Courses and requirements
Grades in General Education courses
Transfer courses and transfer students
Credit by exam (AP and CLEP)
Specific General Education requirements (Aesthetics, Math, and Pluralism in the U.S.)
Students follow the General Education program in effect for their catalog year. A student's catalog year is the academic year in which he or she matriculates at Binghamton University. For example, students matriculating in Summer 2011, Fall 2011, or Spring 2012 all fall under the 2011 catalog year and would follow the 2011-2012 Bulletin. If you are not sure which requirements apply to you, please contact your school advising office for assistance. Please see the Requirements page for more information.
General Education courses are identified in the Schedule of Classes. To receive General Education credit, a course must be identified with a General Education letter (A, C, etc.) in the semester in which you take it. Gen Ed designations are finalized by the Add Deadline for each semester. For a list of courses meeting General Education requirements offered for a specific semester, please log into BU Brain or go to the Schedule of Classes.
Some General Education courses may carry more than one General Education tag (for example, CHP). However, except for C, O, J or Foreign Language classes, General Education courses may be used to fulfill only one General Education category. C, O, J or Foreign Language courses may double-count with one other General Education requirement. Your DARS report will use double-tagged courses in the category in which they are needed; for example, if you take a course designated CNP, you will receive either the CP or the CN, whichever DARS decides you need most.
Binghamton's only General Education requirement which differs by school or major is the Foreign Language requirement. Please see the Foreign Language page for more information.
Please see "Comparison of Binghamton University and SUNY General Education Requirements" on the Transfer Student page for more information.
General Education courses must be taken for a letter grade (normal grading option) unless a course is only offered pass/fail.
Students must earn a grade of D or better in a course in order to have it fulfill General Education requirements. Gen Ed courses must be taken for a letter grade (normal grading option) unless a course is only offered pass/fail. If a course is only offered pass/fail, a student must receive a P in order to have the course fulfill General Education requirements.
Policies differ by school regarding what grade is required in order for a transfer course to fulfill a General Education requirement at Binghamton, as follows:
Courses may only be transferred if the student received a grade of C or better. If a student earns a D in a course that would meet a General Education requirement, the particular General Education requirement is waived but the course itself does not transfer.
Courses may only be transferred if the student received a grade of C– or better. If a student earns a D in a course that would meet a General Education requirement, the particular General Education requirement is waived but the course itself does not transfer.
Transfer students from other SUNY schools who have been certified as meeting a SUNY-wide General Education requirement prior to matriculation at Binghamton will be certified as having met the corresponding Binghamton requirement. Please see "Comparison of Binghamton University and SUNY General Education Requirements" on the Transfer Student page for more information. Courses from other SUNY schools taken after matriculation at Binghamton or not certified as meeting a SUNY-wide requirement, as well as courses transferred from schools outside the SUNY system, will be evaluated solely in terms of Binghamton University's General Education requirements. Contact your advisor for more information.
The General Education requirements for transfer students who entered Binghamton University in Fall 2010 or Spring 2011 allow some flexibility. This flexibility is only available to transfer students who entered in Fall 2010 or Spring 2011. Transfer students entering Binghamton University in or after Fall 2011 or prior to Fall 2010 fulfill the same General Education requirements as students who enter Binghamton University as freshmen, with the exception of the Foreign Language requirement, which differs for transfer students. Please see the Transfer Student page for more information.
No. Binghamton University does not allow students to select a different set of General Education requirements. Students must follow the General Education program in effect for their catalog year. Please refer to the previous question for more information on transfer students who entered in Fall 2010 or Spring 2011.
No. Binghamton University does not allow students to select a different set of General Education requirements. Students must follow the General Education program in effect for their catalog year.
A score of 3 or better on certain AP tests can be used to fulfill General Education requirements, as follows:
For more information about whether College Level Examination Program (CLEP) exams may be used to satisfy General Education requirements, please contact your advising office.
Four credits worth of MUSP courses can be used to fulfill the General Education Aesthetics requirement. Once you have successfully completed 4 credits of MUSP courses for a letter grade, DARS will use them to fulfill your Aesthetics requirement. You no longer need to submit an appeals form.
Binghamton University's Faculty Senate approved a change in the General Education Mathematics/Reasoning (M) requirement in December 2005. This change was made retroactive so that it applied to all students who had not satisfied the M requirement. The Math requirement was changed to read as follows:
Mathematics/Reasoning (M) courses include any course in the Mathematics Department numbered 130 or above, any of several designated statistics courses (ANTH 200, BIOL 458, CQS 112, ECON 366, or PSYC 243), or any of several designated logic courses (PHIL 121, 122 or 200). An Advanced Placement (AP) score of 3 or better in Calculus or Statistics may be used to satisfy this requirement.
The Mathematics/Reasoning requirement no longer has a provision that students must demonstrate proficiency by achieving a certain Regents score or by taking MATH 107 or 108. Instead, students who feel they need the lower-level Math courses in order to do well in a designated M course will be able to identify themselves either through advising or through pre-tests given in the Math department. Please note that Computer Science courses are not designated as meeting the Math requirement after the 2006 Summer Session.
The specialized Pluralism courses that pay significant attention to a broad span of United States history are:
If you are not sure whether you demonstrated proficiency in American History in high school, you should contact your advisor for more information.
