Additional Information | General Education

Appeals and Petitions

Binghamton University students must successfully complete all General Education requirements as a condition of graduation. Generally speaking, General Education requirements are not waived for any students. However, we are aware that some students with special circumstances feel their situation warrants a waiver of one of the General Education requirements. Appeals of General Education requirements are considered by the University Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UUCC), the committee which oversees Binghamton's General Education program.

Submitting an Appeal

Students may submit appeals of the General Education requirements by using the General Education Petition Google Form. Please note that this form requires a Binghamton University email address.

Note: for the World Language requirment please review this information first.

If you experience problems using the form, please contact Undergraduate Education.

IMPORTANT: Before you submit a petition, please read the information below to see if your question has already been answered or if additional documentation will be required. Also check out the Frequently Asked Questions below for information on Advanced Placement, CLEP, the Pluralism requirement, and transfer courses.

Specific Questions About Appeals

I took a course last semester (last year, etc.) that I think should have fulfilled a General Education requirement but it didn't. Is there anything I can do?

Unfortunately, once a course has been completed, it cannot be designated as meeting a General Education requirement.

I am taking MUSP courses. Can I use them to fulfill my Aesthetics requirement?

Four credits worth of MUSP courses can be used to fulfill the General Education Aesthetics requirement. Once you have successfully completed 4 credits of MUSP courses for a letter grade, your degree audit will use them to fulfill your Aesthetics requirement. You do not need to submit an appeals form.

I need an Activity (or Wellness, or Both Activity/Wellness) course. I run (or swim/work out at a local gym/teach karate, etc.). Can I use that to fulfill the requirement?

No. You cannot use any Physical Activity or Wellness experiences taken outside of a credit-bearing college course to fulfill General Education requirements. For example, you cannot use classes taken at health clubs or fitness facilities or self-directed fitness activities such as running, swimming, dance, or weightlifting.

My advisor said this General Education requirement was fulfilled, but my degree audit says I still need the requirement. I think I was misadvised. Can I appeal this?

If you appeal on the grounds that you were misadvised about your General Education requirements, you must provide documentation of the advising error in order for your petition to be considered. Specifically, if you state in your appeal that your advisor told you that a particular General Education requirement was completed or that you did not need to take a course to fulfill a particular General Education requirement, you must provide a statement from the advisor in which they affirm that you were misadvised. This documentation is necessary for your appeal to be considered; it does not guarantee your appeal will be granted.

I had a degree audit that showed I was done with this General Education requirement, but my new degree audit says I still need to take the course. I think the degree audit misadvised me. Can I appeal this?

If you appeal on the grounds that you were misadvised about your General Education requirements, you must provide documentation of the advising error in order for your petition to be considered. Specifically, if you state in your appeal that your degree audit showed that a particular General Education requirement was completed and that you did not need to take a course, you must provide a hard copy of the degree audit with your petition. This documentation is necessary for your appeal to be considered; it does not guarantee your appeal will be granted.

I have a medical condition or disability that prevents me from taking Physical Activity courses. Can the Physical Activity requirement be waived?

If you are requesting a waiver of the Physical Activity requirement on the basis of a medical condition or a documented temporary or permanent physical disability, you should first contact the University Health Service. Students with serious medical conditions or temporary or permanent disabilities may be assigned to the ACR (adaptive, corrective, rehabilitative) program or have the requirement waived.

Petitions for waivers on this basis must be accompanied by a letter from the medical director of the Decker Student Health Services Center stating that, in the doctor's medical opinion, the Activity requirement should be waived.

Please be aware, however, that the doctor's decision may be to assign you to the ACR program rather than waiving the requirement.

I have a documented disability that affects my ability to fulfill a General Education requirement. What should I do?

Students with disabilities who anticipate they will have disability-related difficulties successfully fulfilling a General Education requirement should identify themselves and their concerns to the Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) office as soon as possible. Registration is encouraged to happen during the summer prior to enrollment at Binghamton University. SSD staff will work with the student and explain the accommodation process. The SSD office can be reached at 607-777-2686 or by email - ssd@binghamton.edu. They are located in the University Union, room UU-119. For additional information, please consult the SSD website.

Transfer Info

For more information about transferring to Binghamton University, please see Undergraduate Admissions' transfer student information.

If you are looking for specific information as to which General Education requirements will be fulfilled by your transfer courses, please contact the advising office for the Binghamton University school into which you would like to transfer. Contact information for the advising offices is available in the Advising and Tutoring page.

Transfer Students with Catalog Years 2013 and On

Transfer students who will enter Binghamton University under catalog years 2013 and on will fulfill the same General Education requirements as students who enter Binghamton University as First Years, except for the World Language requirement, which differs for transfer students.

For all requirements except World Language, transfer students from other SUNY schools who have been certified as meeting a SUNY-wide General Education requirement prior to matriculation at Binghamton will be certified as having met the corresponding Binghamton requirement. Because the SUNY-wide World Language Requirement is one college-level course, transfer students who fulfilled the SUNY-wide World Language requirement may need additional coursework to fulfill the Binghamton University World Language requirement depending on which school they are in.

Courses transferred from schools outside the SUNY system will be evaluated solely in terms of Binghamton University's General Education requirements. Contact your advisor for more information.

Comparison of Binghamton University and SUNY General Education Requirements for Catalog Years 2013 and On

The table below shows the names of the SUNY General Education requirements and the corresponding Binghamton requirements for transfer students entering Binghamton University under catalog years 2013 and On.

