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General Education Requirements - Fall 2001 to Spring 2013


Introduction

All undergraduate students who matriculated at Hunter College in fall 2001 through spring 2013 were required to fulfill the General Education Requirement (GER), a set of competencies, knowledge areas and perspectives that Hunter College considers essential to the intellectual development of its undergraduates. For students matriculating at Hunter College in fall of 2013 through spring of 2019, the Hunter Core Requirement replaces the GER. Current Hunter students who started before fall 2013 can “opt in” to the Hunter Core or continue with the GER. See www.hunter.cuny.edu/academics/hunter-core-requirement for further information specific to your status.

The General Education Requirement is composed of the Core Requirement, consisting of designated courses at various academic levels and three graduation requirements: the Writing Requirement, the Foreign Language Requirement and the Pluralism and Diversity Requirement. Transfer students who have earned an AA/AS degree from a CUNY college and who matriculated in fall 2003 and after are exempt from the Core requirements of the GER, but must fulfill the three graduation requirements of Writing, Pluralism and Diversity and Foreign Language. Transfer students who have earned an AA/AS degree from a CUNY college and who matriculated between fall 2001 and summer 2003 are exempt from the Core Requirement and the Writing Requirement. Evaluated transfer credits sometimes can be used to fulfill the GER requirements. All transfer students should carefully check their evaluated courses against the GER. Students transferring from a CUNY school without an AA or AS degree should seek an adviser to help determine which courses they may use to satisfy Core requirements. For overlaps and restrictions on these different requirements and their relation to major and minor requirements, see the section below on Regulations for Core Requirement.

Summary

The Core Requirement, composed of designated courses, is divided into three sequential Stages: 1-Academic Foundations; 2-Broad Exposure; and 3-Focused Exposure.

Stage 1 – Academic Foundations (Students should complete this stage within their first 30 credits.) The Academic Foundations Stage includes courses in mathematics, composition and history that provide students with the analytic, interpretive, communication and historical competencies and perspectives critical to academic success.

Stage 2 – Broad Exposure (Students should complete this stage within their first 45 credits.) The Broad Exposure Stage continues with courses in the social sciences, humanities, arts and natural sciences to introduce students to a broad range of disciplinary perspectives and areas of knowledge.

Stage 3 – Focused Exposure (Students should complete this stage within their first 60 credits.) This Stage requires students to select advanced courses outside their major (students with more than one major should see the Regulations for Core Requirement, below).

The Focused Exposure Stage includes courses in areas that the student has selected to study in greater depth, in the expectation that more advanced students should do more analysis and research.

Graduation Requirements:

Comprise the Writing Requirement, the Foreign Language Requirement and the Pluralism and Diversity Requirement.

  1. Writing Requirement The Writing Requirement ensures that all students have significant writing experiences. It is recommended that students fulfill the Writing Requirement early in their academic career in order to prepare effectively for advanced coursework. Courses that can be taken to fulfill the Writing Requirement carry the designation “W” in this catalog. The maximum number of writing intensive, W-designated courses a student must take is 3 (see the section below on Writing Requirement). All W courses must be taken at Hunter. The W-designated courses (or specific sections thereof) are indicated in the Schedule of Classes each semester.

    Note: Not all sections of a course are necessarily offered with significant writing. To satisfy the Writing Requirement a section designated as W in the “Schedule of Classes” must be taken.
     

  2. Foreign Language Requirement The goal of this requirement is to provide facility in a language other than English and to enable students to access non-English literatures. In learning a foreign language and studying its literature and cultures, students acquire new perspectives on how people think, view the world, express themselves and communicate with one another. Language learning expands one’s ability to create and discover new meaning in one’s own language and culture. An awareness of contrasting cultural concepts sensitizes students to the differences between their own culture and others — increasingly important, as the communities of the world have become so interconnected and interdependent. This is a graduation requirement. The requirement of four semesters of language courses or an equivalent combination of college and high school courses is fulfilled only if all four semesters are completed in the same language.

    All BA, BFA and BMus students must fulfill a graduation requirement of intermediate (fourth semester) foreign  language proficiency. It is recommended that students begin the first two semesters of foreign language proficiency within their first 30 credits at Hunter. Although intermediate foreign language proficiency is required only by the time a student graduates, gaps in language instruction are very undesirable and it is strongly recommended that students complete all their foreign language requirements in consecutive semesters. Students in BS programs should check the requirements for their specific program. Students who change from a BS to a BA program must meet the foreign language requirement for the BA degree.
     

