Pathways for Academic Year 2025–26

Pathways provides a set of General Education Requirements that every student must complete to earn a baccalaureate degree.

Required Common Core Flexible Common Core College Option

Required Common Core

Four courses for a total of 12 credits

English Composition (two courses)

Mathematical and Quantitative Reasoning (one course)

Life and Physical Sciences (one course)

Flexible Common Core

Six courses for a total of 18 credits. Students must complete a minimum of two courses in the Creative Expression category and a minimum of one course in each of the four other categories. No more than two courses with the same four-letter department code may be used to fulfill Flexible Common Core requirements.

World Cultures & Global Issues (one course)

U.S. Experience in Its Diversity (one course)

Creative Expression (two courses)

Individual & Society (one course)

Scientific World (one course)

College Option

College Option requirements depend on how much coursework the student has completed at another institution.

CUNY Associate —> Brooklyn College Bachelor’s

Students who transfer from a CUNY associate to a Brooklyn College bachelor’s degree program.

  • Earned Associate Degree: 6 College Option credits required
  • Earned More Than 30 Credits: 9 College Option credits required
  • Earned 30 or Fewer Credits: 12 College Option credits required

Non-CUNY Associate —> Brooklyn College Bachelor’s

Students transferring to Brooklyn College from non-CUNY colleges.

  • Earned Associate Degree: 6 College Option credits required
  • Earned More than 30 Credits: 9 College Option credits required
  • Earned 30 or Fewer Credits: 12 College Option credits required

Brooklyn College will decide whether any courses taken at the original college fulfill the College Option requirements.

Brooklyn College Bachelor’s

Students pursuing a bachelor’s degree at Brooklyn College (without transferring).

  • 12 College Option credits required

CUNY Bachelor’s —> Brooklyn College Bachelor’s

Students who transfer from another CUNY bachelor’s degree program to Brooklyn College.

  • 12 College Option credits required.
  • However, students can transfer the College Option credits they earn in a bachelor’s degree program at one CUNY college toward their College Option requirement at Brooklyn College.

Non-CUNY Bachelor’s —> Brooklyn College Bachelor’s

Students transferring to Brooklyn College from non-CUNY colleges.

  • 12 College Option credits required.
  • Brooklyn College will decide whether courses taken at the original college fulfill any of the College Option requirements.

Second Bachelor’s Degree Students

Students with earned bachelor’s degrees from institutions that are accredited and recognized by a regional accrediting U.S. agency as well as students from international universities with degrees that are equivalent to a baccalaureate degree as determined by Brooklyn College.

  • No College Option credits required. These students are deemed to have automatically fulfilled the College Option.

College Option Credits (Beginning Fall 2025)

12 9 6
LOTE  

6 credits (in the same language)

 

  

3 credits (level 2 or higher)

 

 —
BC Option 6 credits in two of the following three categories:

  • Inter-Cultural Competency (ICC)
  • Life and Physical Sciences
  • World Cultures and Global Issues or U.S. in Its Diversity

Notwithstanding the rules in the table above:

  • 12-credit College Option students who complete one LOTE course at Level 4 or above can take another course in the same language, or instead may choose to take 9 BC Option credits, 3 from each of the three categories.
  • 9-credit College Option students beginning their language study at Level 1 will complete 6 credits of a LOTE in the same language and only 3 credits from one of the three categories of the BC Option. For a Level 1 LOTE class to count toward the 9-credit College Option, it must be taken at Brooklyn College.

