Students who first matriculated or who were readmitted at Purchase prior to Fall 2023, should follow the Core Curriculum requirements.
For the most current list of approved courses in each category, please consult the current or upcoming semester’s myHeliotrope online course search. For additional information, refer to courses that fulfill requirements.
By taking at least 30 credits from the core curriculum’s knowledge and skill areas listed below, including a minimum of of one course (at least 3 credits) in each of the first seven areas—plus at least one 1-credit course chosen from a list of approved health, wellness, or physical education courses, (A local Purchase requirement, not a SUNY requirement) students simultaneously satisfy the Student Learning Outcomes defining each area.
Produce coherent texts within common college-level written forms;
Demonstrate the ability to revise and improve such texts;
Research a topic, develop an argument, and organize supporting details;
Develop proficiency in oral discourse; and
Evaluate an oral presentation according to established criteria.
Think Critically, by identifying, analyzing, and evaluating arguments as they occur in thier own or other’s work; and develop well reasoned arguments
Master Information management in order to perform basic operations of personal computer use; understand and use basic research techniques; and locate, evaluate, and synthesize information from a variety of sources.
Students choose from a list of approved courses. Math fluency may be required as a prerequisite for certain courses (e.g., in mathematics and other natural science disciplines, in economics, and in new media).
Student Learning Outcomes/Students will learn to:
Interpret and draw inferences from mathematical models such as formulas, graphs, tables, and schematics;
Represent mathematical information symbolically, visually, numerically, and verbally;
Employ quantitative methods such as arithmetic, algebra, geometry, or statistics to solve problems;
Estimate and check mathematical results for reasonableness; and
Recognize the limits of mathematical and statistical methods.
For (a) freshmen who have not declared a major and (b) freshmen in the BA and BS degree programs in the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences (except those who have declared a major in biology, chemistry, environmental studies, or psychology), FRS 1200/Science in the Modern World; all other students choose from a list of approved courses.
Student Learning Outcomes/Students will demonstrate:
An understanding of the methods scientists use to explore natural phenomena, including observation, hypothesis development, measurement and data collection, experimentation, evaluation of evidence and employment of mathematical analysis; and
The application of scientific data, concepts, and models in one of the natural sciences.
Students choose from a list of approved courses.
Student Learning Outcomes/Students will demonstrate:
An understanding of the methods social scientists use to explore social phenomena, including observation, hypothesis development, measurement and data collection, experimentation, evaluation of evidence, and employment of mathematical and interpretive analysis; and
Knowledge of major concepts, models, and issues of at least one discipline in the social sciences.
Students choose from a list of approved courses, including arts courses approved for students in all disciplines, or courses in the BFA or MusB programs for which they meet the prerequisites.
Student Learning Outcomes/Students will demonstrate:
An understanding of at least one principal form of artistic expression and the creative process inherent therein.
Students choose from a list of approved courses in the humanities, American history, or Western civilization, including many courses specially designed and recommended for freshmen.
Humanities
Student Learning Outcomes/Students will demonstrate the ability to:
Read and analyze the main themes of written, visual, aural and/or cinematic texts;
Articulate the central arguments of such texts orally and in writing;
Situate a text in a larger generic, cultural, and/or historical context; and
Comprehend, raise questions about, and synthesize classroom lectures and discussions with assigned texts.
American History
Student Learning Outcomes/Students will demonstrate:
Knowledge of a basic narrative of American history (political, economic, social, and cultural), including knowledge of the unity and diversity in American society;
Knowledge of common institutions in American society and how they have affected different groups; and
An understanding of America’s evolving relationship with the rest of the world.
Western Civilization
Student Learning Outcomes/Students will demonstrate:
Knowledge of the development of the distinctive features of the history, institutions, economy, society, culture, etc., of Western civilization; and
Relate the development of Western civilization to that of other regions of the world.
Students choose from a list of approved courses, including courses designated as “foreign language” and “other world civilizations.” Students must complete a foreign language placement test for enrollment at the appropriate foreign language level.
Foreign Language
Student Learning Outcomes/Students will demonstrate:
Basic proficiency in the understanding and use of a foreign language;
Knowledge of the distinctive features of cultures associated with the language they are studying.
Other World Civilizations
Student Learning Outcomes/Students will demonstrate:
Demonstrate knowledge of either: a broad outline of world history; or
The distinctive features of the history, institutions, economy, society, culture, etc. of one non-Western civilization;
Relate the development of Western civilization to that of other regions in the world.
Health and Wellness
Students take 1-2 credits from a list of approved health, wellness, or physical education courses. These credits do not count toward the minimum of 30 credits required in core curriculum courses for SUNY, but all students must complete this category as a Purchase student.
Students will demonstrate:
Positive health and wellness concepts and practices; and
An understanding of how such practices contribute to metal and physical well-being.
This site maintained by the SUNY System Administration, provides links to lists of approved general education courses at each SUNY campus, including Purchase core curriculum courses that satisfy SUNY general education requirements that were in place prior to fall 2023.