  3. Pluralism and Diversity Requirement This requirement is composed of designated courses in four groups (A, B, C, D). A course can satisfy only one of these four groups, though it may also satisfy a requirement in the Core and in the minor and major.

The General Education Requirement is composed of a Core Requirement and Graduation Requirements in: Writing, Foreign Language, and Pluralism & Diversity. Any number of courses from a major or minor may be used to satisfy the Pluralism and Diversity Requirement and the Writing Requirement.

Note: The list of courses satisfying the requirements is often updated. For the most recent list, please check the Registrar’s Web site at: www.hunter.cuny.edu/registrar

Regulations for Core Requirement:

  1. A course may be used to satisfy only one Core Requirement.
     

  2. No more than two courses per department or program may be applied to satisfy Core requirements. Exceptions to this are courses in Stage 1: Academic Foundations.*
     

  3. All courses satisfying Core, Stage 2 Groups A through D must be from different departments or programs.*
     

  4. Students may apply up to two courses from their major to satisfy Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the Core; only one of these is permitted to fulfill a Stage 1 requirement, and only one a Stage 2 requirement.

    Note: Students who have declared two or more majors can use up to two courses from one of those majors to satisfy Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the Core. Only one of these is permitted to fulfill a Stage 1 requirement, and only one a Stage 2 requirement. Courses from minors and any additional majors can be used without limit to satisfy Stages 1, 2, and 3 of the Core.
     

  5. *All CUNY Macaulay Honors College (MHC) courses designated for the Core Requirement may be applied toward the Core Requirement.

Core Requirement

Stage 1: Academic Foundations

List of Approved Courses for GER Core Stage 1: Academic Foundations 

This Stage involves basic academic skills needed for success in the liberal arts and sciences. Accordingly students should complete this Stage as early as possible, preferably within their first 30 credits at Hunter. Exemption may be granted on the basis of placement exams or other criteria as determined by the Hunter College Senate. Such exemptions do not yield credit unless they are based on the successful completion of college courses.

Group

Credits

Description

A

3

English Composition
This requirement introduces expository writing and academic discourse. Through reading, writing, and rewriting, students learn to generate, explore, and refine their own ideas, analyze and evaluate  intellectual arguments, take positions and support them persuasively, and write with sound grammar, varied sentence structure, logic, and coherence.

B

3

Quantitative Reasoning
The goal of this requirement is to develop competence in mathematical and quantitative reasoning, including the use of numerical and graphical data in making judgments on personal, professional,  and public issues. Students who place out of MATH 125 are exempt from this requirement.
 

C

3

US History
This requirement introduces portions of the history of the United States covering periods of time sufficiently long to reveal the historical dynamic and bring understanding of the historical contexts that have created our social and political institutions. It emphasizes the importance of the historical perspective and method, an understanding of how, where, and why change has occurred over time, and an awareness that the world we live in has been influenced by the past.
HIST 151W, 152W, PLSC 110W

Stage 2: Broad Exposure

List of Approved Courses for GER Core Stage 2: Broad Exposure 

These courses should be completed within a student’s first three semesters (full-time) or 45 credits (part-time) at Hunter.

Group

Credits

Description

A

3

Survey of Literature Written in English
This requirement is meant to increase students’ understanding and appreciation of literature written in English. Courses emphasize close readings of representative texts chosen to familiarize student  with various authors, periods, and genres - fiction, drama, and poetry - and to provide a firm foundation for further literary study. Written assignments include quizzes, papers, and a midterm and final exam.

B

6

Social Science: People and their Societies
The goal of this requirement is to introduce students to the understanding of individual and collective human behavior.
Students should be aware of the geographic, political, social, economic, historical, and psychological effects on the human environment. By studying human relations and the human experience students should learn the methodologies as well as the nature, scope, and limits of specific disciplines in the social sciences.

C

3

Humanities: Cultures and Ideas: Literature, Philosophy, Classics
This requirement is meant to introduce students to the human intellectual heritage, the wisdom, and the vision expected of well-educated members of the global human community. The study of texts, thoughts, cultures, and human values should nourish the mind and the spirit, inspiring an enduring love of learning. The humanities are strongly linked to other fields of higher education and are vital to the health of society.

