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General Education Requirements

As part of your graduation requirements, you must complete the General Education program.

To better understand the requirements, begin by viewing the program outline that corresponds to when you matriculated at SUNY Potsdam below; then view the pages to the left for more in-depth explanations of the requirements.


The General Education Program provides the means by which a conscientious student can broaden his or her knowledge and develop new skills.


The program provides the opportunity to study the methods, potentials and limitations of the principal modes of understanding and helps the student to make comparisons and connections among various branches of knowledge.

As the student progresses from the General Education Foundation (GEF) courses (or First Year Experience courses if they entered SUNY Potsdam between Fall 2000 and Spring 2006) to the Modes of Inquiry and Writing- and Speaking-Intensive courses, he or she is challenged to gradually develop increasingly sophisticated skills, to expand the bases of knowledge, and to engage in experiential learning.