Skip to Main Content

Liberal Arts and Sciences

For undergraduate degrees, the New York State Department of Education requires that a portion of the credit hours in the degree program must be in the liberal arts and sciences. Therefore, the liberal arts and sciences are a major component of our undergraduate learning.  Our degrees conform to the regulations of the New York State Education Department.  

  • To receive an Associate in Arts (AA), three-quarters of the credits shall be in the liberal arts and sciences.

  • To received an Associate in Science (AS), one-half of the credits shall be in the liberal arts and sciences.

  • To received an Associate in Applied Science (AAS), one-third of the credits shall be in the liberal arts and sciences.

  • To received a Bachelor of Arts (BA), three-quarters of the credits shall be in the liberal arts and sciences.

  • To received a Bachelor of Science (BS), one-half of the credits shall be in the liberal arts and sciences.

  • To received a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), one-forth of the credits shall be in the liberal arts and sciences.

Courses are classified as regular liberal arts and sciences (RLA) or as regular non-liberal arts and sciences (RNL).  These designations appear on each course in the undergraduate catalog and in the CUNYfirst course catalog.

For more information, please refer to the NYSED Department Expectations: Curriculum.