Graduation Requirements

There are several components to a student's academic career that will qualify them for graduation. It can seem overwhelming at times, but keep in mind that both your advisors and the office of Academic Advising are here to help!

 

General Requirements:

 

I. Completing a Major

  • You must complete a major and earn at least a 2.0 in 30 hours of your major coursework (some majors have higher standards).
  • 15 of those 30 hours must be upper division (U.D.)--level 300 or higher--and if you transfer here, at least 15 U.D. hours must be taken at SUNY Potsdam.

II. Audits

  • As you get closer to graduating and upon graduation you will receive an audit from the registrars office letting you know what you need to complete in order to graduate.
  • You and your advisor should be managing your own audit semester by semester. This will prevent you from being surprised or disappointed as you near graduation and find out you are short on credits, missing general education requirements or need more liberal arts credits.

III. Total credits needed to graduate

  • 120 credits + 4 P.E. credits (for the B.A., B. F. A and B. S.)
  • 120-130 credits + 4 P.E. credits (for B.M.)
  • Thus, in order to graduate in 4 years (8 semesters) you need to take at least 16 credit hours per semester.


NOTE: The college allows students to take 12 credit hours and still maintain full-time student status. This may work well for some students, HOWEVER, unless classes are taken during summer or winterim sessions, a student taking less than 15 credits per semester cannot graduate in 4 years.

IV. Liberal Arts Credits

A certain number of your 120 credits must be designated as liberal arts credits. The breakdown is as follows:

Degree Liberal Arts Credits needed
B.A. 90
B.F.A. 90
B.S. 75
B.M. 36


V. Credits accrued outside of any one department/discipline:

For example, if you are a Sociology major, it makes sense that a lot of your credits will be earned in that department. However, in order to graduate you have to take a certain number of credits outside any one department.

This may seem daunting but keep in mind that as you complete your general education requirements (more on that later) you will have to be taking classes outside your major. Thus, you can potentially earn many credits from several different departments.   


Degree Credits needed outside any one department
B.A. 70
B.F.A. 60
B.S. 65


VI. Upper Division Credits


Out of your total 120 credits, 45 of those must be designated as upper division courses (level 300 or higher).

VII. Overall G.P.A.

  • You must graduate with an overall G.P.A. of 2.0.

 

Additional Requirements:


I.  You must complete the general education requirements, as per degree program. B.A., B.S. & B.F.A. students should consult their General Education Manual and B.M. students should consult the Crane School of Music Academic Information Supplement. Also, see General Education website for more information.

II. As part of the General Education program you must fulfill the Modern Language (ML) requirement. If students have completed 4 years of a modern language in High School, they will need to have a copy of their High School transcript sent to the Admissions Office to confirm that their ML requirement is complete.

III. If you are a transfer student, in order to graduate with your degree from SUNY Potsdam, you must complete a minimum of 30 credit hours here.

IV. Consult the College Catalog and/or your academic advisor for specific graduation requirements and further information regarding Advanced Placement credit and the foreign language requirement.