General Education (Pathways)

A robust general education is founded on the knowledge, concepts, methods, and perspectives that students gain through the study of many academic disciplines. These disciplinary studies stimulate intellectual inquiry, global awareness, and cultural and artistic appreciation: they equip students to make informed judgments and remain engaged beyond the classroom. To that end, QCC promotes educational activities that allow students to demonstrate that they can:

1. Communicate effectively in various forms
2. Use analytical reasoning to identify issues or problems and evaluate evidence in order to make informed decisions
3. Reason quantitatively as required in various fields of interest and in everyday life
4. Apply information management and digital technology skills useful for academic research and lifelong learning
5. Apply scientific methods and reasoning to investigate issues or problems in the natural and social sciences in order to draw conclusions

To support these institutional general education outcomes, the academic departments—through their programs—may also assess the ability of students to:

• Integrate knowledge and skills in the program of study
• Make ethical judgments while recognizing multiple perspectives, as appropriate in the program of study
• Work collaboratively to accomplish learning objectives

Approved by the Academic Senate on February 13, 2018.

In the City University of New York (CUNY), general education is also referred to as the Pathways common core. Completing the common core at any one college in CUNY means that students have completed the common core for any other college in CUNY. For students in an A.A. or A.S. degree program, the common core is the first 30 credits of the program; its purpose is to develop a broad range of knowledge and skills and to build a solid intellectual foundation on which students can engage in more sophisticated study and analysis at successively higher levels as they complete their degrees. For students in career or A.A.S. degree programs, the common core is approximately 20 credits. For every degree program at the college, the Pathways common core courses are clearly indicated.

Pathways Common Core

The Pathways common core consists of a “required” core of 12 credits and a “flexible” core of 18 credits. The required core is divided into three categories, and the flexible core is divided into five categories.  Specific requirements for each category are indicated below.

The required core consists of 12 credits, as follows:

English composition (6 credits)
Mathematical and quantitative reasoning (3 credits)
Life and physical sciences (3 credits)

The flexible core consists of 18 credits: six 3-credit liberal arts and sciences courses, with at least one course from each of the following five areas and no more than two courses in any discipline or interdisciplinary field:

World cultures and global issues (3 credits)
U.S. experience in its diversity (3 credits)
Creative expression (3 credits)
Individual and society (3 credits)
Scientific world (3 credits)
One additional course from the flexible core

Student learning outcomes by core category

I. Required Core

A. English Composition

A student will:

• Read and listen critically and analytically, including identifying an argument’s major assumptions and assertions and evaluating its supporting evidence.
• Write clearly and coherently in varied, academic formats (such as formal essays, research papers, and reports) using standard English and appropriate technology to critique and improve one’s own and others’ texts.
• Demonstrate research skills using appropriate technology, including gathering, evaluating, and synthesizing primary and secondary sources.
• Support a thesis with well-reasoned arguments, and communicate persuasively across a variety of contexts, purposes, audiences, and media.
• Formulate original ideas and relate them to the ideas of others by employing the conventions of ethical attribution and citation.

B. Mathematical and Quantitative Reasoning

A student will:

• Interpret and draw appropriate inferences from quantitative representations, such as formulas, graphs, or tables.
• Use algebraic, numerical, graphical, or statistical methods to draw accurate conclusions and solve mathematical problems.
• Represent quantitative problems expressed in natural language in a suitable mathematical format.
• Effectively communicate quantitative analysis or solutions to mathematical problems in written or oral form.
• Evaluate solutions to problems for reasonableness using a variety of means, including informed estimation.
• Apply mathematical methods to problems in other fields of study.

C. Life and Physical Sciences

A student will:

• Identify and apply the fundamental concepts and methods of a life or physical science.
• Apply the scientific method to explore natural phenomena, including hypothesis development, observation, experimentation, measurement, data analysis, and data presentation.
• Use the tools of a scientific discipline to carry out collaborative laboratory investigations.
• Gather, analyze, and interpret data and present it in an effective written laboratory or fieldwork report.
• Identify and apply research ethics and unbiased assessment in gathering and reporting scientific data.

II. Flexible Core

For all Flexible Core courses, students will:

• Gather, interpret, and assess information from a variety of sources and points of view.
• Evaluate evidence and arguments critically or analytically.
• Produce well-reasoned written or oral arguments using evidence to support conclusions.

