Subject to Change due to COVID-19
The current ESF Catalog is online only, and is updated as needed throughout the year. To view the version officially associated with a particular year of entry to the College, please refer to the appropriate catalog of record.
General Education Undergraduate Study
About General Education
The State University of New York requires graduates of bachelor degree programs to successfully complete 30 credit hours of general education coursework distributed among 10 different knowledge and skill areas; students pursuing a degree at ESF are required to complete at least 3 credit hours of coursework each, from at least 7 of the 10 knowledge and skill areas to fulfill the SUNY requirement. The core of the curricula for all ESF undergraduate degree programs satisfies several of the requirements, including those for the natural science, basic communications, mathematics, and humanities general education knowledge and skill areas. For the remaining general education knowledge and skill area requirements, students must complete an additional 15 credit hours distributed among courses chosen from at least three of the five remaining knowledge and skill areas, or as specifically designated by their degree programs.
The courses listed below may be chosen to satisfy SUNY general education requirements in each of the nine knowledge and skill areas. Please note that more than 40 of these courses are taught in the College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University. General education courses listed with the prefix APM, EFB, EST, FCH, FOR, LSA, PSE, or SRE are taught at SUNY-ESF and can be found in the Course Descriptions section of this catalog. Course descriptions for Syracuse University courses can be found online at http://coursecatalog.syr.edu/.
General Education Requirements
Mathematics
| Course | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| APM 103 | Applied College Algebra and Trigonometry | 3 |
| APM 104 | College Algebra and Precalculus | 3 |
| APM 105 | Survey of Calculus and Its Applications I | 4 |
| APM 106 | Survey of Calculus and Its Applications II | 4 |
| APM 115 | Essential Calculus | 4 |
| APM 205 | Calculus I for Science and Engineering | 4 |
| APM 206 | Calculus for Science and Engineering II | 4 |
| APM 391 | Introduction to Probability and Statistics | 3 |
| MAT 112 | Algebraic Operations and Functions | 3 |
| MAT 117 | Foundational Mathematics via Problem Solving I | 3 |
| MAT 118 | Foundational Mathematics via Problem Solving II | 3 |
| MAT 121 | Probability and Statistics for the Liberal Arts I | 4 |
| MAT 122 | Probability and Statistics for the Liberal Arts I | 4 |
| MAT 194 | Precalculus | 4 |
| MAT 295 | Calculus I | 4 |
| MAT 296 | Calculus II | 4 |
Natural Sciences
| Course | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| EAR 101 | Dynamic Earth | 4 |
| EFB 101 | General Biology I: Organismal Biology and Ecology | 3 |
| EFB 102 | General Biology I Laboratory | 1 |
| EFB 103 | General Biology II: Cell Biology and Genetics | 3 |
| EFB 104 | General Biology II Laboratory | 1 |
| EFB 120 | The Global Environment and the Evolution of Human Society | 3 |
| EFB 320 | General Ecology | 4 |
| FCH 110 | Survey of Chemical Principles | 3 |
| FCH 150 | General Chemistry I | 3 |
| FCH 151 | General Chemistry Laboratory I | 1 |
| FCH 152 | General Chemistry II | 3 |
| FCH 153 | General Chemistry Laboratory II | 1 |
| FCH 210 | Elements of Organic Chemistry | 4 |
| FCH 221 | Organic Chemistry I | 3 |
| FCH 222 | Organic Chemistry Laboratory I | 1 |
| FCH 223 | Organic Chemistry II | 3 |
| FCH 224 | Organic Chemistry Laboratory II | 1 |
| FOR 232 | Natural Resources Ecology | 3 |
| PHY 211 | General Physics I | 3 |
| PHY 212 | General Physics II | 3 |
| PHY 221 | General Physics I Laboratory | 1 |
| PHY 222 | General Physics II Laboratory | 1 |
| SRE 225 | Physics of Energy | 3 |
Social Sciences
| Course | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| EFB 120 | The Global Environment and the Evolution of Human Society | 3 |
| EST 221 | Introduction to American Government | 3 |
| EST 366 | Attitudes, Values and the Environment | 3 |
| EST 390 | Social Processes and the Environment | 3 |
| EST 203 | Introduction to Sociology | 3 |
| FOR 207 | Introduction to Economics | 3 |
| GEO 103 | America and the Global Environment | 3 |
| MAX 132 | Global Community | 3 |
| PAF 101 | An Introduction to the Analysis of Public Policy | 3 |
| PSC 123 | Comparative Government and Politics | 3 |
| PSC 124 | International Relations | 3 |
| PSC 125 | Political Theory | 3 |
| PSY 205 | Foundations of Human Behavior | 3 |
