SUNY Poly is dedicated to the idea that a baccalaureate degree should not only prepare students to enter the work force, but also to take part fully in today’s society. SUNY Poly strongly believes that its graduates should be aware of life’s complex nature in the 21st century. They should have sufficient understanding of the present major issues and problems, so they may make informed choices in politics, in professional pursuits, and in personal endeavors.
To help achieve this, SUNY Poly encourages its students to create three major areas of thinking within themselves. The first is an appreciation of the scientific method and the scope of scientific achievement. The second is a familiarity with the diverse traditions, institutions, and cultural expressions of our modern world. The third is an understanding of each person as an emotional, ethical, rational, and creative being. Since our age is marked by rapid change and specialization, SUNY Poly recognizes the compelling need of its students to think so they can easily see the connections that do exist among the distinctive actions of the people and world around us. Each program of study at SUNY Poly has adapted its curriculum to help students achieve this type of comprehensive education.
SUNY Poly, as a member of the larger SUNY system, has adopted the SUNY General Education Plan which requires that every student complete a minimum of 30 credit hours of approved General Education courses in categories as follows: mandated for all students is one Mathematics course and one Basic Communication course; in addition, students must take at least one course in each of FIVE of the remaining Eight categories. Please consult the list below for SUNY approved courses meeting these categories. You may also review the “Notes” which accompany the catalog course descriptions and schedule information for each course to verify the designations.
SUNY General Education Categories
The following list of SUNY Institute of Technology arts & sciences courses fulfill SUNY general education requirements as noted below.
Mathematics
- MAT 111 College Mathematics
- MAT 112 Elements of Calculus
- MAT 115 Finite Mathematics for Computer Science
- MAT 120 Precalculus
- MAT 121 Calculus for Engineering Technology I
- MAT 151 Calculus I
- STA 100 Statistical Methods
Basic Communication
- ENG 101 Freshman Composition
- ENG 105 Critical Reading & Writing
Natural Sciences
- AST 222 Astronomy
- BIO 101 Introduction to Biology
- BIO 103 Biology I
- BIO 105 Introduction to Ecology
- BIO 110 Anatomy & Physiology I
- BIO 111 Anatomy & Physiology II
- BIO 122 Insects & Society
- BIO 130 Plant Biology
- BIO 145 Biology of Dinosaurs
- BIO 215 Anatomy & Physiology I
- BIO 216 Anatomy & Physiology II
- BIO 222 Nutrition and Health
- BIO 224 Biology of Aging
- BIO 225 Biology of the Sexes
- BIO 310 Evolution
- BIO 351 Introduction to Genetics
- CHE 110 Essentials of Chemistry
- ENV 115 Introduction to Physical Geology
- ENV 210 Weather and Climate
- PHY 101 General Physics I
- PHY 201 Calculus Based Physics I
Social Sciences
- ANT 301 General Anthropology
- ANT 302 Biological Anthropology: Contemporary Issues
- ANT 303 Cultural Diversity
- ANT 310 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
- COM 262 Online Politics
- ECO 110 Microeconomics
- ECO 330 Economics of Aging
- POS 110 American Public Policy
- POS 252 The Politics of Life and Death
- POS 262 Online Politics
- POS 321 State and Local Government
- POS 330 World Politics
- POS 340 Elections and Political Behavior
- POS 341 American Politics and Communication Technology
- POS 342 Constitutional Law
- PSY 100 Principles of Psychology
- SOC 100 Introduction to Sociology
- SOC 110 Social Problems
- STS 360 Science, Technology, and Politics
American History
For all Students:
- HIS 101 American History: Colonies to Reconstruction
- HIS 102 American History: Reconstruction to the Present
- HIS 330 American Women’s History
- IDS 304 Technology in American History
For Students Scoring Above 84 on NYS Regents in Western Civilization Other World Civilizations Humanities** ** Courses listed under the Humanities requirement can ONLY be used to fulfill the Humanities requirement and cannot be double counted. NOTE: Students who matriculated from Fall 2003 and prior to Fall 2014 will retain the option of being grandfathered under the original method of bundling IDS classes to count for multiple General Education categories. A package of three courses (IDS 102, IDS 103, IDS 201) were originally approved to meet SUNY-GER Humanities, Western Civilization, Other World Civilizations, and Arts categories. The previous method of packaging these courses to meet multiple SUNY-GER categories will be discontinued for new students. Starting Fall 2014, these courses have been approved to meet single categories as indicated in the above list. The Arts Foreign Language SUNY Poly Liberal Arts & Sciences Degree Requirements SUNY Poly Campus Liberal Arts & Sciences Degree Requirements Natural Science Requirement Writing Requirement Each student must successfully complete ENG 101 “English Composition” and at least ONE upper division writing course (e.g. COM 240, COM 306, COM 307, COM 308, COM 311, COM 350, COM 353, COM 400) to ensure a professional level of writing competency. SUNY Poly also established the Writing Faculty Committee to oversee the implementation of this requirement and to create an appropriate test-out procedure for those students interested in challenging the required writing courses for credit. Each semester the current registration booklet identifies the courses that meet the writing requirement and provides the procedure for challenging a course through the test-out. NOTE: There may be overlap between courses meeting the SUNY General Education Requirements, Liberal Arts/Sciences Requirements, and some Program Core Requirements but a student may receive course credits only once even if multiple requirements are satisfied by a single course.
In addition to the SUNY General Education requirement, the New York State Education Department (SED)requires that every college degree program include a specific number of credit hours in the Liberal Arts & Sciences. As approved by the SED, SUNY Poly’s degree programs have the following Liberal Arts & Sciences credit hour requirements:
As an Institute of Technology, SUNY Poly values the role of Natural Science as an enrichment of our curriculum and understands the importance of good communication skills in any field. For these reasons, SUNY Poly has implemented two local requirements as follows:
Each undergraduate student must successfully complete a Natural Science course of 3(or more) credits in order to complete their program of study at the Institute.
Based upon the recommendation of the President’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Basic Skills (1984), SUNY Poly adopted a campus Writing Requirement. To meet this requirement: