Liberal Arts and Sciences: General Studies - AS

The Instructional Program

The Liberal Arts and Sciences curriculum is designed to provide the first two years of education for students planning to transfer to a four-year program leading to a bachelor degree. The General Studies A.S. degree option offers a flexible program of study in the natural sciences and/or mathematics, allowing students to explore many academic fields. Students who plan to transfer to a four-year college or university but remain unclear as to a specific major in the sciences or mathematics should choose this option.

Admissions Requirements

To be eligible for consideration, an applicant must:

• be a high school graduate with a minimum 75% overall average or a minimum 2500 GED test score
• have 73% or higher on the Algebra Regenets exam
• have 73% or higher on a science Regents exam

CURRICULUM

SUNY Curriculum Code: 1394

SUNY General Education Requirements: Students who intend to receive A.A., A.S., or baccalaureate degrees must satisfy SUNY and campus General Education (GE) requirements to graduate. Students should be aware that GE requirements may vary by academic program. See additional notes below, and consult with your academic advisor. For general information, see the "General Education" section of this catalog.

A.A.S. and A.O.S. degree students may not be required to fulfill General Education (GE) requirements; however, any student who may wish to transfer should complete as many GE courses as possible. Consult with your academic advisor.

Academic Requirements:

Minimum Total Credit Hours = 64

Major Courses Required - 13 credit hours

General Education/Liberal Arts Courses Required = 25-27 credit hours

Restricted Electives by Advisement⁵ - 12 credit hours

Unrestricted Electives by Advisement⁶

Notes

¹ Students must take a minimum of one laboratory science.

² English is by placement according to competency.

³ Mathematics is by placement according to competency.

⁴ Students must take a minimum of 3 credits of behavioral and 3 credits of non-behavioral social science courses. Behavioral social sciences include anthropology, human geography, psychology, and sociology. Non-behavioral social sciences include criminal justice, economics, government, and history.

⁵ Students must work closely with their academic advisor to choose these courses.

⁶ The number of Unrestricted Elective credits will vary depending on the number of credits earned in the other areas.  A student must work closely with their academic advisor to determine the number of Unrestricted Electives needed to graduate.

Additional Notes:

1. General Education Requirement: All students in the General Studies programs must take at least one course from each of the following five General Education subject areas: Mathematics, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities, and Basic Communication. In addition, students must take at least one American History, Western Civilization, or Other World Civilizations course, and at least one Arts or Foreign Language course.
2. For this program, HONR (Honors) courses count as English, literature, humanities, liberal arts, or social science electives.

Student Learning Outcomes

A graduate of the General Studies A.A. program should be able to:

1. Express him/herself effectively through written and oral communication.
2. Demonstrate a knowledge of and appreciation for literature.
3. Demonstrate an ability to manipulate college-level mathematical concepts.
4. Demonstrate a solid grounding in the science of the student's choosing.
5. Display a fundamental understanding of the behavioral social sciences.
6. Display a fundamental understanding of the non-behavioral social sciences.
7. Demonstrate an understanding of an area of the humanities based upon the courses the student elects.
8. Demonstrate a solid foundation of liberal arts knowledge based on the courses taken in this area.