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
- N ENG 492W Capstone Research III. Team Research and Final Report
- N ENG 493W Capstone Research III. Team Research and Final Report (Honors)
- N SCI 492W Capstone Research III. Team Research and Final Report
- N SCI 493W Capstone Research III. Team Research and Final Report (Honors)
Natural Sciences
- AST 222 Astronomy
- BIO 101T/BIO 101L Introduction to Biology
- BIO 103T/BIO 103L Biology I
- BIO 105 Introduction to Ecology
- BIO 130 Plant Biology
- BIO 215T/BIO 215L Anatomy & Physiology I
- BIO 216T/BIO 216L Anatomy & Physiology II
- BIO 222 Nutrition and Health
- BIO 224 Biology of Aging
- BIO 225 Biology of the Sexes
- CHE 110T/CHE 110L Essentials of Chemistry
- NENG 101 Nanotechnology Survey
- NENG 114 Chemical Principles of Nanoscale Science and Engineering I
- NENG 116 Chemical Principles of Nanoscale Science and Engineering II
- NENG 126 Physical Principles of Nanoscale Science and Engineering I
- NENG 128 Principles of Nanoscale Science and Engineering II
- NENG 140 Principles of Nanoscale Science and Engineering III
- NNSE 239 Between Object and Image*
- NSCI 101 Nanotechnology Survey
- NSCI 114 Chemical Principles of Nanoscale Science and Engineering I
- NSCI 116 Chemical Principles of Nanoscale Science and Engineering II
- NSCI 126 Physical Principles of Nanoscale Science and Engineering I
- NSCI 128 Principles of Nanoscale Science and Engineering II
- NSCI 140 Principles of Nanoscale Science and Engineering III
- PHY 101T/PHY 101L General Physics I
- PHY 201T/PHY 201L 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
- NENG 102 Societal Impacts of Nanotechnology
- NENG 103 Economic Impacts of Nanotechnology
- NENG 104 Disruptive Nanotechnologies
- NSCI 102 Societal Impacts of Nanotechnology
- NSCI 103 Economic Impacts of Nanotechnology
- NSCI 104 Disruptive Nanotechnologies
- 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
- HIS 308 Latinos in American History
Western Civilization
- HIS 150 History of Modern Europe
- HIS 306 History of Science and Technology
- HIS 317 Topics in Black History
- HIS 360 Environmental History
- HIS 370 Western Civilization and the World
- HIS 375 Gender Issues in World History
- HUM 220 Introduction to Social Political Thought
- IDS 201 Perspectives on Knowledge
- IDS 400 Prominent Themes in Western Civilization Since the Renaissance
- IDS 401 Contemporary World Views
Other World Civilizations
- ENG 211 Art & Cultural Revolution
- HIS 306 History of Science and Technology
- HIS 240 Latin American Civilizations
- HIS 370 Western Civilization and the World
- HIS 375 Gender Issues in World History
- IDS 102 Nature and Culture
- PHI 130 World Religions
Humanities**
- ART 350 History of American Art
- COM 315 Theater and Communication
- COM 316 Media and Communication
- ENG 110 Introduction to Literature
- ENG 211 Art & Cultural Revolution
- ENG 310 Topics in American Literature
- ENG 311 Topics in World Literature
- ENG 312 Studies in the Short Story
- ENG 320 Recent American Poetry
- ENG 331 Black Voices
- ENG 350 Dramatic Literature
- ENG 360 Reading the Film
- ENG 361 Film Direction: Alfred Hitchcock
- ENG 362 Aging in Literature and Film
- ENG 375 The Novel
- HIS 150 History of Modern Europe
- HIS 306 History of Science and Technology
- HIS 307 History of Science and Technology Since Newton
- HIS 317 Topics in Black History
- HUM 110 Humanities and Postmodern World
- IDS 103 Science, Technology, and Human Values
- IDS 204 Understanding Human Nature
- IDS 301 Monsters, Robots, Cyborgs
- IDS 302 Postmodernism and Popular Culture
- IDS 311 Humor and Comedy in Society
- NNSE 239 Between Object and Image *
- PHI 350 Technology and Ethics
** 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
- ART 120 Studio Art: Visual and/or Performing
- ART 135 Drawing
- ART 140 Painting-Technique and Style
- ART 210 Principles of Two Dimensional Design
- ART 341 Painting II-Technique and Style
- ART 350 History of American Art
- COM 212 Digital Photography and Imaging
- COM 315 Theater and Communication
- ENG 205 Creative Writing
- IDS 220 Creativity and Culture
- IDS 435 Art and Technology
- MUS 300 Music Appreciation
- MUS 301 SUNY Jazz
- MUS 302 Choral Performance
- NNSE 239 Between Object and Image*
- THR 120 Studio Art: Visual and/or Performing
- THR 300 Theater Production
Foreign Language
- CHI 101 Elementary Chinese
- FRE 101 Elementary French
- JPN 101 Elementary Japanese
- SPA 101 Elementary Spanish
- SPA 102 Intermediate Spanish
*NNSE 239 was approved by SUNY to meet either of the following sets of General Education requirements: Arts and Natural Science OR Humanities and Natural Science.
SUNY Poly Liberal Arts & Sciences Degree Requirements
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:
- 40 credit hours of Liberal Arts & Sciences for a Bachelor of Professional Studies (BPS
- 60 credit hours of Liberal Arts & Sciences for a Bachelor of Science (BS) and Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)
- 90 credit hours of Liberal Arts & Sciences for a Bachelor of Arts (BA)
SUNY Poly Campus Liberal Arts & Sciences Degree 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:
Natural Science Requirement
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.
Writing Requirement
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:
Each student must successfully complete ENG 101 “English Composition” and at least ONE upper division writing course (e.g. COM 306, COM 307, COM 308, COM 311, COM 340, 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.