D

3

Visual and Performing Arts: Media, Art, Dance, Film, Music, Theater
This requirement is meant to introduce students to significant works of the creative imagination, familiarize them with a medium of creative expression, and enable them to actively participate in individual aesthetic and creative experiences. Through critical analysis, research, and direct involvement in creative work in a particular medium, students should develop an appreciation of the interrelations of intellectual and emotional responses to the arts and letters.

E

7

Natural Science: Two courses are required, one of which must include a laboratory component. These may be in the same discipline.
The goal of this requirement is to introduce students to the concepts and ways of thinking of the natural sciences. The sciences have intrinsic intellectual value, pursuing basic questions about the workings of the universe and the world around us. Students should be conversant with the rapid pace of scientific advances and able to make informed decisions about scientific matters in the public domain.

Stage 3: Focused Exposure

List of Approved Courses for GER Core Stage 3: Focused Exposure 

These courses are intended to give students the opportunity to study selected subjects outside their major department or program in greater depth than in Stage 2. Usually, these courses will be beyond the 100 level. Accordingly, it is strongly recommended that students take a first course in the same discipline. A student must take one course from Group A and one course from Group B in Stage 3.

Group

Credits

Description

A

3

Humanities or Visual and Performing Arts One course beyond the introductory level is required, chosen from humanities or the visual or performing arts.

B

3

Social Sciences or Natural Sciences/Mathematics One course beyond the introductory level is required, chosen from social sciences or natural sciences/mathematics.

Graduation Requirements

Writing Requirement

List of Approved Courses for the Writing Requirement 

Students matriculating with fewer than 31 credits must take three courses in significant writing — “W” designated courses — at Hunter College. Transfer students matriculating with 31 to 59 credits must take at least two “W” designated courses at Hunter College. Transfer students matriculating with 60 to 90 credits must take at least one “W” designated course at Hunter College. (ENGL 120 does not count as “W” designated course.)

Note: Specific sections of courses containing significant writing are listed with a W designation in the Schedule of Classes. Please note that not all sections of a course are necessarily offered with significant writing. To satisfy the Writing Requirement a section designated as W must be taken.

Language Proficiency Requirement

Hunter College currently offers the following programs to meet the language proficiency requirement:

Chinese (CHIN), French (FREN), German (GRMN), Greek (GRK), Hebrew (HEBR), Italian (ITAL), Japanese (JPN), Latin (LAT), Polish (POL), Russian (RUSS), Spanish (SPAN), Swahili (SWA), Ukrainian (UKR), Yoruba (YOR).

Course of Study:

All students must demonstrate language proficiency at the 12-credit level or its equivalent. In each language a required course sequence (12 credits) is offered: Elementary I and II (2 three-credit courses or 1 six-credit intensive course) and Intermediate I and II (2 three-credit courses or 1 six-credit intensive course). The Elementary three-credit courses are usually numbered 101 and 102 and the Intermediate three-credit courses are usually 201 and 202 (except that the Spanish for Native Speakers sequence is SPAN 105, 106, 207, and 208; intermediate Greek is GRK 110 and GRK 202 or 203; intermediate Latin is LAT 110 and LAT 201, 202, 203, or 204). The intensive six-credit courses are usually numbered 103 and 203 (except for: CHIN 107 and 207; GRK 107; and LAT 107). Intensive courses are not offered in all languages. The first semester of a four-course sequence will not be credited without successful completion of the second semester.

Exemption: Students may be exempted from part or all of the language proficiency requirement by virtue of:

  1. Successful completion of high school courses. Each year of language study completed in high school is equivalent to one semester (3 cr) of the same language in college. The requirement of 4 semesters of language courses or an equivalent combination of college and high school courses is fulfilled only if all 4 semesters are completed in the same language. Students who have completed 4 years of one foreign language in high school should apply for an exemption with the Coordinator of Academic Appeals; an official high school transcript is required. Students who have passed a language Advanced Placement Test of the College Board with a grade of 5, 4, or 3 should contact the Office of Admissions.
     

  2. Passing at least one advanced college foreign language or literature course that has a 4th semester level prerequisite in that language.
     

  3. Competency demonstrated through proficiency examinations. To arrange for an examination contact the appropriate department office; if the language in question is not taught at Hunter College contact the dean of the School of Arts & Sciences.
     

