General Education requirements

Although students and advisors share the responsibility for the student’s progress toward a degree, it is the student who is ultimately obligated to understand and fulfill these requirements. Students are responsible for meeting with advisors, who are assigned by major departments, or, in the case of undeclared students, the Compass, 142 Marano Campus Center. It is important for all new students to meet with advisors as soon as possible to plan programs carefully. The program is supervised by the Council of General Education. Please address all questions and paperwork to Dr. Christopher LaLonde, gened@oswego.edu.

To see which approved General Education courses are offered in a given semester, search Course Availability on myOswego using the "Attribute Types" beginning with "GE."

  • General Education courses may not be taken pass/fail.
  • Courses that satisfy requirements for the major or minor can also satisfy General Education requirements.
  • General Education courses can be taken off-campus, as long as Off-Campus Study Approval is secured in advance.
  • Passing scores on college-level competency exams (e.g., Advanced Placement or CLEP) may be used to earn credits and, where appropriate, satisfy General Education requirements.
  • Beginning fall 2013, transfer students who have completed the SUNY-GER at a previous institution (or institutions) are exempt from all of Oswego’s specific general education requirements.
  • Transfer students who have an associate’s (AA, AS or AAS) degree from another SUNY school, but without having completed the SUNY-GER, are required to complete the Oswego general education program. These students may fulfill the foreign language requirement with an approved 101-level foreign language course.
  • Up-to-date information about the program, including lists of approved courses, dates of waiver exams, etc., is available on the General Education website.

For more information on General Education and listings of courses that fulfill requirements see the General Education webpage.