Understand SUNY Empire Bachelor’s Degree Requirements
| Degree | Total Credits | Minimum Credits Earned at Empire | Minimum Liberal Credits (* on DP) | Minimum Advanced Credits in Concentration (+ on DP) | Minimum Advanced Credits Total (+ on DP) | Minimum SUNY Gen Ed Credits | Educational Planning Credits |
| B.A. | 124 | 31 | 94 | 24 | 45 | 30 | 4 to 8 |
| B.S. | 124 | 31 | 62 | 24 | 45 | 30 | 4 to 8 |
| B.P.S. | 124 | 31 | 32 | 24 | 45 | 30 | 4 to 8 |
To be considered a full-time student, you will take between 12 and 16 credits. Most of the courses at Empire are 4 credits.
Pay especially close attention to the following requirements as you pick your courses:
- General Education
- Educational Planning
- Advanced Level Courses
- Your Major
General Education
If you haven’t met your General Education requirement, it makes sense to prioritize courses that will fill this requirement. These requirement is necessary for any degree at any SUNY school.
To meet SUNY General Education, you will need:
- 30 Gen Ed credits.
- Courses in both Mathematics and Basic Communication
- Courses in 5 of the 8 remaining areas
These courses need to be identified as specifically meeting general education.
For more information: SUNY General Education Requirements
Educational Planning
You are required to take 4 to 8 educational planning credits. This is usually 1 or 2 courses taken in your first or second term at SUNY Empire.
If you are in Degree Planner, you will contact me for Ed Planning registration information when registering for your second or third term at Empire.
If you are in Degree Works, you can register for any course that meets the Educational Planning attribute in your search.
For more information: SUNY Empire Educational Planning Policy
Advanced Level Courses
Most often, students bring lower-level transcript credit to SUNY Empire. Lower-level course numbers starting with a 1 or 2. ex: BUSN 256 or PSYC 1500.
You will need at least 45 advanced-level credits to earn a bachelor’s degree. 24 of those will be in your concentration. Advanced-level course numbers starting with a 3 or 4. ex: BUSN 3560 or PSYC 4500.
Be aware how many lower-level credits you have already earned. If you have 79 lower-level credits, the remaining credits (even gen ed) should be taken at the advanced-level in order to have 45 credits before you graduate (79 lower level + 45 advance level = 124 total credits to graduate).
Your Concentration
Some popular course maps are linked below. You need to take at least one course meeting each foundation. If you don’t see the course map corresponding your degree here, please email me requesting a link.
Educational Studies – Early Childhood
*It is important to consider your future plans when deciding which courses to take as part of your degree. You are responsible for understanding requirements for graduate school admission, career certifications, etc.