A. World Cultures and Global Issues

A course in this area must meet at least three of the following additional learning outcomes. A student will:

• Identify and apply the fundamental concepts and methods of a discipline or interdisciplinary field exploring world cultures or global issues, including, but not limited to, anthropology, communications, cultural studies, economics, ethnic studies, foreign languages (building on previous language acquisition), geography, history, political science, sociology, and world literature.
• Analyze culture, globalization, or global cultural diversity, and describe an event or process from more than one point of view.
• Analyze the historical development of one or more non-U.S. societies.
• Analyze the significance of one or more major movements that have shaped the world’s societies.
• Analyze and discuss the role that race, ethnicity, class, gender, language, sexual orientation, belief, or other forms of social differentiation play in world cultures or societies.
• Speak, read, and write a language other than English, and use that language to respond to cultures other than one’s own.

B. U.S. Experience in its Diversity

A course in this area must meet at least three of the following additional learning outcomes. A student will:

• Identify and apply the fundamental concepts and methods of a discipline or interdisciplinary field exploring the U.S. experience in its diversity, including, but not limited to, anthropology, communications, cultural studies, economics, history, political science, psychology, public affairs, sociology, and U.S. literature.
• Analyze and explain one or more major themes of U.S. history from more than one informed perspective.
• Evaluate how indigenous populations, slavery, or immigration have shaped the development of the United States.
• Explain and evaluate the role of the United States in international relations.
• Identify and differentiate among the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government and analyze their influence on the development of U.S. democracy.
• Analyze and discuss common institutions or patterns of life in contemporary U.S. society and how they influence, or are influenced by, race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, belief, or other forms of social differentiation.

C. Creative Expression

A course in this area must meet at least three of the following additional learning outcomes. A student will:

• Identify and apply the fundamental concepts and methods of a discipline or interdisciplinary field exploring creative expression, including, but not limited to, arts, communications, creative writing, media arts, music, and theater.
• Analyze how arts from diverse cultures of the past serve as a foundation for those of the present, and describe the significance of works of art in the societies that created them.
• Articulate how meaning is created in the arts or communications and how experience is interpreted and conveyed.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the skills involved in the creative process.
• Use appropriate technologies to conduct research and to communicate.

D. Individual and Society

A course in this area must meet at least three of the following additional learning outcomes. A student will:

• Identify and apply the fundamental concepts and methods of a discipline or interdisciplinary field exploring the relationship between the individual and society, including, but not limited to, anthropology, communications, cultural studies, history, journalism, philosophy, political science, psychology, public affairs, religion, and sociology.
• Examine how an individual’s place in society affects experiences, values, or choices.
• Articulate and assess ethical views and their underlying premises.
• Articulate ethical uses of data and other information resources to respond to problems and questions.
• Identify and engage with local, national, or global trends or ideologies, and analyze their impact on individual or collective decision-making.

E. Scientific World

A course in this area must meet at least three of the following additional learning outcomes. A student will:

• Identify and apply the fundamental concepts and methods of a discipline or interdisciplinary field exploring the scientific world, including, but not limited to: computer science, history of science, life and physical sciences, linguistics, logic, mathematics, psychology, statistics, and technology-related studies.
• Demonstrate how tools of science, mathematics, technology, or formal analysis can be used to analyze problems and develop solutions.
• Articulate and evaluate the empirical evidence supporting a scientific or formal theory.
• Articulate and evaluate the impact of technologies and scientific discoveries on the contemporary world, such as issues of personal privacy, security, or ethical responsibilities.
• Understand the scientific principles underlying matters of policy or public concern in which science plays a role.

Pathways: Your Guide to the Common Core

The Pathways Common Core is the new general education requirement in all CUNY colleges.

Totaling 30 transfer credits for Associate in Arts (AA) or Associate in Science (AS) degree programs, the common core will satisfy 30 credits of general education requirements at any college in CUNY. The remaining credits in degree programs will be satisfied by the "major" requirements and electives.

The 30-credit common core is divided into two categories: required and flexible.

Click on a category to view the lists of courses from which you may choose. To satisfy the common core requirements for Associate in Arts (AA) or Associate in Science (AS) degree programs, you must satisfy the credit requirements in all categories above.

Students in Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree programs will complete only a portion of the common core requirements described above, according to the specific requirements of the program; consult an academic adviser.

Students who wish to opt into the Pathways curriculum should meet with an academic adviser.

Major Gateway Courses as of 3/28/13