Pathways

Prev Next

Welcome to Pathways

Pathways General Education
CSI adheres to the CUNY Pathways general education curriculum. The Pathways curriculum is designed to ease student transfer among CUNY Colleges. The centerpiece of the curriculum is a 30-credit general education Common Core required for ALL students, made up of two parts: the Required Core (four courses), and the Flexible Core (six courses). In addition to the 30-credit Common Core, bachelor’s-degree students are required to take another 6 to 12 credits of general education through the College Option. Once fulfilled, these general education credits will carry over seamlessly if a student transfers to another CUNY college. Pathways has also aligned gateway courses for a number of popular majors. For more information, visit the CUNY Gateway Courses into Majors website.

For more information, visit the CUNY Pathways or the CUNY Pathways Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Appeals webpages.

Students should speak with an adviser from the Center for Academic Advisement and Student Success to discuss their choices within Pathways, and to review their remaining Pathways requirements.

Pathways Requirements for Undergraduate Students Entering in the Academic Year 2021-2022

Below is a list of the areas of Pathways. For course options, please refer to the Undergraduate Catalog.

Required Common Core (four courses for a total of 12 credits)

English Composition (two courses)
Mathematical and Quantitative Reasoning (one course)
Life and Physical Sciences (one course)

Flexible Common Core (six courses for a total of 18 credits)
Students must complete a minimum of one course in each of the five categories. No more than two courses with the same course prefix may be used to fulfill Flexible Common Core requirements.

World Cultures & Global Issues (one course)
U.S. Experience in Its Diversity (one course)
Creative Expression (two courses)
Individual & Society (one course)
Scientific World (one course)

College Option (four courses for a total of 12 credits)
The college option consists of four courses for a total of 12 credits. The college option requirement is dependent on a student’s major.

For all BA majors and the following BS majors: Business: International Business concentration, Communications, Drama, Music, and Social Work:

Social Scientific Analysis (social science)
Textual Aesthetic, and Linguistic Analysis (TALA)
Science lab co-requisite with Life and Physical Sciences (LP)
Science lab co-requisite with Scientific World (SW)
114-level language (If this requirement has been met through testing or exemption, an additional TALA or social science must be substituted).

For BS Majors in STEM disciplines (Biology, Biology 7-12, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Chemistry 7-12, Computer Science, Earth and Environmental Science, Earth Science 7-12, Physics, Physics 7-12, Accounting, Business, Economics, Information Systems and Informatics, and Psychology):

Social Scientific Analysis (social science)*
Textual Aesthetic, and Linguistic Analysis (TALA)*
Science lab co-requisite with Life and Physical Sciences (LP)
Science lab co-requisite with Scientific World (SW)
STEM

*STEM majors may allow students to replace either one TALA or one social science requirement with a STEM course.

College Option Overlay Requirements

Six credits at the 200 level or higher in the Flexible Core and College Option combined must fulfill these two categories:
- Contemporary World
- Pluralism and Diversity

The above requirements may be fulfilled by courses taken to complete the TALA or social Science requirements.

Associate in Applied Science Students (Business AAS, Computer Technology AAS, and Nursing AAS)
Although specific requirements vary by degree program, all CUNY AAS students must complete part of the Common Core. AAS students must also meet the regulations of the New York State Department of Education, which requires that students must complete at least 20 liberal arts credits to earn an AAS degree. If an AAS student later transfers to an AA, AS, or bachelor’s degree program, that student will need to complete any part of the Common Core that he or she has not yet completed.

CSI Degree Programs with STEM Waivers
CSI has received CUNY STEM waivers for certain degree programs to specify particular courses in STEM areas of the Common Core, the Flexible Core and/or the College Option. If a student takes different courses other than those specified in these areas, they will be certified as having completed the General Education areas, but it may not be possible for them to finish their degree program within the regular number of credits.
The CSI degree programs with STEM waivers are:

Biology BS
Biology 7-12 BS
Chemistry BS
Chemistry 7-12 BS
Biochemistry BS
Computer Science BS
Earth Science 7-12 BS
Engineering Science BS
Electrical Engineering BS
Medical Technology BS
Nursing BS
Physics BS
Physics 7-12 BS

For more information on the CSI degree programs with STEM waivers, please refer to the Undergraduate Catalog Programs of Study webpage.

Entering Transfer Students

The number of Pathways general education courses you will be required to take at the College of Staten Island depends on your transfer credit evaluation, including earned degrees.
If you transfer from an Associate (AA and AS) degree program to a CSI Bachelor’s degree program:

If you have earned an Associate Degree, you are exempt from the Common Core but are required to complete 6 credits of College Option
If you have earned more than 30 credits, you are required to complete any part of the Common Core that you have not yet completed and also 9 credits of College Option
If you have earned 30 or fewer credits, you are required to complete any part of the Common Core that you have not yet completed and also 12 credits of College Option

If you transfer from an Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree program to a CSI Bachelor’s degree program:

If you have earned an Associate Degree you are required to complete any part of the Common Core that you have not yet completed and also 6 credits of College Option
If you have earned more than 30 credits, you are required to complete any part of the Common Core that you have not yet completed and also 9 credits of College Option
If you have earned 30 or fewer credits, you are required to complete any part of the Common Core that you have not yet completed and also 12 credits of College Option

If you transfer from a Bachelor’s degree program to a CSI Bachelor’s degree program:

You are required to complete any part of the Common Core that is not yet completed and also 12 credits of College Option

Students can transfer the College Option credits they earn in a bachelor’s degree program at one CUNY college toward their College Option requirement at any other CUNY college. For students transferring to CUNY from non-CUNY colleges, CSI will decide whether courses taken at the original college fulfill any of the College Option requirements.

Transfer Appeal Procedure

Students with questions or concerns about their transfer credits can send an appeal to transferstudents@csi.cuny.edu to request additional review of the evaluation. If students do not receive a response to their college appeal within 15 business days, or if students wish to appeal a negative decision on their campus-based appeal, they may appeal that decision to the CUNY University Provost/ Office of Academic Affairs using the University Transfer Credit Appeals Form.

Second Degree Students

Students with earned bachelor’s degrees from institutions that are accredited and recognized by a regional accrediting U.S. agency, as well as students from international universities with degrees that are equivalent to a baccalaureate degree as determined by CUNY:

Are deemed to have automatically fulfilled the Pathways General Education requirements of the Common Core and College Option.

However, if a second degree student’s transfer evaluation does not include general education courses that serve as course prerequisites for their desired major, students may be required to take those courses. Students should speak with an adviser to discuss at point of matriculation.

If you have questions about your transfer credit evaluation, contact transferstudents@csi.cuny.edu.
General Education Course Substitutions

Students are required to complete all general education requirements in order to be eligible for graduation. Generally speaking, general education requirements are not waived for any student.

However, CSI is aware that some students may wish to request a course, outside of the approved common core and college option, be used to satisfy a General Education requirement.

Students may submit a general education course substitution request to be reviewed by the General Education Appeals Officer (designated by the Provost) in consultation with the General Education Committee (a committee of the Faculty Senate). If additional information is required to rule on these requests, the student will be contacted via their campus (CIX) email. If you do not have access to your campus (CIX) email please email the helpdesk@csi.cuny.edu for assistance.

If a request is approved, the change to the requirement designation on the course will be updated in the student’s CUNYfirst record and noted in their Degreeworks worksheet within 15 business days of the decision.