General Education

General Education Program: Pathways

All candidates for a baccalaureate degree must complete Brooklyn College’s Pathways requirements. Starting in fall 2013, CUNY implemented the Pathways initiative across its undergraduate colleges. Students who enter a CUNY college in fall 2013 or thereafter, either as first-time freshmen or as transfer students from another CUNY college or from a non-CUNY college, will automatically be enrolled in the Pathways curriculum. Pathways establishes a new system of general education requirements and new transfer guidelines across the university and by doing so reinforces CUNY’s educational excellence while easing student transfer between CUNY colleges. The centerpiece of this initiative is a 30-credit general education Common Core.

Each CUNY college can require bachelor’s degree students to take another six to 12 credits of general education through the College Option. Once fulfilled at one CUNY college, these general education credits will carry over seamlessly if a student transfers to another CUNY college. Pathways also aligns gateway courses for a number of popular majors.

General Education requirements

A new general education framework is a central feature of Pathways. It lays out requirements that undergraduate students across CUNY must meet. It also guarantees that general education requirements fulfilled at one CUNY college will carry over seamlessly if a student transfers to another CUNY college. Through the three elements of this framework— the Required Common Core, the Flexible Common Core, and the College Option Requirement—Pathways seeks to provide students with well-rounded knowledge, a critical appreciation of diverse cultural and intellectual traditions, an interest in relating the past to the complex world in which students live today, and the ability to help society create a fresh and enlightened future. The framework allows students to explore knowledge from various perspectives and to develop their critical abilities to read, write, and use language and symbol systems effectively. It also develops students’ intellectual curiosity and commitment to lifelong learning.

Brooklyn College Pathways requirements are as follows:

Required Common Core (12 credits / four courses)

Student must complete:

English Composition (two courses)

• course English Composition I, and

• course English Composition II

Mathematical and Quantitative Reasoning (one course)

• course Computing and Quantitative Reasoning, or

• course/course The Outer Limits of Reasoning, or

• course Thinking Mathematically, or

• course Elements of Statistics with Applications, or

• a course from the list of approved alternatives in the section “STEM variant courses,” below Life and Physical Sciences (one course)

• course Human Origins, or

• course Biology: The Study of Life, or

• course Chemistry in Modern Life: An Introduction for Nonmajors, or

• course The Dynamic Earth, or

• course Physics: The Simple Laws That Govern the Universe or

• a course from the list of approved alternatives in the section “STEM variant courses,” below

Flexible Common Core (18 credits / six courses)

Students must complete a minimum of two courses in the Creative Expression category and a minimum of one course in each of the four other categories. No more than two courses with the same four-letter department code may be used to fulfill Flexible Common Core requirements.

World Cultures and Global Issues (one course)

• course Black Political Identity in a Transnational Context, or

• course Comparative Studies in Cultures and Transformation, or

• course The Development of the Silk Road, or

• course Subject, Creator, Consumer: Women and African Art, or

• course Tyranny, Democracy, Empire: Classical Cultures, or

• course Contemporary Identity Politics, (also qualifies as an Inter-Cultural Competency (ICC) course for Pathways College Option purposes) or

• course/course Literature and Film, or

• course The Emergence of the Modern, or

• course The Quest for Ethnic, Cultural, and National Identities in Literature, or

• course Introduction to Literary Studies, or

• course The Shaping of the Modern World, or

• course Classical Jewish Texts, or

• course Anti-Semitism: The Longest Hatred, or

• course Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament/TaNaKh), or

• course Puerto Rican and Latin@ Cultural Formations (also qualifies as an Inter-Cultural Competency (ICC) course for Pathways College Option purposes)

U.S. Experience in Its Diversity (one course)

• course (Re)presenting Black Men, or

• course American Identities, or

• course Decade in Crisis: The 1960s, or

• course The American Urban Experience: Anthropological Perspectives, or

• course Communication and Identity, or

• course Literature, Ethnicity, and Immigration, or

• course American Film Comedy, or

• course American Pluralism to 1877, or

• course American Pluralism Since 1877, or

• course American Jewish History, or

• course Jews of New York, or

• course Music in Global America (also qualifies as an Inter-Cultural Competency (ICC) course for Pathways College Option purposes) or

