THE ARTS

Students will:

  • demonstrate an understanding of at least one principal form of artistic expression and the creative process inherent therein.

SUNY Guidance
Both performance-oriented and scholarly/historical offerings in the expressive arts are approvable for this category.

When considering performance-oriented courses for approval in the SUNY GE Arts category, campuses should include courses that engage students in the creative process directly while also fostering broader understanding of the principal form of artistic expression (e.g., appreciation, theory, history, aesthetic principles) so that these courses satisfy NYSED requirements for liberal arts and sciences.[3] Courses imparting purely technical skills with no demonstration of the broader understanding are not approvable.

Standard scholarly histories of the arts are approvable in both the Humanities and Arts categories.

[3] See http://www.nysed.gov/college-university-evaluation/department-expectations-curriculum#c

COMMUNICATION - WRITTEN AND ORAL

Students will:

  • research a topic, develop an argument, and organize supporting details;
  • demonstrate coherent college-level communication (written and oral) that informs, persuades, or otherwise engages with an audience;
  • evaluate communication for substance, bias, and intended effect; and
  • demonstrate the ability to revise and improve written and oral communication.

CWP 102 (or the equivalent) satisfies the Communication - written and oral communication. 

SUNY Guidance

Approvable courses for this category include

  • a combination of two courses, one of which focuses more on written communication, the other on oral communication;
  • a single course that combines written and oral communication;
  • writing-intensive courses that also include sufficient attention to speaking skills;
  • speaking-intensive courses that also include sufficient attention to writing skills.

DIVERSITY: EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

Students will:

  • describe the historical and contemporary societal factors that shape the development of individual and group identity involving race, class, and gender, sexual orientation, disability, and other factors;
  • analyze the role that complex networks of social structures and systems play in the creation and perpetuation of the dynamics of power, privilege, oppression, and opportunity; and
  • apply the principles of rights, access, equity, and autonomous participation to past, current, or future social justice action.

HUMANITIES

Students will:

  • demonstrate knowledge of the conventions and methods of at least one of the humanities; and
  • recognize and analyze nuance and complexity of meaning through critical reflections on text, visual images, or artifacts.

SUNY Guidance
This category does not specify a particular humanities discipline or approach.

Consistent with the intention to maintain splitting the Arts and Humanities into two separate categories, “performance” courses would generally not be approvable in this category unless supported by documentation that they include a preponderance of scholarly humanistic study.

Standard scholarly histories of the arts are approvable in both the Humanities and Arts categories.

MATHEMATICS AND QUANTITATIVE REASONING

Students will demonstrate mathematical skills and quantitative reasoning, including the ability to:

  • interpret and draw inferences from appropriate mathematical models such as formulas, graphs, tables, or schematics;
  • represent mathematical information symbolically, visually, numerically, or verbally as appropriate; and
  • employ quantitative methods such as arithmetic, algebra, geometry, or statistics to solve problems.

SUNY Guidance
N.B.: Campuses may approve liberal arts and sciences courses outside the disciplinary area of Mathematics (e.g., courses in statistics, computer science, data science, formal/symbolic logic, etc.) for this required category, provided the student learning outcomes for Mathematics (and Quantitative Reasoning) are met within the course.

NATURAL SCIENCES AND SCIENTIFIC REASONING

Students will demonstrate scientific reasoning applied to the natural world, including:

  • 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 data analysis or mathematical modeling; and
  • application of scientific data, concepts, and models in one of the natural sciences.

SUNY Guidance
N.B.: Campuses may approve liberal arts and sciences courses outside the natural sciences (e.g., in social sciences) in lieu of the Natural Sciences required category, as long as the student learning outcomes include demonstrating scientific reasoning applied to the respective disciplinary area(s). In such cases, the campus shall ensure that transcripts clearly indicate that required Scientific Reasoning has been satisfied outside the Natural Sciences (e.g., in Social Sciences).

Buffalo State Guidance
Courses do not have to include a laboratory section but must include experiential learning components that meets the outcomes.  Courses outside the typical Natural Science areas such as those from Social Science disciplines that utilize the Scientific Method may be included.

SOCIAL SCIENCES

Students will:

  • describe major concepts and theories of at least one discipline in the social sciences; and
  • demonstrate an understanding of the methods social scientists use to explore social phenomena.

SUNY Guidance
Campuses are encouraged to approve courses that include a comprehensive introduction to a social science discipline.

For inter- or multi-disciplinary courses (e.g., women’s studies or the social science portions of integrated curricula), or courses that otherwise fall outside the envelope of traditional social science disciplines, course descriptions and syllabi shall demonstrate clearly:

  • that they teach understanding of social science methodologies;
  • which discipline(s) in the social sciences they draw on for concepts and theories; and
  • that the majority of the text(s) used fall clearly within the social sciences.

U.S. HISTORY AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

Students will:

  • demonstrate understanding of United States’ society and/or history, including the diversity of individuals and communities that make up the nation;
  • understand the role of individual participation in US communities and government; and
  • apply historical and contemporary evidence to draw, support, or verify conclusions.

SUNY Guidance
In addition to providing information about the connection of the United States’ past to its present, approvable courses in this category will focus on the role of individuals within communities, and developing civic understanding and other skills for engaging in the dynamics of the diverse and pluralistic society which comprises the public life of the United States.

WORLD HISTORY AND GLOBAL AWARENESS

Students will:

  • demonstrate knowledge of a broad outline of world history and/or the development of the distinctive features of at least one civilization or culture in relation to other regions of the world; and
  • demonstrate an understanding of the structures, systems, and interrelationships among civilizations and cultures within historical and/or contemporary contexts, and their impact on wellbeing and sustainability.

SUNY Guidance
Courses on specialized topics or periods are approvable so long as the materials demonstrate that the primary focus of the course relates to larger developments of world history. The core of the course must be central to world history and global awareness, and the treatment of that core placed in broader cultural perspective so that students gain an acquaintance with world history and not just specialized knowledge of one narrowly defined topic.

WORLD LANGUAGES

Students will:

  • exhibit basic proficiency in the understanding and use of a world language; and
  • demonstrate knowledge of the distinctive features of culture(s) associated with the language they are studying.

SUNY Guidance
The first college semester, or above, of a world language constitutes an approvable course in this category. American Sign Language courses are also approvable for SUNY GE World Languages.