| SOC 248 | Ethnic Inequalities and Intergroup Relations | 3 |
| SOC 281 | Sociology of Families | 3 |
American History
For all students:
| Course | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| EST 201 | US History Reconstruction to the Present | 3 |
| EST 202 | American History: From Discovery to Civil War | 3 |
| FOR 204 | Natural Resources in American History | 3 |
| HST 101 | American History to 1865 | 3 |
| HST 102 | American History Since 1865 | 3 |
For students scoring above 84 on the U.S. History Regents examination:
| Course | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| EST 361 | History of the American Environmental Movement | 3 |
Western Civilization
| Course | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| FOR 203 | Western Civilization and the Environment | 3 |
| HOA 105 | Arts and Ideas I | 3 |
| HOA 106 | Arts and Ideas II | 3 |
| HST 111 | Early Modern Europe, 1350-1815 | 3 |
| HST 210 | The Ancient World | 3 |
| HST 211 | Medieval and Renaissance Europe | 3 |
| HST 212 | Religion in Medieval and Reformation Europe | 3 |
| LIT 203 | Greek and Roman Epic in English Translation | 3 |
| LIT 211 | Greek and Roman Drama in English Translation | 3 |
| LSA 205 | Art, Culture and Landscape I | 3 |
| LSA 206 | Art, Culture and Landscape II | 3 |
| LSA 305 | History of Landscape Architecture I | 3 |
| PSC 125 | Political Theory | 3 |
| REL 114 OR JSP 114 | The Bible The Bible | 3 3 |
| REL 205 | Ancient Greek Religion | 3 |
| REL 206 | Greco-Roman Religion | 3 |
| REL 215 OR JSP 215 | The Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible | 3 3 |
Other World Civilizations
| Course | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| AAS 241 | African Religions: An Introduction | 3 |
| ANT 121 | Peoples and Cultures of the World | 3 |
| ANT 185 | Global Encounters:Comparing World Views & Values Cross-Culturally | 3 |
| ANT 324 OR SAS 324 OR WGS 324 | Modern South Asian Cultures Modern South Asian Cultures Modern South Asian Cultures | 3 3 3 |
| ANT 326 | Africa Through the Novel | 3 |
| EFB 217 | Peoples, Plagues, and Pests | 3 |
| EFB 305 | Indigenous Issues and the Environment | 3 |
| EST 140 | Introduction to Native Peoples, Lands & Cultures | 3 |
| EST 200 | Cultural Ecology | 3 |
| GEO 272 | World Cultures | 3 |
| HST 320 | Traditional China | 3 |
| HST 321 | Modern China | 3 |
| PSE 201 | The Art and Early History of Papermaking | 3 |
| REL 101 | Religions of the World | 3 |
| REL 185 OR SAS 185 | Hinduism Hinduism | 3 3 |
| REL 186 OR SAS 186 | Buddhism Buddhism | 3 3 |
Humanities
| Course | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| AAS 231 | African American Literature to 1900: An Introduction | 3 |
| AAS 235 | African American Drama | 3 |
| ENG 245 | ||
| ENG 107 | Living Writers | 3 |
| ENG 151 | Interpretation of Poetry | 3 |
| ENG 153 | Interpretation of Fiction | 3 |
| ENG 192 | Gender and Literary Texts | 3 |
| EWP 290 | Research Writing and Humanities | 3 |
| LIN 201 | The Nature and Study of Language | 3 |
| LIT 203 | Greek and Roman Epic in English Translation | 3 |
| PHI 107 | Theories of Knowledge and Reality | 3 |
| PHI 111 | Plato’s Republic | 3 |
| REL 135 | Judaism | 3 |
| REL 156 | Christianity | 3 |
| REL 217 | The New Testament | 3 |
| REL 231 | Judaic Literature | 3 |
| REL 252 | Religious Ethics and Social Issues | 3 |
The Arts
| Course | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| APH 261 | Art Photography, Introduction | 3 |
| ENG 215 | Introductory Poetry Workshop | 3 |
| ENG 217 | Introductory Fiction Workshop | 3 |
| EWP 350 | Eco-Cinema: Perspectives & Practices | 3 |
| HOA 105 | Arts and Ideas I | 3 |
| HOA 106 | Arts and Ideas II | 3 |
| HOA 201 | Masterpieces of Art | 3 |
| HOA 276 | Visual Arts in North America | 3 |
| HOA 377 | Nineteenth-Century American Art | 3 |
| HOM 125 | Introductory Music Theory | 3 |
| HOM 165 | Understanding Music I | 3 |
| HOM 166 | Understanding Music II | 3 |
| LSA 182 | Drawing Studio | 3 |
| LSA 205 | Art, Culture and Landscape I | 3 |
| LSA 206 | Art, Culture and Landscape II | 3 |
| PSE 201 | The Art and Early History of Papermaking | 3 |
Basic Communication
| Course | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| EWP 190 | Writing and the Environment | 3 |
| EWP 405 | ||
* Special Course Codes (Code indicates course meets certain program or accreditation requirements. Ignore if there is no relevance to this program of study.) G = General Education Course (GenEd), E = Engineering, ES = Engineering Sciences, M = Mathematic, NS = Natural Sciences, PE = Professional Education, S = Summer-only