• course American Philosophy, or

• course People, Power, and Politics, or

• course Introduction to Puerto Rican and Latinx Studies, or

• course Latin@ Diasporas in the United States, or

• course Critical Issues in U.S. Education, or

• course Sociology of Hip Hop, or

• course LGBTQ Youth in Educational Contexts, or

• course Introduction to Women’s Studies: Sex, Gender, and Power

Creative Expression (two courses)

• course Art: Its History and Meaning

• course Music: Its Language, History and Culture, and/or

• course Fundamentals of Music, and/or

• course Introduction to Theater Arts, and/or

• course Introduction to Acting, and/or

• course Introduction to Mass Media

Individual and Society (one course)

• course Introduction to the American Experience

• course Public Speaking, or

• course The Self and Society, or

• course/course Heroes, Gods, Monsters: Classical Mythologies, or

• course Early Childhood Education Foundations, or

• course Ideas of Character in the Western Literary Tradition, or

• course Text/Context, or

• course Con, Cop, and Mark: Representations of Criminality and Authority, or

• course Literature in Translation, or

• course Human Encounters with Death and Bereavement, or

• course Jewish Approaches to Ethical Issues, or

• course Introduction to the Problems of Philosophy, or

• course Philosophical Issues in Literature, or

• course/course Questions of Text and Truth: Introduction to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, or

• course/course Historical, Philosophical, and Cultural Foundations of Education, or

• course Introduction to Sociology, or

• course Sociology of Sport, or

• course Cultural Humility in Working With Children and Families, or

• course Media Literacy

Scientific World (one course)

• course Forensic Anthropology, or

• coursePharmaceutical Research, Development, and Approval, or

• course Chemistry in the Arts and Archaeology, or

• course/course Studies in Forensic Science, or

• course Exploring Robotics, or

• courseSociety and the Ocean, or

• course Exploring Issues in Sustainable Water Resources Management, or

• course Personal and Community Health, or

• course Fundamentals of Nutrition, or

• course The Making of the Atomic Bomb, or

• course Cosmology, or

• course Energy Use and Climate Change, or

• a course from the list of approved alternatives in the section “STEM variant courses,” below

STEM Variant Courses

STEM variant courses are courses in math and the sciences that can be substituted for courses in any or all of the following three areas of the Common Core: Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning, Life and Physical Sciences, and the Scientific World. Any student can, at his or her discretion, take a STEM variant course from the following list of approved STEM variant courses:

Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning

• course Introduction to Economic and Business Statistics

• course Statistics and Data Analysis in Geosciences

• course Introduction to Economic and Business Statistics

• course College Algebra for Precalculus

• course Precalculus Mathematics

• course Precalculus With Recitation

• course Precalculus Mathematics A (together with MATH 1026)

• course Precalculus Mathematics B (together with MATH 1021)

• course Calculus I

• course Elementary Mathematics From an Advanced Standpoint (together with MATH 1021)

• course Statistical Methods in Psychological Research

Life and Physical Sciences

• course/BIOL 1501/course/KINS. 3281 Human Anatomy and Physiology 1

• course/BIOL 1502/course/KINS. 3282 Human Anatomy and Physiology 2

• course/course Summer Archaeological Field School

• course General Biology 1

• course General Biology 2

• course Speech-Language and Hearing Science: Anatomy and Physiology

• course General Chemistry for Health-related Professions

• course General Chemistry I

• course General Chemistry I Lecture

• course General Chemistry IB

• course General Chemistry IB Lecture

• course General Chemistry II

• course General Chemistry II Lecture

• course/course Human Physiology

• course Human Anatomy

• course General Physics I

• course Calculus-Based General Physics I

Scientific World

• course Introduction to Earth Science

• course Introduction to Linguistics

College Option

Beginning in Fall 2025

Notwithstanding the rules in the table above:

12-credit College Option students who complete one LOTE course at Level 4 or above can take another course is the same language, or instead may choose to take 9 BC Option credits, 3 from each of the three categories.

9-credit College Option students beginning their language study at Level 1 will complete 6 credits of a LOTE in the same language and only 3 credits from one of the three categories of the BC Option. For a Level 1 LOTE class to count toward the 9-credit College Option, it must be taken at Brooklyn College.

Other Guidelines

No more than two courses with the same four-letter department code may be used to fulfill “College Option” requirements. Courses in languages other than English do not count toward this limit. Additional classes may be added to the LOTE and ICC lists by approval of the General Education Committee and Faculty Council.

