General Education Degree Requirements

RIT’s General Education framework incorporates NYSED’s liberal arts and sciences requirements for each degree type. In accordance with NYSED’s guidelines, students must complete, at a minimum, the number of credits indicated in each category, as illustrated in Table 1.

*Elective course credits plus other category credits must equal the minimum required
**NYSED requires 20; RIT framework exceeds the minimum requirement

Students earning a BS degree must complete a minimum of 60 General Education credits. In addition to First Year Writing, these students must take one course from each of the first six Perspective categories and two courses from the Mathematical category for a total of eight courses. A BS program may not require specific courses in more than three Perspective categories. The students must also complete an Immersion. The remaining credits can be used as General Education electives.

Students earning a BFA degree must complete a minimum of 30 General Education credits. In addition to First Year Writing, these students must take a total of five Perspective courses, one from each of the following four categories: Ethical, Artistic, Global, and Social. They must take one additional course from a choice of Science Principles, Natural Science Inquiry or Mathematics. A BFA program may not require specific courses in more than two Perspective categories. The students must also complete an Immersion. The remaining three credits can be used as a General Education elective.

Students earning an AAS degree must complete a minimum of 24 General Education credits. In addition to First Year Writing, these students must take a total of five Perspective courses, one each from the following five categories: Ethical, Artistic, Global, Social, and Scientific Principles. The remaining courses will be General Education electives.

Students earning an AS degree must complete a minimum of 30 General Education credits. In addition to First Year Writing, these students must take a total of five Perspective courses, one from each of the following five categories: Ethical, Artistic, Global, Social, and Scientific Principles. The remaining courses will be General Education electives.

NYSED does not require that an AOS degree include general education courses. RIT colleges offering AOS degrees should establish their own guidelines.

Students may count no more than three required courses (not including labs) from their program’s primary discipline as meeting General Education requirements (e.g. a student in the biology degree program may only count three BIOL courses towards General Education, excepting lab courses). These courses must be approved to carry General Education designation by the General Education Committee. Programs may NOT require students to complete a specific immersion or restrict students to a group of immersions.

The number of courses required in each category varies by degree type (e.g. BS, BFA, AS, and AAS). Note that students may count no more than three required courses (not including labs) from their program’s primary discipline as meeting General Education requirements.