Pathways courses are an opportunity to explore your passions and discover new interests during your educational journey at CUNY. You’ll have the chance to become acquainted with subjects that you may not have taken in high school, like sociology and economics, while asking questions that may change how you see the world and how you live in it. Why do people do what they do? How do societies function?
What are Pathways?
Pathways courses are the general education requirements for the entire CUNY system (also known as the CUNY Common Core). Thirty of the 60 credits required for an Associate degree must be from Pathways-approved courses. Due to the Pathways-approved courses that make up the curriculum, you’ll be able to complete several of the CUNY Common Core requirements by the end of your .
You can think of Pathways courses as being made up of two essential buckets: in one bucket, is a mandatory core of 12 credits; in the other bucket, is a “flexible” core of 18 credits. Each core is further divided into categories by subject matter and area of study.
Importantly, once you earn Pathways credits at Guttman, they’ll carry over seamlessly if you transfer to another CUNY college. Also, fulfilling a Common Core area requirement at one CUNY college means that requirement is met at any other CUNY college.
Specific requirements for both cores – mandatory and flexible – in all of their respective categories are presented in the tables below. Pathways also have aligned gateway courses for a number of popular majors.
| CUNY Common Core Requirements (12 credits/4 courses) | Guttman Common Core Requirement Course Options |
|---|---|
| English Composition (2 courses) | ENGL 103 Composition I ENGL 203 Composition II |
| Mathematical and Quantitative Reasoning (1 course) | Math 103 Statistics; OR MATH 103A and MATH 103B Statistics MATH 120 College Algebra & Trigonometry MATH 120.5 College Algebra & Trigonometry with Lab MATH 201: Pre-Calculus (STEM Variant) |
| Life and Physical Sciences (1 course)* | BIOL 122 Introduction to Life and Environmental Science BIOL 211 General Biology I (STEM variant) BIOL 212 Human Biology (STEM variant) CHEM 120 Introduction to Biological Chemistry (STEM Variant) |
| CUNY Flexible Common Core Requirements (18 credits/6 courses) | Guttman Flexible Common Core Requirement Course Options (18 credits/6 courses) |
|---|---|
| U.S. Experience in Its Diversity (1 course) | AMST 103 Introduction to Social Justice |
| World Cultures and Global Issues (1 course) | AMST 203 Civic Engagement in a Global Society ECON 206 International Political Economy |
| Creative Expression (1 course) | ART 120: Introduction to Photography ART 200 Arts in New York City COMM 102 Introduction to Media Studies ENGL 211 Cities in Film & Literature |
| Individual and Society (1 course) | SOSC 111 Ethnographies of Work I ECON 203: Microeconomics |
| Scientific World (1 course) | CHEM 110 Introduction to Chemistry CHEM 211 General Chemistry I (STEM variant) SCI 215 Science and Society SOCI 231 Introduction to Urban Community Health |
| One additional course from one of the above areas. |
*Some majors, such as Human Services, require a different Pathways approved “STEM variant” course to satisfy the Life and Physical Sciences required core course. The STEM variant courses are BIOL 122 Introduction to Life and Environmental Science, BIOL 211 General Biology I, BIOL 212 Human Biology, CHEM 110 Introduction to Chemistry, and CHEM 211 General Chemistry I.