Core Curriculum Requirements:
B.A. and B.S. Degree Programs

Revised General Education/Core Curriculum Requirements:
Effective Fall 2011
These revised requirements supersede the former requirements described on this site, effective Fall 2011.

Purchase College core curriculum requirements are fulfilled in the B.A. and B.S. degree programs (excluding liberal studies) as follows. With the exception of the humanities requirement, certain approved courses may be used to fulfill two core curriculum requirements. For more information, refer to courses that fulfill core curriculum requirements.

For the most current list of approved courses in each category, students should consult each semester’s online course schedule at studentservices.purchase.edu.

Core Curriculum Areas

1. Basic Communication:
   LWR 1110/College Writing—freshman year
2. Updated 11/12/08 for Fall 2009:
   Western Civilization:
   For freshmen, a designated freshman-only course in Western civilization*; for most transfer students, either through transfer work or an approved course in Western civilization.
   
   • *Before Fall 2009, FRS 1000 and 1001/Culture and Society in the West I and II fulfilled this requirement
3. Updated 11/12/08 for Fall 2009:
   Humanities:
   For freshmen, a designated freshman-only course in the humanities*; for most transfer students, either through transfer work or an approved course in the humanities.
   
   • *Before Fall 2009, FRS 1000 and 1001/Culture and Society in the West I and II fulfilled this requirement
4. American History:
   An approved course in American history.
5. The Arts:
   An approved course in the visual or performing arts (2–4 credits).
6. Natural Science:
   For freshmen (except those who have declared a major in biology, chemistry, or environmental studies), FRS 1200/Science in the Modern World; for all other students, an approved course in the natural sciences.
7. Social Science:
   An approved course in the social sciences.
8. Other World Civilizations:
   An approved course in other world civilizations.
9. Updated 2/04/09:
   Mathematics:
   Fulfillment of the mathematics proficiency requirement, plus an approved course in mathematics or quantitative reasoning.
10. Foreign Languages:
    This requirement is satisfied by one of the following:
    
    • passing a minimum of three years of Regents-level high school study of a single foreign language and receiving a score of 85 on the Regents exam or its equivalent
    • a score of at least 3 on an advanced placement exam
    • passing the College-administered language proficiency exam
    • passing one year (two semesters) of study in a foreign language at another college or passing a College Level Examination Program (CLEP) exam
    • passing one year (two semesters, Beginning I and II) of study in a foreign language at Purchase College (credit is only awarded for Beginning I upon completion of Beginning II)
11. Focus on Race and Gender:*
    At least one approved course in race and/or gender.
12. Physical Education/Health:*
    At least one approved course in physical education/health (2 credits).
     
    *Focus on Race and Gender and Physical Education/Health are Purchase College core curriculum requirements—not SUNY requirements—for students in the B.A. or B.S. degree programs.

Core Curriculum Skill Areas
In addition, the core curriculum requires fulfillment of two areas of competency:

1. Critical Thinking (reasoning):
   Students fulfill this by passing LWR 1110/College Writing or its equivalent, plus a variety of courses across the curriculum in which students identify, analyze, and evaluate arguments as they occur in their own or others’ work, and in which they are required to produce well-reasoned arguments.
    
   
2. Information Management:
   Students fulfill this by passing LWR 1110/College Writing or its equivalent, a course in quantitative analysis, and a variety of courses across the curriculum that emphasize the management of information, research techniques, and the location, evaluation, and synthesis of information from a variety of sources.

Updated Jan. 12, 2011

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