 

 

CUNY Associate —> Brooklyn College Bachelor’s

Students who transfer from a CUNY associate to a Brooklyn

College bachelor’s degree program

 Earned Associate Degree:

6 College Option credits required

Earned More Than 30 Credits:

9 College Option credits required

Earned 30 or Fewer Credits:

12 College Option credits required
Non-CUNY Associate —> Brooklyn College Bachelor’s

Students transferring to Brooklyn College from non-CUNY colleges

 Earned Associate Degree:

6 College Option credits required

Earned More than 30 Credits:

9 College Option credits required

Earned 30 or Fewer Credits:

12 College Option credits required

Brooklyn College will decide whether any courses taken at the original college fulfill the College Option requirements.
Brooklyn College Bachelor’s

Students pursuing a bachelor’s degree at Brooklyn College

(without transferring)

 12 College Option credits required

(specified by Brooklyn College)
CUNY Bachelor’s —> Brooklyn College Bachelor’s

Students who transfer from another CUNY bachelor’s degree

program to Brooklyn College

 

 12 College Option credits required. However, students can transfer the College Option credits they earn in a bachelor’s degree program at one CUNY college toward their College Option requirement at Brooklyn College.
Non-CUNY Bachelor’s —> Brooklyn College Bachelor’s

Students transferring to Brooklyn College from non-CUNY colleges

 12 College Option credits required. Brooklyn College will decide whether courses taken at the original college fulfill any of the College Option requirements.
Second Bachelor’s Degree Students

Students with earned bachelor’s degrees from institutions that are accredited and recognized by a regional accrediting U.S. agency as well as students from international universities with degrees that are equivalent to a baccalaureate degree as determined by Brooklyn College

 

 No College Option credits required. These students are

deemed to have automatically fulfilled the College Option.

 

Beginning in Fall 2025

  College Option credits

12                                              9                                             6
LOTE  

6 credits (in the same language)

 

  

3 credits (level 2 or higher)

 

 —
BC Option  

6 credits in two of the following three categories:

 

(1) Inter-Cultural Competency (ICC)

(2) Life and Physical Sciences

(3) World Cultures and Global Issues or U.S. in Its Diversity

 

 

Notwithstanding the rules in the table above:

12-credit College Option students who complete one LOTE course at Level 4 or above can take another course is the same language, or instead may choose to take 9 BC Option credits, 3 from each of the three categories.

 

9-credit College Option students beginning their language study at Level 1 will complete 6 credits of a LOTE in the same language and only 3 credits from one of the three categories of the BC Option. For a Level 1 LOTE class to count toward the 9-credit College Option, it must be taken at Brooklyn College.

 

Required Common Core

Four courses for a total of 12 credits.

English Composition (two courses)

Mathematical and Quantitative Reasoning (one course)

Life and Physical Sciences (one course)

Flexible Common Core

Six courses for a total of 18 credits.

Students must complete a minimum of two courses in the Creative Expression category and a minimum of one course in each of the four other categories. No more than two courses with the same four-letter department code may be used to fulfill Flexible Common Core requirements.

World Cultures & Global Issues (one course)

U.S. Experience in Its Diversity (one course)

Creative Expression (two courses)

Individual & Society (one course)

Scientific World (one course)

College Option

Four courses for a total of 12 credits.

The college option requirement is dependent on whether a student is deemed proficient, or not proficient, in a language other than English.

For students deemed “Proficient” in a language other than English

Choose one course from each of the areas listed below (for a total of 12 credits):

1. A course from a “Language Other Than English” (LOTE), or an Inter-Cultural Competency (ICC) course

2. An additional course from one of the following Pathways Flexible Core sections:

  • World Cultures and Global Issues
  • U.S. Experience in Its Diversity
  • Creative Expression
  • Individual and Society

3. An additional course from one of the following Pathways Flexible Core sections:

  • World Cultures and Global Issues courses
  • U.S. Experience in Its Diversity courses

4. An additional course from the following Pathways Required Core section:

  • Life and Physical Sciences courses

For students deemed “Not Proficient” in a language other than English

Choose one course from each of the areas listed below (for a total of 12 credits):

1. LOTE

2. LOTE

3. An additional course from one of the following Pathways Flexible Core sections:

  • World Cultures and Global Issues
  • U.S. Experience in Its Diversity

4. An additional course from the following Pathways Required Core section:

  • Life and Physical Sciences

Brooklyn. All in.

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