Undergraduate Core & General Education Curriculum

Core Courses

New York Institute of Technology adopted the 21st-century Discovery Core Curriculum in the fall of 2010. This core curriculum has since been augmented with the addition of a new General Education curriculum.

Our core program incorporates three stages: Foundation Courses, Interdisciplinary Seminars, and Mathematics and Additional Science Courses. Following is an explanation of new courses and the options available to incoming freshmen and current students to fulfill their graduation requirements.

Students should discuss these and all courses with their academic advisor.

Except for the FCWR 300 series of professional communication courses, students take most foundation courses in their first year of study. These include:

  • FCWR 101 Writing I: Foundations of College Composition
    or
    FCWR 111 Writing I: Foundations of College Composition for International Students
  • FCWR 151 Writing II: Foundations of Research Writing
    or
    FCWR 161 Writing II: Foundations of Research Writing for International Students
  • DATA 101 Making Sense of a Data-Oriented Society

Students will take one more foundation course in their junior year. There are four options for the Foundations of Professional Communication course (FCWR 301, 302, 303, 304). Academic advisors assist students in choosing the right option. Select one writing course (FCWR):

  • FCWR 301 Communication for Business
  • FCWR 302 Communication for Healthcare Careers
  • FCWR 303 Communication for Arts and Design
  • FCWR 304 Communication for Technical Professions

Beginning in sophomore year, students who have successfully completed the first-year foundation courses will take four interdisciplinary seminars from at least three different categories: a) literature, b) behavioral science, c) social science, and d) philosophy/ethics. These courses all begin with IC (interdisciplinary core) and are followed by LT, BS, SS, and PH, respectively, to indicate course topics. There are several seminars in each area to choose from. Please note: New courses are created each year, so students should check the catalog and course schedules for complete listings.

A. Select one literature course (ICLT). Students should check the catalog course descriptions and course schedules for complete listings. Two examples are provided here:

  • ICLT 301 Contemporary American Immigrant Literature
  • ICLT 302 Strange Creations: Literature, Intelligent Technology, and Ethics

B. Select one behavioral science course (ICBS). Students should check the catalog course descriptions and course schedules for complete listings. Two examples are provided here:

  • ICBS 301 Cross-Cultural Aspects of Dating, Courtship, and Mate Selection Seminar
  • ICBS 302 Intergroup Relations: Understanding, Prejudice, Stereotyping, and Discrimination

C. Select one social science course (ICSS). Students should check the catalog course descriptions and course schedules for complete listings. Two examples are provided here:

  • ICSS 301 Seminar in Global Environmental History
  • ICSS 303 The American Character: A Global Perspective

D. Select one philosophy course (ICPH). Students should check the catalog and course schedules for complete listings. Two examples are provided here:

  • ICPH 301 The Philosophy of Human Nature
  • ICPH 302 The Legacy of Socrates

Searching for Courses

When searching for new FC (foundation core) or IC (interdisciplinary core) courses online, use the following subject abbreviations:

FCWR Foundations of Writing

ICLT Literature Core
ICBS Behavior Science Core
ICSS Social Science Core
ICPH Philosophy Ethics Core

All students are required to complete a minimum of six credits of science and three credits of mathematics. When science and/or mathematics courses are required as part of the degree, those courses can be used to satisfy this requirement. Students can use the following prefixes to satisfy the science requirements: BIOL, CHEM, PHYS. Courses with a MATH prefix satisfy the math requirement.