First-Year Seminar
Expository Writing
Foreign Language
Quantitative Reasoning
Physical and Life Science
Physical Science
Life Science
Texts and Ideas
Cultures and Contexts
Societies and the Social Sciences and Expressive Culture
Societies and the Social Sciences
Expressive Culture
NYU-Abu Dhabi and NYU-Shanghai
Liberal Studies/Global Liberal Studies
Transfer Credit Guidelines
January-Term Restriction
First-Year Seminar
See the First-Year Seminar website for details.
Expository Writing
Because writing skills can always be improved, exemptions from the Expository Writing component are granted only for equivalent courses taken at another college or university.
Foreign Language
College students may fulfill the foreign language component by presenting outstanding scores on SAT II, Advanced Placement, or International Baccaulareate examinations or by passing a departmental proficiency examination. For further information, consult the CAS Bulletin under Placement Examinations in the Academic Policies chapter. For Advance Placement and International Baccalaureate exam equivalencies, consult the chart in the Admissions chapter.
Students whose entire secondary schooling was in a language other than English, or who complete the International Writing Workshop sequence (EXPOS-UA 4, EXPOS-UA 9), are exempt from the foreign language component. Students who complete the dual degree engineering program are also exempt.
Quantitative Reasoning
College students who major in a natural science, who complete the pre-health program, or who are in the combined B.S./B.S. program are exempt from the Foundations of Scientific Inquiry component of the Core.
The Quantitative Reasoning component can be satisfied with approved AP credit or by completing an approved department course.
Approved AP Credit:
AP Credit for Calculus (AB or BC)—Score of 4 or 5
AP Credit for Statistics—Score of 4 or 5
Approved Department Courses:
DS-UA 111, Data Science for Everyone
BIOL-UA 42, Biostatistics
ECON-UA 18, Statistics
ECON-UA 20, Analytical Statistics
ENVST-UA 310, Environmental Quantitative Methods
LING-UA 6, Patterns in Language
MATH-UA 121, Calculus I
MATH-UA 131, Mathematics for Economics I (formally listed as MATH-UA 211)
MATH-UA 143, Calculus I for Biological and Life Sciences
MATH-UA 221, Honors Calculus I
MATH-UA 17, Calculus for the Social Sciences
POL-UA 850, Introduction to Research Methods for Politics
PSYCH-UA 9, Statistical Reasoning for the Behavioral Sciences
PSYCH-UA 10, Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences
PSYCH-UA 11, Advanced Psychological Statistics
SOC-UA 302, Statistics for Social Research
UGPH-GU 20, Biostatistics in Public Health
UPADM-GP 111, Quantitative Analysis for Public Policy (only for declared Public Policy majors)
The SAT Subject Tests in Mathematics (Levels 1 and 2) may also satisfy the Quantitative Reasoning requirement. You must take this test prior to your first semester at NYU. If you have not done so already, please submit your test score to the NYU College of Arts and Science Admissions Office. The qualifying subject test score is 700. (Note that SAT Subject Tests will be discontinued as of January 2021 in the U.S. and after June 2021 internationally.)
Physical and Life Science
College students who major in a natural science, who complete the pre-health program, or who are in the combined B.S./B.S. program are exempt from the Foundations of Scientific Inquiry component. For AP equivalencies, consult the chart in the CAS Bulletin Admissions chapter.
The Physical and Life Science components can also be satisfied with approved AP credit or by completing an approved department course sequence. *AP credit in all exams is only awarded for a score of 4 or 5.
Approved AP Credit:
AP credit for Biology (8 points)
AP credit for Chemistry (8 points)
AP credit for Physics 1 (4 points) and Physics 2 (4 points)
AP credit for Physics C-Mech (5 points) and Physics C-E&M (5 points)
Approved Department Courses:
CHEM-UA 125-0126, General Chemistry I and II including lab [ Previously CHEM-UA 101-102 General Chemistry I and II and CHEM-UA 103-4 (lab)]
CHEM-UA 127, General Chemistry I Honors including lab [ Previously CHEM-UA 109 Honors General Chemistry I and CHEM-UA 111 (lab)]
PHYS-UA 11-12, General Physics I and II
Physical Science
College students who major in a natural science, who complete the pre-health program, or who are in the combined B.S./B.S. program are exempt from the Foundations of Scientific Inquiry component. For AP equivalencies, consult the chart in the CAS Bulletin Admissions chapter.
The Physical Science component can be satisfied with approved AP credit or by completing an approved department course. *AP credit in all exams is only awarded for a score of 4 or 5.
