Pathways at Baruch

All CUNY colleges have a uniform set of general education requirements known as CUNY Pathways. Although the courses that can be used to fulfill these requirements differ from college to college, the basic set of requirements are the same throughout the CUNY system, and with few exceptions any requirement that a student fulfills at one college will be considered fulfilled at any other college to which he or she transfers. SUNY students who transfer to Baruch having completed the entire 30-credit general education (GER) requirement will be deemed to have completed the CUNY Pathways Common Core requirement. SUNY transfer students who completed a portion of the 30-credit GER requirement will have the completed GER credits applied to the Pathways areas as appropriate.

Requirements for students who transfer to Baruch with completed degrees:

• CUNY and non-CUNY transfer students who have completed AA or AS degrees are deemed to have completed the CUNY Pathways Common Core.

• CUNY and non-CUNY transfer students who have completed an AAS degree must complete any areas of the Pathways Common Core that they did not complete when obtaining their AAS degree.

• Students who have completed a bachelor’s degree are waived from all Pathways general education requirements.

The Required Core

Required Core is composed of four courses, which must be taken in three different areas. At Baruch College, the courses that satisfy the Required Core are detailed in the charts below. Each area has distinct learning outcomes – Pathways Required Core Learning Outcomes by Category.

Any transfer student with concerns about how completed courses have been evaluated for Pathways credit may initiate the Pathways transfer credit appeal process.

English Composition (two courses required)

Mathematical and Quantitative Reasoning (one course required)

Important Notes on Mathematical and Quantitative Reasoning Courses

1. The following courses are no longer offered at Baruch but do appear on students’ transfer evaluations. Any of these courses may be used to satisfy the Mathematical and Quantitative Reasoning requirement of the Pathways curriculum without appeal: MTH 2000; MTH 2300; MTH 2300; MTH 2301; MTH 2100; MTH 2150; MTH 2006; and MTH 2206.   MTH 3010 Calculus II is considered a STEM Variant course and may also be used to satisfy this requirement without appeal.

2. (*) Zicklin students must not take MTH 2140 or MTH 2160, which do not meet the mathematics requirement for the BBA degree. Please refer to the Zicklin website for information regarding their admission criteria and mathematics requirements.

3. MTH 2140 and MTH 2160 are not appropriate for students within the Weissman students whose majors require a statistics course or additional math courses (such majors include: Actuarial Science, Biological Sciences, Computer Science, Economics-BA, Financial Mathematics, Mathematics, Natural Sciences ad hoc, and Statistics-BA).

4. Students who wish to pursue a BA in Psychology or in Business Communications (Business Writing, Corporate Communication, or Graphic Communication) may use MTH 2140 or MTH 2160 to satisfy the Pathways requirement, but might be required to complete MTH 1023 Intermediate and College Algebra or MTH 1030 College Algebra, to satisfy the prerequisites for these majors’ required statistics or CIS courses. For more information, please consult the Office of the Associate Dean (WSAS.AssocDean@baruch.cuny.edu; room 8-265 of the Newman Vertical Campus; telephone: 646-312-3890).

5. (**) Neither BIO/ENV 2100 nor PSY 2100 are applicable to Zicklin School of Business admissions requirements. These courses cannot serve as prerequisites for statistics (STA) courses offered by the Zicklin School.

Life and Physical Sciences (one course required)

Note: The following courses are no longer offered at Baruch, but do appear on students’ transfer evaluations. Any of these courses may be used to satisfy the Life and Physical Sciences or the Scientific World requirement of the Pathways curriculum without appeal: BIO 1003; BIO 1005; CHM 1000; ENV 1020; ENV 1021; and PHY 1003. One course may not be used to satisfy both requirements.

Stem Variant Courses

1. The following courses may be used to satisfy either the Life and Physical Sciences or the Scientific World requirement (one course may not satisfy both requirements).

2. Students who wish to pursue a major or minor in the Natural Sciences should satisfy the Pathways science requirements with STEM Variant courses.

The Flexible Core

Flexible Core is made up of six liberal arts and sciences courses, with at least one course from each of the following five areas and no more than two courses from any one department, discipline, or interdisciplinary field. Each area of study of the Flexible Core has distinct learning outcomes – Pathways Flexible Core Learning Outcomes by Category.

Any transfer student with concerns about how completed courses have been evaluated for Pathways credit may initiate the Pathways transfer credit appeal process.

Please note that some departments offer courses in more than one area:

• ANT, GEOG (geography), and SOC courses are offered by the Department of Sociology and Anthropology

• ART, MSC, and THE courses are offered by the Department of Fine and Performing Arts

• BLS and LTS (formerly HSP) courses are offered by the Department of Black and Latino Studies

• BIO, CHM, ENV, and PHY courses are offered by the Department of Natural Science. GEO (geology) courses are considered part of the same field.

• within the Pathways flexible core, POL and PAF (formerly PUB) are considered to be a single field

World Cultures and Global Issues (at least one course required)

U.S. Experience in its Diversity (at least one course required)

Note: HIS 1004 History of American Civilization I is no longer offered at Baruch, but it does appear on students’ transfer evaluations. This course may be used to satisfy the U.S. Experience in its Diversity requirement of the Pathways curriculum without appeal.

Creative Expression (at least one course required)

The Individual and Society (at least one course required)

Note: Effective Spring 2027, JRN 2500 will officially join the Pathways Flexible Core as an INDIVIDUAL and SOCIETY course. Students enrolled for Fall 2026 who wish to use JRN 2500 within the Pathways Flexible Core should email their requests to pathways.credit.appeal@baruch.cuny.edu from their Baruch student addresses. Please include your CUNY emplid so your DegreeWorks audit can be updated.