SUNY Requirement	Corresponding Binghamton Requirement
Diversity: Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice	Diversity: Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice
Basic Communications	Composition, Oral Communication or Joint Composition + Oral Communication
World Language	World Language
Humanities	Humanities
Mathematics	Math/Reasoning
Natural Sciences	Laboratory Sciences
Social Sciences	Social Sciences
The Arts	Aesthetics
Other World Civilization* Western Civilization*	Global Interdependencies
Critical Thinking and Reasoning	Critical Thinking and Reasoning
Information Literacy	Information Literacy
	Physical Activity, Wellness or Both Physical Activity/Wellness**

*Note: Binghamton University does not have a requirement that corresponds with SUNY’s Western Civilization requirement. In some cases, courses that fulfill the SUNY Western Civilization or Other World Civilization requirements, depending on content, may fulfill Binghamton’s Global Interdependencies requirement. Please see your advisor for more information.
**Note: There is no corresponding SUNY Requirement for the Physical Activity and Wellness Requirement. However, some courses may transfer with the designation. Please see your advisor for more information.

Frequently Asked Questions

Courses and Requirements

How do I know if a course meets a General Education requirement?

General Education courses are identified in the Schedule of Classes. To receive General Education credit, a course must be identified with a General Education letter (A, C, etc.) in the semester in which you take it. General Education designations are finalized by the Add/Drop Deadline for each semester. For a list of courses meeting General Education requirements offered for a specific semester, please log into BU Brain or go to the Schedule of Classes.

Can a course fulfill more than one General Education requirement?

Some General Education courses may have more than one General Education tag listed. However, except for Composition, Oral Communication, Joint Composition/Oral Communication, World Language, Critical Thinking and Reasoning, and Information Literacy classes, General Education courses may be used to fulfill only one General Education requirement.

For example, a course may be designated as Composition, Information Literacy, World Language, Humanities, and Global Interdependencies. You will either receive credit for Composition, Information Literacy, World Language, and Humanities or for Composition, Information Literacy, World Language, and Global Interdependencies. If you have questions about what General Education requirements a course will fulfill, please contact your school’s advising office

Can my independent study fulfill a General Education requirement?

No, independent study or independent research courses cannot fulfill General Education requirements.

Can my internship fulfill a General Education requirement?

Other than CDCI 385, which has been specifically designed to meet the O requirement, internships cannot fulfill General Education requirements.

Can my teaching practicum fulfill a General Education requirement?

No, teaching practica cannot fulfill General Education requirements.

Grades in General Education Courses

What is the policy regarding grades in General Education courses taken at Binghamton University?

General Education courses must be taken for a letter grade unless a course is only offered pass/fail. Students must earn a grade of D or better in a course in order to have it fulfill General Education requirements. If a course is only offered pass/fail, a student must receive a P in order to have the course fulfill General Education requirements.

For courses taken in Spring 2020 only: Due to COVID-19, students may elect to pass/fail General Education courses. For more information, see here. Contact your advising office if you have questions about how a decision to pass/fail would affect your degree plans.

What is the policy regarding grades in courses taken at another school and transferred to Binghamton to fulfill General Education requirements?

Please reach out to your advising office to see what courses transfer to fulfill General Education requirements.

Credit by Exam (AP, IB/HIB, CLEP)

I took AP courses in high school. Can I use my AP scores to fulfill General Education requirements?

A score of 3 or better on certain AP tests can be used to fulfill General Education requirements, as follows:

Aesthetics	Art History Music Theory Studio Art: Drawing Studio Art: 2-D Design Studio Art: 3-D Design
World Language	Chinese Language and Culture French Language German Language Italian Language and Culture Japanese Language and Culture Latin Spanish Language and Culture Spanish Literature and Culture
Humanities	English Literature and Composition Latin Spanish Literature and Culture
Laboratory Sciences	Biology Chemistry Environmental Science AP score of 4 automatically fulfills the General Education, Laboratory Sciences. No verification of laboratory experience is needed. Physics AP score of 5 automatically fulfills the General Education, Laboratory Sciences. No verification of laboratory experience is needed
Mathematics/Reasoning	Calculus Statistics
Diversity: Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice U.S. Diversity: Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice	Appropriate AP scores in American History may be used to determine proficiency for the U.S. Diversity: Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice requirement. Students will then need to take a designated Diversity: Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice course to fulfill the requirement; the AP score may only be used to determine proficiency.
Social Science	Comparative Government and Politics European History Human Geography Macroeconomics Microeconomics U.S. Government and Politics U.S. History World History

I took IB courses in high school. Can I use my scores to fulfill General Education requirements?

Certain IB scores can be used to fulfill General Education requirements, as follows:

Aesthetics	IB Fine Arts score of 4-7
World Languages	IB Exam score of 4-7
Humanities	IB Humanities score of 4-7
Laboratory Science (Catalog Year 2016-Present)	Biology and Environmental Science - IB score of 6 No verification of laboratory experience is needed. Chemistry - IB score of 5 No verification of laboratory experience is needed. Physics - IB score of 7 *No verification of laboratory experience is needed.
Mathematics	IB Math score of 4-7
Social Science	IB Social Science score of 4-7

Note: For students whose catalog year is prior to 2016, the Laboratory Science requirement may be satisfied by an IB Higher Level Experimental Sciences score of 4-7 in Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences and Societies, a passing grade in the course, and approval of documentation of the laboratory activities by a Binghamton University faculty member from the respective department. For more information, please reach out to Undergraduate Education

Can I use CLEP scores to fulfill General Education requirements?

Appropriate CLEP scores in Calculus may be used to satisfy the Mathematics/Reasoning requirement. Appropriate CLEP scores in U.S. History I or II may be used to determine proficiency for the Diversity requirement.

Can I use Cambridge A-Level scores to fulfill General Education requirements?

Appropriate Cambridge A-Level scores may be used to satisfy the Aesthetics, Humanities, Laboratory Science, Mathematics/Reasoning, and Social Science requirements. Please contact your school advising office for more information.