General Education Frequently Asked Questions

As you complete SUNY Geneseo’s General Education curriculum, you will gain the broad knowledge and skill set necessary to participate in global society and to work toward a more just, equitable, and sustainable world.  To fulfill general education requirements, you must complete a minimum of 30 credit hours across courses in communication, scientific literacy, and global participation.

I am a first-year student starting at SUNY Geneseo in Fall 2022 or later.  What are my general education requirements?

As a new student in Fall 2022 or later, you will follow the new requirements for general education.

I am a transfer student starting at SUNY Geneseo in Fall 2022 or later.  What are my general education requirements?

If you have earned an A.A. or A.S. degree from a SUNY college, or you have completed SUNY general education requirements (including at least 30 hours and 7 out of the 10 required knowledge/skill areas and core competencies) at another SUNY college, you qualify for Seamless Transfer and do not need to take any additional general education courses at Geneseo.

If you have not fulfilled SUNY general education requirements at your previous college, you will follow the new requirements for general education

I am a continuing student.  Do I follow the old or new general education requirements?

We want to make sure that your progress toward graduation is not harmed as we transition to the new curriculum.  As a continuing student, you may choose to complete either the old or new general education requirements.  We encourage you to use the “What If” tool in Degree Works to change your catalog year to 2022-2023; this will show you what your general education requirements would be if you elect to follow the new curriculum.

  • Old curriculum: If you choose to complete the old general education requirements, you’ll be required to complete a reduced number of courses in the following categories. Please note that you would still fulfill the Humanities requirement with the completion of HUMN 220, HUMN 221, HUMN 222, or HONR 209 only.
    • 1 Natural Sciences course with lab (N/)
    • 1 Social Sciences course (S/)
    • 1 Arts course (F/)
  • New curriculum: If you and your advisor decide that the new general education requirements are a better fit for you, you may set up an appointment with DAPA to change your catalog year. Please note that changing your catalog year may mean that your advisor will need to resubmit waivers to apply credits appropriately. 
How do I fulfill the Global Participation requirement in the new curriculum?

You will need to take one course in each of the five Global Participation areas:

  • Diversity, Pluralism, and Power
  • World Cultures and Values
  • Contemporary Global Challenges
  • Creativity and Innovation
  • Sustainability​​​​​​

At least one of your courses must have Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) content.

You can find courses that fulfill each requirement by using the “Attribute” search in the KnightWeb course search.  More details are available in DAPA’s advising guide.

Where can I find a listing of everything that satisfies a given requirement?

New courses are created and approved for general education attributes all the time. Here is the current list of approved courses for each general education area.

What does the disciplinary requirement in the new curriculum mean, and how do I meet it?

As you fulfill your general education requirements, you must take at least one approved general education course each in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences.  Each area can be identified by the prefix of the course, as follows:

Arts Humanities Social Sciences
ARTH AMST ANTH
DANC BLKS COMN
MUSC ENGL ECON
PASC FMST GEOG*
THEA HIST MGMT
  HUMN PLSC
  LANG PSYC
  PHIL SOCL
  WGST SUST
 

World language

(200 level or above)

  

* GEOG courses that count toward the Natural Sciences requirement will not fulfill the Social Sciences requirement.

Can a course count for multiple Global Participation categories?

There are five Global Participation categories, which you must fulfill with at least four unique courses (i.e., one course may "double-dip" across two Global Participation categories).

Can a general education course count toward my major?

Only one course that you take to fulfill the "participation in a global society" part of general education may also count toward the major. Any general education math, science, or language courses required by your major will fulfill both general education and major requirements.

How do I know which courses apply toward the Global Participation categories and other general education requirements?

In the KnightWeb course search, use the “Attribute” field to select one or more categories.  Start typing part of an attribute name, then click to select it (e.g., typing “global” will lead you to the “Contemporary Global Challenges” attribute).  Once you’ve selected at least one attribute, click the Search button to see all courses that fulfill that requirement.

Historically, course titles have included an indicator (e.g., N/ for Natural Sciences) to denote gen ed category.  We’ll be phasing this out over the next several years, so KnightWeb’s Attribute search is the best way to find general education courses.

I’m confused about which requirements I need to complete. How do I know which labels apply to me?

Some requirements (Quantitative/Symbolic Reasoning, Laboratory Science, Language other than English) will apply to you no matter what your catalog year is.  These requirements are identified in KnightWeb with an indicator of "SAME".  You’ll also need to complete INTD 105 or HONR 101 to satisfy the college’s Basic Communication requirement.

  • If you're a new student at SUNY Geneseo starting in Fall 2022 or later, you will need to complete all requirements with the "SAME" indicator in KnightWeb AND all requirements with the "NEW" indicator.
  • If you’re a continuing student, you will need to complete all requirements with the "SAME" indicator in KnightWeb AND all requirements with the “OLD” indicator.  If you and your advisor decide that the new general education requirements are a better fit for you, you may set up an appointment with DAPA to change your catalog year; you’d then need to follow the new requirements ("SAME" + "NEW"). Please note that you will fulfill the Humanities requirement only through completion of HUMN 220, HUMN 221, HUMN 222, or HONR 209.
What is the Integrative and Applied Learning requirement, and how do I complete it?

If you started at SUNY Geneseo in Fall 2022 or later, you will need to complete the Integrative and Applied Learning requirement.  The goal of this requirement is to help you apply classroom learning to real world situations, and there a variety of ways it may be fulfilled (e.g., course, internship, co-curricular experience). More details will be available in the coming months.

How can I see my progress toward completing general education requirements?

Whether you are a new or continuing student, you will be able to track your progress in Degree Works.  Our team is working to program the new requirements into Degree Works, but your degree audit will be up to date (based on your catalog year) by the beginning of the Spring 2023 semester.

I think my transfer course should count toward Global Participation requirements, but it isn't showing up that way in my Degree Works audit. What should I do?

First, talk to your faculty advisor; you and your advisor can look in KnightWeb to check on the attributes of the equivalent SUNY Geneseo course. After you've confirmed that the course should count toward one or more Global Participation categories, you or your advisor should email records@geneseo.edu to let the Registrar's Office know so that we can correct this in your degree audit.

Can my language course count toward both the language requirement and a PGS requirement?

Languages at the 101 and 102 level count toward World Cultures & Values (WCV), but only if you are NOT also using these courses to fulfill your language requirement.  This would happen if you continue in a language beyond the 102 level, or if you start another world language after completing one at the 101/102 level.  For example, if you pass SPAN 101 and SPAN 102, and continue into SPAN 213, then you would be able to use SPAN 101 as your World Cultures & Values requirement.