Inter-Cultural Competency Courses

• course Literature of the African Diaspora

• course Caribbeanization of North America

• course Culture and Society

• course People and Language

• course Foundations of Islamic Art

• course Global Contemporary Art

• course Intercultural Communication

• course Black Classicism

• course English Professional Language: Its Greek and Latin Tools

• course After Alexander: A Confluence of Cultures

• course Comparative Identity Politics: The Ancient Mediterranean and the Modern World (also satisfies Pathways Flexible Core World Cultures and Global Issues requirement)

• course The Italian Cultural Heritage

• course Jewish Diaspora

• course/coursecourse Sociolinguistics

• course Intercultural Literacy and Competence

• course Critical Theories in Translation Studies (effective spring 2020)

• course Music in Global America (also satisfies Pathways Flexible Core U.S. Experience in Its Diversity requirement)

• course New York Latin@ Culture and the Arts

• course Puerto Rican and Latin@ Cultural Formations (also satisfies Pathways Flexible Core World Cultures and Global Issues requirement)

Gateway courses into majors

Faculty committees representing several popular transfer majors at CUNY have designated a minimum of three common and transferable courses that will be required of all students in those majors. Students anticipating majors in these fields can begin their course work at any CUNY college with the assurance that if they transfer to another CUNY college, their prior course work will count toward their continued pursuit of that major.

How credits transfer

By creating a general education framework that applies to all CUNY undergraduates, and by establishing gateway courses into several popular majors, the Pathways initiative significantly improves the ease and efficiency of student transfer between CUNY colleges. Courses taken for general education credit, major credit, and elective credit are guaranteed to transfer. Students who transfer from associate programs to bachelor’s programs will be required to complete from six to 12 College Option credits, depending on how many credits they had at the time of transfer and whether they transferred with an associate degree. Students who transfer from one baccalaureate college to another will transfer any College Option credits they have already taken at another CUNY college. In the case of transfers from non-CUNY colleges, Brooklyn College will decide whether any courses taken at the original college fulfill the College Option requirements.

Continuing students

Students who entered CUNY prior to fall 2013 have the choice to “opt in” to the Pathways requirements or to follow the general education requirements in effect at the time of their matriculation at Brooklyn College. Continuing students are encouraged to seek the guidance of an adviser or other on-campus resource to help them make informed decisions in choosing one of these two options.

Students who became matriculated at Brooklyn College prior to fall 2013 and who choose not to “opt in” to Pathways should consult the 2012–13 Bulletin or another prior Bulletin applicable to them regarding their general education requirements. Students who wish to complete the Core Curriculum requirements stated in prior Bulletins should note that the following CORC courses will be offered only as their Pathways equivalents starting with fall 2013:

• CORC 1110 Classical Cultures = course Classical Cultures

• CORC 1120 Introduction to Art = course Art: Its History and Meaning

• CORC 1130 Music: Its Language, History, and Culture = course Music: Its Language, History, and Culture

• CORC 1210 Knowledge, Reality, and Values = course Introduction to the Problems of Philosophy

• CORC 1220 Shaping of the Modern World = course The Shaping of the Modern World

• CORC 1230 People, Power, and Politics = course People, Power, and Politics

• CORC 1311 Thinking Mathematically = course Thinking Mathematically

• CORC 1321 Biology for Today’s World = course Biology: The Study of Life

• CORC 1322 Science in Modern Life – Chemistry = course Chemistry in Modern Life

• CORC 1331 Physics: The Simple Laws That Govern the Universe = course The Simple Laws That Govern the Universe

• CORC 1332 Geology: The Science of Our World = course The Dynamic Earth

Beginning in fall 2017, courses with the prefix CORC are no longer offered. Continuing students needing former CORC courses numbered 3101–3399 may take the newly created departmental courses based on them, as listed in the following table:

Readmitted students

For Pathways policy with regard to readmitted students, see the section “Degree Requirements” in the chapter Academic Regulations and Procedures in this Bulletin. International students Students with international degrees may have to demonstrate English language proficiency via TOEFL for admissions purposes, and may be required to take ESL and/or English courses as appropriate.

For additional information

Students who have questions about Pathways should consult a counselor in the Center for Academic Advisement and Student Success, 3207 Boylan Hall. Transfer students are advised to consult with the Transfer Student Services Center, 306 West Quad Center.