Undergraduate Graduation Requirements

To earn an academic credential from RIT, students must satisfy a number of graduation requirements, which may vary significantly from program to program. All students should seek out and use the academic advising resources within their colleges to assist them in planning their academic program of study. In general, students should expect to satisfy the following requirements before they can graduate from RIT:

A. Completion of Academic Curricula

1. Students must satisfactorily complete all of the courses in their academic program. General education requirements and specific course requirements for each program are identified in the following pages. This catalog, and careful consultation with an academic advisor, provide the best resources for planning and completing all of the requirements necessary for graduation.
2. Program curricula may include several types of courses, including cooperative education, field experience, practicum, thesis, research, and wellness. Most students will need to satisfy a wellness requirement, and many academic programs require one or more semesters of experiential learning, including cooperative education or internships.
3. The curriculum in effect at the time of admission into a program will normally be the curriculum one must complete in order to graduate. Occasionally, with departmental approval, course substitutions and other minor curricular modifications may occur. Although there is no time limit within which students must complete their course requirements, the curriculum under which a student is certified to graduate must be no more than seven years old.

B. Grade-Point Average Standard

1. Successful candidates for an undergraduate degree, diploma, or certificate must have a cumulative grade-point average of at least 2.0. The physician assistant program requires semester and cumulative grade-point averages of 3.0 or higher.
2. Graduation honors are conferred on associate and bachelor’s degree recipients who achieve a 3.40 or higher cumulative program GPA.

C. Residency and Minimum Earned Hours

A minimum of 25 percent of the total semester credit hours required for the degree shall consist of successfully completed RIT courses. The degree-granting program shall decide which specific courses shall count to satisfy this requirement. Credit earned through transfer, credit by exam/experience, College-Level Examination Program (CLEP), Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), or audit is excluded from these residency calculations. RIT academic programs vary as to the total number of credit hours required; however, under no circumstances will a student be allowed to graduate with a bachelor’s degree with fewer than 120 cumulative earned hours (60 hours for associate degrees).

Cumulative earned hours include RIT courses, transfer credit, credit by exam/experience, CLEP, AP, and IB credits.

D. Developing Writing Excellence

Following university policy, all undergraduate bachelor's degree program students are required to complete three writing intensive (WI) credit-bearing courses before they graduate:

• One introductory WI course in the first year, "FYW: Writing Seminar" or other so-designated 3 credit hour First Year Writing (FYW) course with approval of the First Year Writing Program Director.
• One course or sequence of courses in the student's degree program (WI-PR).
• A third WI course. Ideally this is a general education course (WI-GE), but it may also be an additional WI-PR course.

First Year Writing is a General Education foundational course that plays an essential role in students’ academic transition to the university. In FYW, students learn about the social and intellectual aspects of university writing, and develop critical literacy practices required for academic success. There are currently two FYW courses that fulfill this requirement:

• UWRT-150 FYW: Writing Seminar
• ISTE-110 FYW: Ethics in Computing

General Education Writing Intensive (WI) courses reinforce the knowledge and practices introduced in FYW. These courses are located throughout the perspective, immersion, and elective course categories on the General Education curriculum and use writing to engage students in course content.

Programmatic Writing Intensive courses (identified on the typical course sequence charts with the designation “WI”) are taken as part of a degree program. These courses are designed to engage students in writing in the discipline/s represented by the course. They reinforce the knowledge and practices introduced in FYW and GE WI courses, and help students gain mastery of written forms specific to the student’s major area of study.

E. Fulfillment of Financial Obligations

Students must fulfill all financial obligations to RIT before a diploma will be released.

RIT’s framework for general education provides students with courses that meet specific university approved general education learning outcomes and New York State Education Department liberal arts and sciences requirements. Students in all bachelor of science degree programs are required to complete a minimum of 60 credit hours in General Education; students in all bachelor of fine arts degree programs are required to complete a minimum of 30 credit hours in General Education. The general education framework intentionally moves through educational phases designed to give students an introduction to perspectives of liberal arts and sciences disciplines and then the opportunity for deeper, advanced study and integrative learning through immersion in a cluster of related courses.

The general education curriculum consists of the following requirements:

1. First Year Writing provides instructional focus on developing and improving writing and communication skills. This course, which is typically taken in the first year, plays an essential role in students’ transition from secondary to post-secondary education.
2. Perspectives courses are designed to introduce students to seven key areas of inquiry that develop ways of knowing about the world. The perspective courses introduce students to fundamentals of a liberal arts and sciences discipline (methods, concepts, and theories) while addressing specific general education learning outcomes. The number required and selection of perspectives courses varies by degree type (e.g., BS, BFA, AS, or AAS) and degree program. See individual degree program requirements for details.
   1. Ethical Perspective: Courses focus on ethical aspects of decision-making and argument, whether at the individual, group, national, or international level. These courses provide students with an understanding of how ethical problems and questions can be conceived and resolved, and how ethical forms of reasoning emerge and are applied to such challenges.
   2. Artistic Perspective: Courses focus on the analysis of forms of artistic expression in the context of the societies and cultures that produced and sustained them. These courses provide insight into the creative process, the nature of aesthetic experience, the fundamentals of criticism and aesthetic discrimination, and the ways in which societies and cultures express their values through their art.
   3. Global Perspective: Courses in this category encourage students to see life from a perspective wider than their own and to understand the diversity of human cultures within an interconnected global society. Courses explore the interconnectedness of the local and the global in today’s world or in historical examples, and encourage students to see how global forces reverberate at the local level.
   4. Social Perspective: Courses focus on the analysis of human behavior within the context of social systems and institutions. Because RIT recognizes that student success depends on the ability to understand how social groups function and operate, these courses provide insight into the workings of social institutions’ processes.
   5. Natural Science Inquiry Perspective: Science is more than a collection of facts and theories, so students are expected to understand and participate in the process of science inquiry. Courses focus on the basic principles and concepts of one of the natural sciences. In these classes, students apply methods of scientific inquiry and problem solving in a laboratory or field experience.
   6. Scientific Principles Perspective: Courses focus on the foundational principles of a natural science or provide an opportunity to apply methods of scientific inquiry in the natural or social sciences. Courses may or may not include a laboratory experience.
   7. Mathematical Perspective: Courses focus on identifying and understanding the role that mathematics plays in the world. In these courses, students comprehend and evaluate mathematical or statistical information and perform college level mathematical operations on quantitative data.
3. An Immersion is an approved series of at least three related general education courses (minimum 9 credits) that further broaden a student’s judgment and understanding within a specific area through deeper, advanced learning.
4. General Education Electives make up the remaining required total number of general education credits. These credits may be specified by the academic programs in order for students to fulfill supporting requirements for specific degree programs (e.g. math or science, foreign languages, etc.). Some of these credits may be general education electives that can be chosen by the students themselves. Credits in the perspectives category that exceed the minimum requirement will be applied toward the elective credits.

Wellness Education Requirement

RIT is committed to fostering the holistic well-being of its students through a comprehensive Wellness Education program. Recognizing that personal well-being is essential to academic achievement, professional success, and lifelong health, the university offers a broad range of wellness courses designed to promote physical, emotional, social, and intellectual well-being.

The Wellness Education curriculum is an integral component of the undergraduate experience, providing students with practical knowledge, lifelong skills, and opportunities to develop healthy behaviors. Courses are offered in a variety of disciplines, including Wellness Seminars, Dance, Fitness, Health and Safety, Martial Arts, Recreation, and Outdoor Education, allowing students to explore diverse interests while supporting their overall well-being.

Degree Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree Candidates

Students pursuing a bachelor’s degree are required to successfully complete two wellness activity courses. The courses must represent two distinct activities or course levels. For example, Pilates and Advanced Pilates satisfy the requirement as two separate wellness activities.

Associate Degree Candidates

Students enrolled in an associate degree program are required to successfully complete one wellness activity course.

Transfer Students

Transfer students may receive Wellness Education credit for coursework completed at another accredited institution. The applicability of transfer credit is determined by the student’s academic department in consultation with the Department of Wellness Education, when appropriate.

Exemptions and Special Considerations

Age

Students who are 25 or older at the time of matriculation are exempt from the Wellness Education Requirement. These students are welcome to enroll in Wellness Education courses on a space-available basis.

Credit by Experience

Students in their final semester who require special consideration to meet graduation requirements may be eligible to earn wellness credit through approved prior learning or professional certification. One approved option is the American Red Cross Adult First Aid/CPR/AED Certification. Eligibility is determined by the Department of Wellness Education.

Intercollegiate Athletics

Students participating in RIT intercollegiate athletics receive Wellness Education activity course credit for each season of participation.
Student-athletes are encouraged to enroll in Wellness Education courses to complement their athletic training. Courses may be used as part of an athlete’s off-season conditioning, cross-training, injury prevention, recovery, flexibility, mindfulness, or skill development. Participation in a Wellness Education course is welcomed regardless of whether the student’s wellness requirement has already been satisfied through intercollegiate athletics.

Medical Exemption

Students requesting a medical exemption must submit documentation from a licensed healthcare provider. Medical exemptions may be approved by the student’s college dean, academic advisor, or the Program Director of Recreation and Wellness Programs. Documentation must be submitted to both the Department of Recreation and Wellness Programs and the student’s academic department.

Military Service

Students who have completed six months or more of active military service are exempt from the Wellness Education Requirement but may enroll in Wellness Education courses on a space-available basis.

Non-Matriculated Status

Students enrolled in a non-matriculated status are exempt from the Wellness Education Requirement but may enroll in Wellness Education courses on a space-available basis.

Prior Bachelor’s Degree

Students who have previously earned a bachelor’s degree are exempt from the Wellness Education Requirement but may enroll in Wellness Educaiton courses on a space-available basis. 

Participation That Does Not Satisfy The Requirement

Participation in club sports or intramural sports does not satisfy the Wellness Education Requirement and does not earn Wellness Education activity course credit.