760d0e7b.pdf.

Course Descriptions

Required Core

English Composition

Students are required to complete two courses (six credits) in English Composition. These courses will enable students to:

• Read and listen critically and analytically, including identifying an argument’s major assumptions and assertions and evaluating its supporting evidence.

• Write clearly and coherently in varied, academic formats (such as formal essays, research papers, and reports) using standard English and appropriate technology to critique and improve one’s own and others’ texts.

• Demonstrate research skills using appropriate technology, including gathering, evaluating, and synthesizing primary and secondary sources.

• Support a thesis with well-reasoned arguments, and communicate persuasively across a variety of contexts, purposes, audiences, and media.

• Formulate original ideas and relate them to the ideas of others by employing the conventions of ethical attribution and citation.

• ENG 101 - College Writing I (3 Credits)

• ENG 102 - College Writing II (3 Credits)

Mathematical and Quantitative Reasoning

Students are required to complete one course (three credits) in Mathematical and Quantitative Reasoning. This course will require you to:

• Interpret quantitative representations (e.g. graphs, formulas)

• Use algebraic, numerical, graphical, or statistical methods

• Translate problems from language to math

• Effectively communicate answers to mathematical problems

• Evaluate solutions to mathematical problems

• Apply mathematical methods to problems in other fields of study

• MATH 102 - Mathematics in Contemporary Society (3 Credits)

• MATH 215 - Introduction to Statistics (3 Credits)

Life and Physical Sciences

Students are required to complete one course (three credits) in Life and Physical Sciences. This course will require you to:

• Identify and apply concepts and methods of science

• Apply the scientific method to explore natural phenomena

• Use scientific tools to carry out collaborative laboratory work

• Gather, analyze, and interpret data in reports

• Use research ethics and unbiased assessment

• AST 101 - Introductory Astronomy (3 Credits)

• BIO 200 - Human Biology (3 Credits)

• BIO 250 - The Tree of Life: Understanding Evolution (3 Credits)

• CHEM 101 - General Chemistry (3 Credits)

• EAS 201 - The Nature of New York (3 Credits)

• EAS 250 - Oceanography (3 Credits)

Flexible Core

All Flexible Core courses must meet the following three learning outcomes. A student will:

• Gather, interpret, and assess information from a variety of sources and points of view.

• Evaluate evidence and arguments critically or analytically.

• Produce well-reasoned written or oral arguments using evidence to support conclusions.

World Cultures and Global Issues

Students are required to complete one course (three credits) in World Cultures and Global Issues. This course will require you to do at least three of the following:

• Apply concepts and methods of a discipline or field to world cultures or global issues

• Analyze and describe culture, globalization, or global diversity

• Analyze the history of a non-U.S. society

• Analyze a major movement that has shaped a non-U.S. society

• Analyze the role of identity categories in a non-U.S. society

• Speak, read, and write in a language other than English

• AFRS 101 - Ethnology of Africa (3 Credits)

• ANTH 101 - Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (3 Credits)

• CHIN 101 - Beginning Chinese I (3 Credits)

• CHIN 102 - Beginning Chinese II (3 Credits)

• ENG 211 - World Literature (3 Credits)

• HIST 102 - Origins of the Modern World, 1500 to the Present (3 Credits)

• HIST 202 - Contemporary World History: 1900 - Present (3 Credits)

• LAS 101 - Latin America and Caribbean Cultures (3 Credits)

• SPAN 101 - Beginning Spanish I (3 Credits)

• SPAN 102 - Beginning Spanish II (3 Credits)

• SPAN 110 - Spanish for Health Professions (3 Credits)

U.S. Experience in its Diversity

Students are required to complete one course (three credits) in U.S. Experience in its Diversity. This course will require you to do at least three of the following:

• Apply concepts and methods of a discipline or field to U.S. experience in its diversity

• Analyze and explain a major theme in U.S. history from multiple perspectives

• Evaluate the impact of indigenous populations, slavery, or immigration on the U.S.