Approved AP Credit:
AP credit for Physics 1 or Physics 2 (4 points)
AP credit for Physics C-Mech (5 points)
AP credit for Physics C-E&M (5 points)
AP credit for Environmental Science (4 points)
Approved Department Courses:
CHEM-UA 125, General Chemistry I including lab [ Previously CHEM-UA 101 General Chemistry I and CHEM-UA 103 (lab)]
CHEM-UA 127, General Chemistry I Honors including lab [ Previously CHEM-UA 109 Honors General Chemistry I and CHEM-UA 111 (lab)]
CHEM-UA 129, Accelerated General Chemistry
PHYS-UA 11, General Physics I
Life Science
College students who major in a natural science, who complete the pre-health program, or who are in the combined B.S./B.S. program are exempt from the Foundations of Scientific Inquiry component. For AP equivalencies, consult the chart in the CAS Bulletin Admissions chapter.
The Life Science component can be satisfied by completing an approved department course.
Approved Department Courses:
ANTH-UA 2, Human Evolution
BIOL-UA 12, Principles of Biology 2 and Principles of Biology Lab, BIOL-UA 123
ENVST-UA 275, City Meets the Sea
Texts and Ideas
Because of the importance the faculty place on assuring every student a core experience in the humanities and social science, there are no exemptions or substitutions for Texts and Ideas.
Note that credit earned for AP course equivalencies does not satisfy Texts and Ideas
Cultures and Contexts
Because of the importance the faculty place on assuring every student a core experience in the humanities and social science, there are no exemptions or substitutions for Cultures and Contexts.
Note that credit earned for AP course equivalencies does not satisfy Cultures and Contexts
Societies and the Social Sciences and Expressive Culture
The Societies and the Social Sciences and Expressive Culture components can be satisfied through completion of approved joint-major programs.
Approved Joint-Major Programs:
Anthropology and Classical Civilization
French and Linguistics
German and Linguistics
Italian and Linguistics
Spanish and Linguistics
Societies and the Social Sciences
The Societies and the Social Sciences component can be satisfied through completion of an approved major or minor program or by completing an approved department course.
Note that credit earned for AP course equivalencies does not satisfy Societies and the Social Sciences.
Approved Majors and Minors:
American Studies (major only)
Anthropology
Anthropology and Linguistics
Economics
Economics and Mathematics
Economics and Computer Science
Environmental Studies (major only)
European and Mediterranean Studies
Gender and Sexuality Studies
Global Public Health/Anthropology
Global Public Health/History
Global Public Health/Sociology
History
International Relations
Journalism (major only)
Language and Mind
Latino Studies (major only)
Law and Society
Linguistics
Metropolitan Studies
Politics
Psychology
Sociology
Approved Department Courses:
ANTH-UA 1, Human Society and Culture
ANTH-UA 3, Introduction to Archaeology
ANTH-UA 17, Language, Culture, and Society
ECON-UA 1, Introduction to Macroeconomics
ECON-UA 2, Introduction to Microeconomics
HIST-UA 9, The United States to 1865
LING-UA 1, Language
LING-UA 15, Language and Society
LING-UA 9015, Language and Society
LING-UA 47, The Language of America's Ethnic Minorities
LING-UA 30, Language in Latin America
LING-UA 58, Introduction to African Languages
LING-UA 9058, Introduction to African Languages
POL-UA 300, Power and Politics in America
POL-UA 500, Comparative Politics
PSYCH-UA 1, Introduction to Psychology
RELST-UA 1, Theories and Methods in the Study of Religion
SCA-UA 401, Approaches to Gender and Sexuality Studies
SCA-UA 601, Introduction to Metropolitan Studies
SOC-UA 1, Introduction to Sociology
SOC-UA 2, Introduction to Sociology (Honors)
SOC-UA 135, Race and Ethnicity
SOC-UA 205, Social Movements, Protest and Conflict
SOC-UA 386, American Capitalism in Theory and Practice (formerly known as Ideas and Institutions in American Society)
SOC-UA 413, Law and Society
Expressive Culture
The Expressive Culture component can be satisfied through completion of an approved major or minor program or by completion of one of the courses offered under CORE-UA 7xx, Expressive Culture.
Note that credit earned for AP course equivalencies does not satisfy Expressive Culture.
Approved Majors and Minors:
Africana Studies
Ancient Studies
Art History (previously known as Fine Arts)
Asian/Pacific/American Studies
Cinema Studies
Classical Civilization
Classical Civilization and Hellenic Studies
Classics
Classics and Art History
Comparative Literature
Dramatic Literature, Theatre History, and the Cinema
East Asian Studies (major)
East Asian Studies (non-language minor)
English
Fine Arts (now known as Art History)
French
German
Hebrew and Judaic Studies (major)
Hebrew and Judaic Studies (non-language minor)
Hellenic Studies (major)
Hellenic Studies (non-language minor)
Irish Studies
Italian
Latin American Studies
Latin/Greek
Literature in Translation
Luso-Brazilian Language and Literature
Medieval and Renaissance Studies
Middle Eastern Studies (major)
Middle Eastern Studies (non-language minor)
Music
Philosophy
Religious Studies
Romance Languages
Russian (non-language minor)
Spanish
Urban Design and Architecture Studies
January-Term Restriction
In cases where a department course is approved to satisfy a component of the Core (whether offered in New York or elsewhere on the global academic network), note that such approval does not include January-term versions of these courses.