What classes you will take depend on your enrollment status (full-time or part-time) and your English and Math Placement.
Full-time student can mean different things: For Financial Aid, it means taking a minimum of 12 hours of coursework each semester, which is typically 4 classes. However, many students take 15-18 hours per semester so that they can graduate from LaGuardia in two years, and some programs, like ASAP and the GI Bill, require students to take more than 12 credit hours each semester.
Discuss your college goals and your other commitments (for example, work or family) with your academic and peer advisors or faculty mentor to decide what’s best for you. Part-time students take fewer classes/credit hours, so if you are a part-time student, your path to your degree will be different; meet with an advisor regularly to discuss your progress and how to best meet degree requirements.
LaGuardia’s 12/6 Calendar: LaGuardia’s academic calendar helps busy students enroll full time by offering an 18-week semester split into two sessions: a 12-week Session I (September-December or March-June) and a 6-week Session II (January-February or June-August). Students can split a full-time course load between the two sessions.
Degree Credits: With some exceptions, students complete 60 “degree credits” to earn an associate degree. Most college classes are 3 credits and meet for 3-4 hours each week, but students may also take classes that meet for up to 7 hours a week, especially in the first semester (these classes that meet for additional hours will count toward full-time status for Financial Aid). Your academic advisor can help you be sure that you’re enrolled full-time.
Placement and Developmental Support in English and Math Classes
Part of the new student registration process is class placement—the level of English Composition and Math you will take in your first semester. Placement is based on things like high school GPA and standardized test scores like Regents or SAT and determines whether you might benefit from additional support in college-level English or Math.
Many students are placed into English and Math classes with additional support. These are college-level classes where you earn college credit while building foundational skills. These classes meet for additional time each week and provide extra support. If you’re placed into one of these classes, you can’t “opt out” of taking a section with extra support.
If you are a student in the CUNY Start program or ESL classes (or CLIP, the CUNY Language Immersion Program), your progress will be different. CUNY Start students enroll in CUNY Start English and Math classes during their first semester. ESL students take a sequence of classes to prepare them for college-level English classes. Your advisors will help you stay on track in these programs.
Core Classes and Degree Requirements: No matter your major, every student at LaGuardia (and in CUNY) completes four Pathways Required Core classes: 2 English classes, 1 Mathematics & Quantitative Reasoning class, and 1 Life & Physical Sciences class. These are the foundation of your work at LaGuardia. You should start taking these classes in your first semester, beginning with English and Math.
Many other courses at LaGuardia require that you take these core classes first as “pre-requisites” before registering for courses in your major. Here’s more about these courses:
- Your first English class is Composition I (ENG/ENA101), which provides the foundational skills in reading, writing, and research that you will use and build on in future classes and in your professional life. Whether you’re coming to LaGuardia directly from high school or returning after a break, this class prepares you for the writing expected of you in other courses. Composition I will make you a more confident writer by equipping you with the tools to write college-level essays and teaching you how to make the writing process work for you in any writing task
- The Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning requirement can be met through many different math courses. Students in some majors are required to take a specific kind of math while others may have a choice, in which case you will want to consider your transfer and career goals. The information in the next drop down can help you make an informed decision in consultation with your academic advisor.
In addition to the Required Common Core classes, every LaGuardia degree has its own curriculum, which includes a major-specific First-Year Seminar (FYS) plus a class that meets an Urban Studies requirement and a major-specific Capstone class. Take your FYS in your first semester to gain the benefits of this introduction to your major and LaGuardia’s advising and mentoring. the FYS provides you with support as you learn how to build your academic plan and use key digital tools like ePortfolio and My LaGuardia. You will be connected with co-curricular opportunities and work with a Student Success Mentor throughout the semester.
Degree Maps: Every curriculum has a Degree Map that not only lists the classes that you will take to earn your associate degree but also suggests how you should sequence the classes. These maps are guides, and your own journey may not follow the exact same path, but meeting regularly with your academic advisor and faculty mentor will help you stay on track.
After Your First Semester (Session II or the Next Semester)
The second required English class depends on your major: most students take Writing through Literature (ENG102), although some majors require Technical Writing (ENG259). Talk to your academic advisor or faculty mentor if you have questions about meeting this requirement.
You may also have a choice about which Life & Physical Sciences class to take, most likely in your second semester. Due to the selection available to different majors, this is a choice you should make in consultation with your academic advisor or faculty mentor.
If you were not able to enroll in the FYS for your major in your first semester, you should prioritize taking that class in Session II or the next semester.
Finally, as a CUNY student, you will take several courses in the CUNY Pathways Flexible Core, which encompasses a range of academic disciplines. You can learn more about this from your academic advisor or faculty mentor, in your FYS course, or by viewing your Degree Map online.
