General Education

SUNY General Education Courses

SUNY has ten General Education categories, and each campus in the SUNY system has a list of approved courses meeting outcomes in each of the ten categories. All Associate of Arts (A.A.) and Associate of Science (A.S.) degree programs require a minimum of 30 credits of SUNY General Education coursework distributed among a minimum of seven content areas, which must include Mathematics and Basic Communication. Students enrolled in Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) programs who plan to pursue a SUNY baccalaureate degree are advised to choose elective courses that fulfill these General Education requirements where possible.

List of approved courses

Liberal Arts and Science Courses

The New York State Department of Education requires that for each degree type a certain proportion of the credits must be classified as Liberal Arts and Sciences, under which we designate sub-categories of Humanities, Math/Science, and Social Science. For Associate of Arts (A.A.) the proportion is 3/4, or a minimum of 45 credits; for Associate of Science (A.S.) it is 1/2, or a minimum of 30 credits, and for Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) it is 1/3, or a minimum of 20 credits. Each TC3 degree program is designed to fulfill these guidelines, and many programs direct students to choose among electives in one or more of the Liberal Arts categories.

Chart of Disciplines/Courses

Tompkins Cortland Core Requirements

The following courses (18-24 Credits) shall be required in all programs (A.A., A.S., and A.A.S.), unless an exception is approved by the Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs:

•ENGL 100 (if required), ENGL 101, and either ENGL 201 or ENGL 204 or ENGL 210: 6-9 credit hours
•A minimum of one 3-4 credit hour course in each of the following areas: humanities, mathematics, natural sciences, and social sciences: 12-15 credit hours

Please note that all A.A. and A.S. programs must meet SUNY General Education credit and distribution requirements.

Tompkins Cortland Institutional Learning Outcomes

Graduates of Tompkins Cortland Community College will:

  • communicate effectively, in oral and written forms, taking into consideration audience and purpose
  • apply principles and methods of scientific inquiry and quantitative reasoning appropriate to their discipline
  • use information, critical thinking, and the creative process to solve problems and reach conclusions
  • use technology appropriate to their discipline
  • describe the ways in which social, economic, or environmental sustainability depends on their own and the collective contributions of a diversity of ideas and people