  4. Presentation of foreign secondary school documentation. Students who have graduated from a high school outside the United States in which the language of instruction was other than English may be exempted from the foreign language requirement upon presentation of a high school or secondary (equivalent) transcript.
     

  5. Presentation of foreign university documentation. Students who present appropriate evidence that they have completed one or more semesters of full-time study at a college or university outside of the United States in which the language of instruction was other than English may be exempted from the foreign language requirement. Native speakers of English who participated in a study-abroad program or a program specifically designed for foreigners may be exempted from the foreign language requirement if they provide sufficient evidence of their proficiency in the foreign language.

 

Note: an exemption from a language requirement does not yield any credit unless the exemption is based on successful completion of college courses.

Placement: Students may begin a foreign language at Hunter College. Students who are not exempt from the foreign language requirement as described above should choose their language course as follows:

  1. Students who have satisfactorily completed 3 years of study of one language in high school or have completed the college equivalent of the 3rd level in a foreign language sequence should take the 4th course in the required sequence.
     

  2. Students who have satisfactorily completed 2 years of study of one language in high school or have completed the college equivalent of the second level in a foreign language sequence should take the 3rd and 4th courses in the required sequence.
     

  3. Students who have satisfactorily completed 1 year of study of a language in high school or have completed the college equivalent of the 1st level in a foreign language sequence should take the 2nd, 3rd and 4th courses in the required sequence.
     

  4. Students who are beginning the study of a foreign language should take all 12 credits of a course sequence.

Pluralism And Diversity Requirement

List of Approved Courses for the Pluralism and Diversity Requirement 

The growing interdependence of the world’s political, economic, and cultural relations, along with the increasingly diverse character of the American citizenry in general and the students of Hunter College in particular, make it imperative that Hunter undergraduates be exposed to a wide range of intellectual traditions, perspectives, and concerns arising from all corners of the globe. The emergence of sizable bodies of scholarship in recent decades reflecting that intellectual array makes it important for Hunter to present them as an integral part of the education of its undergraduates.

Accordingly, all students, including transfer students, who entered Hunter College in the fall 1993 semester or later are required to complete 12 credits in designated courses that address issues of pluralism and diversity before graduating from Hunter College. Students choose three credits from each of the four groups below. Work done at other colleges may be counted towards the pluralism and diversity requirement. When a student is given course equivalence for a course that counts towards pluralism and diversity, that student will also be deemed to have met the corresponding pluralism and diversity requirement except that  or, BIOL 100/102 and BIOL 100/160, students must see the department to receive pluralism and diversity credit. All courses used to satisfy Pluralism and Diversity requirements may simultaneously meet a student’s Core Requirement or the courses necessary for a major or minor area of study.

Note: While some courses may be listed in more than one group of the requirement, students will be able to apply such course to only one of the four areas.

Group

Credits

Group or Societal Focus

A

3

A course focusing on scholarship about major practical or theoretical issues (e.g., artistic, economic, geographic, literary, political, scientific, or social) that emerge from, are reflected in, or are principally derived from the historical conditions, perspectives, and/or intellectual traditions of non-European societies, particularly those of Africa, Asia, Latin America, or those indigenous to the Americas.

B

3

A course focusing on scholarship about major practical or theoretical issues (e.g., artistic, economic, geographic, literary, political, scientific, or social) that emerge from, are reflected in, or are principally derived from the historical conditions, perspectives, immigrant experiences, and/or intellectual traditions of one or more of the following groups in the United States of America: African Americans, Asian Americans, Latino Americans, and Native Americans.

C

3

A course focusing on scholarship about major practical or theoretical issues (e.g., artistic, economic, geographic, literary, political, scientific, or social) that emerge from, are reflected in, or are principally derived from the historical conditions, perspectives, and/or intellectual traditions of women and/or issues of gender or sexual orientation.

D

3

A course focusing on scholarship about major practical or theoretical issues (e.g., artistic, economic, geographic, literary, political, scientific, or social) that emerge from, are reflected in, or are principally derived from the historical conditions, perspectives, and/or intellectual traditions of Europe, including the ways in which pluralism and diversity have been addressed.

* Groups designated by letters A, B, C, and D substitute for Groups originally called 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively.

Note: SOC 101 has been withdrawn from Group A. This change has gone into effect for all students entering Hunter in fall 2001.