Scientific World (at least one course required)

Notes:

• The following courses are no longer offered at Baruch but do appear on students’ transfer evaluations.  Any of these courses may be used to satisfy the Scientific World or the Life and Physical Sciences requirement of the Pathways curriculum without appeal: BIO 1003, BIO 1005, CHM 1000, ENV 1020, ENV 1021, and PHY 1003.

• One course may not be used to satisfy both requirements.

Stem Variant Courses

1. The following courses may be used to satisfy either the Scientific World or the Life and Physical Sciences requirement (one course may not satisfy both requirements).

2. Students who wish to pursue a major or minor in the Natural Sciences should satisfy the Pathways science requirements with STEM Variant courses.

The College Option

College Option consists of as many as four courses, depending on how much coursework the student has completed at another institution.

• For students who started taking classes at Baruch before spring 2015, the requirements for the College Option differed depending on whether the student is pursuing a degree in the Macaulay Honors College, the Weissman School, the Zicklin School, or the Marxe School.

• For students who started taking classes in spring 2015 or after, there is a single college option for all students except those in the Macaulay Honors College.

The following table explains the College Option (COPT) requirements for students, based on their entering status.

The Baruch College Option

Please see below for the College Option for all undergraduates, except Macaulay students, who began taking classes at Baruch starting spring 2015.

• Any transfer student with concerns about how completed courses have been evaluated for the Great Works of Literature requirement (course 1), may initiate the Pathways transfer credit appeal process.

• Any transfer student with questions on how/if completed courses may be applied to their desired liberal art minor (courses 2-4) should consult the relevant faculty advisor. Please see the Weissman site for the current list of major and minor faculty advisors.

Notes:

• The liberal arts minor cannot be within the same area of study as the major. This is also true for students who are required to complete part of the minor for the College Option.

• There is no GPA stipulation attached to the College Option courses, but in order to graduate with the liberal arts minor on the final transcript, a student must have a grade point average of at least 2.00 in the three courses that make up his or her liberal arts minor.

• Please click here for the full list of liberal arts minors and capstone courses

Macaulay Honors College Option

College Option for Macaulay Honors students at Baruch College (all four courses are required)

Baruch College Pathways Appeals Process

General Information and Resources

1. Pathways Transfer Appeal Officer: Ms. Sonya Wahab

2. Baruch Pathways Appeal Application

3. Email: pathways.credit.appeal@baruch.cuny.edu

For New Transfer students who have been evaluated and attended transfer orientation:

After admission to Baruch College, students receive a Transfer Credit Evaluation Report which provides an accounting of how transfer credits will meet Pathways general education, degree program, and elective requirements. Any transfer student with concerns about how completed courses have been evaluated for transfer credit must meet with a campus advisor to review their Transfer Evaluation Report. After that meeting, students may initiate the appeal process.

Per CUNY policies, students have the right to appeal negative campus decisions to the CUNY University Provost/ Office of Academic Affairs. Decisions regarding student appeals related to denial or restriction of credit will be based on an evaluation of whether a CUNY policy violation has occurred. It should be noted that many curricular policies are campus based, and decisions are the responsibility of faculty. Such matters will not be overturned by OAA. If a CUNY OAA appeal is found to merit a change in course designation, the College Transfer Appeals Officer will ensure that the change is made to the student record. CUNY OAA decisions regarding appeals for reevaluation of transfer credit are final.

Pathways General Education Appeals

Students seeking to appeal for substitutions to or exemptions from any Pathways General Education requirement must file requests with the Pathways Appeal Committee.

The appeal committee meets regularly during the fall and spring semesters, and reviews requests from students to substitute transferred courses to satisfy Pathways Core requirements, or to deviate from established Pathways curriculum policies. Decisions are made in consultation with relevant faculty.

Pathways Appeals Process

Pathways appeals must be filed in accordance with the following procedures:

1. Write up a brief statement outlining the reasons for your appeal (limit to one page) and gather the required documentation – a catalog course description and a detailed syllabus for the course you have taken.

2. Submit your materials as attachments to the Pathways Appeal Committee using the Pathways Appeal Form or via email to pathways.credit.appeal@baruch.cuny.edu.

3. Within five business days, you should expect confirmation via email that your appeal submission has been received. If you do not receive the confirmation in this time period, please contact the campus Pathways Appeal Officer at pathways.credit.appeal@baruch.cuny.edu.

4. The appeal committee meets regularly during the fall and spring semesters; the committee does not meet during the winter or summer sessions. Requests for additional information and notification of official results will be sent via email to your Baruch address.

5. If you wish to appeal a negative determination, you may appeal that decision to the CUNY University Provost/ Office of Academic Affairs.

6. If the CUNY appeal is found to merit a change in course designation, the College Pathways Transfer Appeal Officer will ensure that the change is made to the student record. CUNY decisions regarding appeals for a reevaluation of transfer credit are final.

Non-Pathways Transfer Credit Appeals

If you have concerns about how completed courses have been evaluated for transfer credit, please email TransferCenter@baruch.cuny.edu. Members of the Transfer Center within the Office of Undergraduate Admissions will review your inquiry and respond within three business days. Students may be required to submit syllabi for review. Transfer evaluators consult faculty in the relevant academic departments to determine if adjustments to course equivalencies and credits awarded are appropriate.