Degree Requirements & Related Policies

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Matriculation Requirement

To earn a degree from the College, a student must be “matriculated”; that is, formally accepted as an undergraduate degree candidate through the Office of Undergraduate Admissions or as a graduate candidate for a master’s degree, advanced certificate (Adv. Cert.), or certificate of advanced study (CAS) by The Center for Graduate Studies.

Students who have not matriculated may still register for courses by enrolling as a non-matriculated student, and may apply a certain amount of credit earned from such courses toward a degree program if they decide to matriculate at a later date. However, the academic requirements a student must meet to graduate are those in effect at the time of formal matriculation. At the graduate level, students may apply up to 12 credits completed in non-matriculated status to fulfill degree requirements, at the department’s discretion.

Additional policies and other important information can be found under Student Policies and Other Disclosures in this catalog.

Undergraduate Degree Requirements

The requirements for a baccalaureate degree at SUNY Brockport consists of a major and a general education program, which is intended to provide the skills, breadth of knowledge, and perspectives all college graduates should have beyond the major. The bachelor’s degree may also consist of electives and/or a minor. In addition, there are a number of overall degree or graduation requirements. While certain majors lead only to the Bachelor of Science or the Bachelor of Arts as noted in the program requirements, in most cases students may pursue either a Bachelor of Science or a Bachelor of Arts. The distinction between the two lies in the number of liberal arts credits required (90 for the BA, 60 for the BS), and in the requirement for competency in a foreign language for those pursuing the Bachelor of Arts. Thus, a student majoring in chemistry, for example, may choose to pursue either a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science.

Graduation requirements are described below:

Graduation Requirements

Candidates for bachelor’s degrees must meet the following requirements:

  1. General Education Requirements
    Completion of all courses necessary to meet the general education requirements. Certain courses may satisfy both general education requirements in the skills or knowledge and understanding categories and are also requirements in the major. For a list of the requirements, see General Education Requirements
     
  2. Major Requirements
    Completion of all courses required in the major, including departmental requirements, prerequisites, and cognate requirements (if any). Some majors also require course grades and GPAs above the college minimum. No more than 54 credits may be in any one discipline.  For major requirements, see Academic Majors
     
  3. Credit Hours
    1. A minimum of 120* credit hours is required for graduation. Because of certification requirements, students in some programs must complete more than 120 credit hours.
    2. As part of the 120 credits, students must complete a minimum of 90 credits in the liberal arts to be eligible for the bachelor of arts** or bachelor of fine arts or a minimum of 60 credits in the liberal arts to be eligible for the bachelor of science or bachelor of science in Nursing. Liberal Arts courses are designated by (A).
    3. Some programs (Communication Studies, Journalism and Broadcasting and Sports Management) require a minor and all programs allow a minor to count toward the required number of college electives. If a student’s major does not require a minor then the student may apply credits from a minor to required college elective credits.
      Double Minors: Students may elect to pursue more than one minor and these credits will also apply toward the required number of college electives.
    4. Students may transfer a maximum of 64 credit hours from a two-year college. A minimum of 56 credits must be earned from a four year college.
    5. Students transferring from a four-year college may transfer a maximum of 90 semester credit hours provided that at least 26 of those credit hours were completed at the four-year college and that they meet other appropriate residency requirements at the college.
    6. A minimum of 48 credit hours of upper-division courses, designated by SUNY Brockport as 300 or 400 level courses, or its equivalent is required for graduation.
  4. Residency Requirement
    A minimum of 30 credit hours must be completed at SUNY Brockport.
    A student must complete at least 15 credit hours in his or her chosen major through coursework at SUNY Brockport. These 15 credit hours may not include credit gained by credit by examination. Note that some programs require that a larger number of credit hours in the major be completed through SUNY Brockport. See Residency Requirement
     
  5. Grade Point Average
    The minimum requirement to qualify for graduation is a 2.0 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) and an overall 2.0 average in courses which are required major courses (not including cognate courses). Some academic departments also have approved policies requiring minimum grades in specific courses or major sequences. Students should see individual listings of major programs for specific requirements.

*Delta College students have a time-shortened degree option that enables some majors to graduate in three years with 99 instead of 120 credits.

**Student seeking a bachelor of arts degree are required to complete the second semester of the intermediate year of college instruction in a foreign language (212) or a more advanced course. 

Graduate Programs

For students with suitable academic preparation (including a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution), the College offers a variety of graduate programs for matriculated students and graduate courses for non-matriculated students. Standards for admission are listed for each program.

Each program offers a course of study which leads to the master’s degree, advanced certificate, or certificate of advanced study identified in the list of graduate programs. Graduate students must comply with all College graduate policies.  Individual programs may have more additional standards and policies.

Last Updated 7/21/22