• Explain and evaluate the role of the U.S. in international relations

• Identify, differentiate between, and analyze the influence of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government

• Analyze and discuss U.S. society in terms of race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, belief, etc.

• AMER 200 - American History and Culture (3 Credits)

• GEOG 301 - International Migration (3 Credits)

• LANG 201 - Language in a Multicultural Setting (3 Credits)

• POL 201 - Politics and Government of New York City (3 Credits)

• SOC 250 - Transformations of Work in America (3 Credits)

Creative Expression

Students are required to complete one course (three credits) in Creative Expression. This course will require you to do at least three of the following:

• Apply concepts and methods of a discipline or field to creative expression

• Analyze and describe the significance of arts from diverse cultures of the past

• Articulate how the arts/communications interpret and convey meaning and experience

• Demonstrate knowledge of the skills involved in the creative process

• Conduct research and communicate using appropriate technologies

• ART 201 - Arts and Civilization: Pre-history through the Middle Ages (3 Credits)

• ART 202 - Arts and Civilization: Renaissance through the 21st Century (3 Credits)

• ART 210 - Modern Art in the City (3 Credits)

• ENG 301 - Science Fiction (3 Credits)

• ENG 331 - Studies in the Folk Tale and the Classic Fairy Tale (3 Credits)

• FLM 307 - Film Literacies: Communicating Culture through Film (3 Credits)

• MUS 101 - Music Appreciation

Individual and Society

Students are required to complete one course (three credits) in Individual and Society. This course will require you to do at least three of the following:

• Apply concepts and methods of a discipline or field to exploring the relationship between individual and society

• Examine how an individual’s place in society affects their experiences, values, or choices

• Articulate and assess ethical views and their underlying premises

• Articular ethical uses of data and other information to respond to problems and questions

• Identify and analyze local/national/global trends or ideologies and their impact on individual/collective decision-making

• ECO 201 - Microeconomics (3 Credits)

• PHIL 101 - Introduction to Philosophy (3 Credits)

• PHIL 110 - Critical Thinking (3 Credits)

• PHIL 201 - Bioethics for Health Professions (3 Credits)

• PHIL 302 - Ethics in the Workplace (3 Credits)

• SOC 101 - Introduction to Sociology (3 Credits)

• SOC 216 - Social Problems (3 Credits)

Scientific World

Students are required to complete one course (three credits) in Scientific World. This course will require you to do at least three of the following:

• Apply concepts and methods of a field or discipline to exploring the scientific world

• Demonstrate how problems can be analyzed and solved using tools of science, math, technology, or formal analysis

• Articulate and evaluate the empirical evidence that supports a scientific or formal theory

• Articulate and evaluate the impact of technologies and scientific discoveries on today’s world

• Understand the scientific principles that underline science-related matters of policy or public concern

• BIO 310 - Pathophysiology and Pharmacology (3 Credits)

• HIST 201 - The Ascent of Man: An Introduction to the History of Science (3 Credits)

• PHE 200 - Introduction to Public Health (3 Credits)

• PHYS 301 - Space, Time and Motion-Physical Science (3 Credits)

• PSY 101 - General Psychology (3 Credits)

• SCI 200 - Science Forward: A Framework for Scientific Inquiry (3 Credits)

SPS College Option Core

As a central part of the new curriculum, each senior CUNY college offers special courses relevant to its particular mission. SPS’s College Option Core is the heart of our General Education curriculum, with courses designed to focus on digital literacy, writing, critical thinking, and quantitative reasoning.

• COM 110 - Digital Literacy (3 Credits)

• COM 210 - Writing at Work (3 Credits)

• ENG 350 - Advanced Composition (3 credits)

• PHIL 110 - Critical Thinking (3 Credits)

• PLA 300 - Portfolio Development for Prior Learning Assessment (3 Credits)

• QUAN 201 - Quantitative Reasoning and Society (3 Credits)