Frequently Asked Questions
General Application Questions
No, but it is recommended. After you finish this page, you can sign up here
No. You can apply to CUNY BA while your associate's degree is still in progress.
Yes you can apply, if you will have 12 credits completed by the end of the semester (and that can include AP and College Now credits).
Yes. We grant a joint CUNY BA-Macaulay degree.
We do not require letters of recommendation, however, if you believe that it is important or necessary (for example, if your GPA is close to the minimum 2.8) you can have your professor email us one from their “.edu” email to general@cunyba.cuny.edu. We will also accept letters of recommendation on official letterhead in a sealed envelope.
Yes, applicants need to have a good idea of what their individualized-study will be in order to apply.
Tell us about your background and your goals, in 1-2 pages. Your statement should support your proposed area of concentration, explaining how it will meet your academic, personal, and professional ideals. There is no strict word limit, and yes, you may include a resume if you’d like, although that is not required.
No. You can apply to both CUNY BA and CUNY Colleges at the same time. It’s two separate applications.
You do not need to wait. If we are unable to confirm your status, we will contact you.
CUNY BA accepts applications year-round. We encouraged you to apply as far in advance of the semester you want to start in as possible.
If you are not enrolled in a CUNY college, you must also apply by February 1 for fall admissions and September 15 for spring admissions; applications to CUNY after those dates are processed on a space-available basis. You can apply to CUNY colleges HERE.
The program does not offer any majors. Students design their own majors (“areas of concentration AOC”) in consultation with CUNY faculty mentors. There are a few limited majors that require New York State certification (such as Nursing) that students cannot complete in CUNY BA; otherwise, a student’s area of concentration is created by his or her interests, the mentor’s guidance, and course availability. Areas do not have to be structured similarly to departmental majors at the colleges.
CUNY BA cannot assist students seeking certification in Nursing, Architecture, or Engineering. For other fields where certification is required (i.e., Accounting, Dietetics, etc.), students have been able to complete the certification requirements within the CUNY BA degree structure. CUNY BA does not offer advising on certification requirements; students must obtain that information on their own.
You can run your general ideas by our Admissions Coordinator, but don’t worry if you’re feeling a bit unsure at first. Take the time you need to research your interests and develop your proposed concentration.
Yes. CUNY BA considers every application individually and holistically; that is, we pay careful attention to your most recent grades, grades in courses related to your proposed concentration, your personal statement, your area of concentration outline, and your letter of recommendation. In cases where these indicators are strong but the overall GPA is not, candidates still have a good chance of being accepted, although CUNY BA may wait until any courses in progress are graded before a decision is made OR may ask you to complete 6-12 additional credits for further consideration.
Students who have concerns about their GPAs may wish to address the reasons for their averages in their personal statements, and/or may wish to provide a second letter of recommendation.
Applicants to CUNY BA often have more than 90 credits; it makes sense to pursue this degree route if it will lead to the specialized degree you want to earn.
Yes. However, we can’t admit students who have already earned a CUNY BA degree.
In assessing your readiness for this individualized degree route, the program will review all of your grades from all of your colleges and compute an overall GPA. Once in the program, your GPA will reflect CUNY grades only.
CUNY BA offers both the B.A. and the B.S. (CUNY BA is short for CUNY Baccalaureate)
No, however, students not currently enrolled in CUNY pay a fee to file a City University of New York transfer application.
Areas of Concentration
Go to the CUNY course catalog. You’ll be able to search by college, then by department: within each department, you can view multiple course descriptions at a time.
The outline is a first draft. Once you are admitted and working with a faculty mentor, you will submit a refined, official area of concentration form, which, when approved by the Academic Director, becomes your academic plan.
The courses necessary for admission to medical school, dental school, pharmacy school, etc., are typically general science and math courses, covering introductory biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics. As such, a CUNY BA area of concentration cannot be constructed solely of these professional school prerequisites. Students who want to enter CUNY BA must propose and pursue a unique, in-depth area of concentration consisting of intermediate and/or advanced level coursework; they can take the necessary introductory level courses for medical school, dental school, etc. courses as electives.
As for Pre-Law students, the best preparation for law school admission is typically completing a liberal arts-based area of concentration, i.e., connected to philosophy, English, history, etc.
Specific courses for your area will be determined by you and your faculty mentor; no more than half of the courses you have already completed will be counted toward your area of concentration.
This page has more details about how to propose your area of concentration and includes a number of samples.
Faculty Mentors
Yes. Students are asked to choose a mentor and submit a completed AOC form and AOC narrative to the program office by the end of their first semester in CUNY BA.
Finding a mentor will be covered at Orientation and in conversations with your academic advisor. We also offer workshops on this topic early each semester, to help new students get started on the process. Before that, you can read this page for some ideas.
No, although having a mentor at the college where you plan to take most of your area of concentration courses is usually practical.
CUNY BA faculty mentors must be full-time professors at CUNY and be in an academic discipline relevant to the area of concentration they will participate in creating.
Transfer Credits
CUNY BA does a new transfer credit evaluation as part of its admissions process. The program can access transcripts from all CUNY colleges. You do notneed to send us any CUNY transcripts. Additionally, if you have sent your non-CUNY transcripts to the University Application Processing Center (UAPC), we can access a scanned copy of your transcript in many (but not all) instances. We are unable, however, to access transcripts submitted directly to individual CUNY colleges.
In the following cases you will need to submit an official sealed college transcript:
- If you submitted your non-CUNY transcripts directly to one of the CUNY colleges
- If you applied to CUNY and submitted your non-CUNY transcript(s) to the UAPC while you had coursework in progress. An official copy of your updated transcript(s) that includes your final grades must be submitted to CUNY BA (even if you already submitted an updated copy at one of the CUNY colleges.)
There is no time limit on credits- they do not expire.
It is possible to enter CUNY BA with all your Liberal Arts and Sciences credits and Pathways already completed, but that is not required.
Yes. CUNY BA does its own evaluation and transfers courses in differently than the home colleges do.
Credits from universities outside the U.S. must be evaluated by the student’s CUNY college of matriculation (home college) OR by a course-by-course evaluation by one of the following agencies prior to applying:
- World Education Services: www.wes.org
- Evaluation Service, Inc.: http://www.evaluationservice.net/
- Josef Silny & Associates: http://www.jsilny.org/
- Transcript Research: http://transcriptresearch.com/
Students know their transfer evaluation and their remaining degree requirements on “day one,” when they meet with their assigned Academic Advisor for an admissions appointment. Each student signs an individualized Degree Contract, which reflects the transfer evaluation and gives the guidelines for the remaining degree requirements.
Life Experience credits are handled after admission.
The Home College
Students entering from a community college must become matriculated in a senior college when they have completed 68 total credits (that includes any senior college credits). Individual arrangements may be made for students who want to complete their Associate’s degree while in CUNY BA. Otherwise, the choice of home college is up to you. We recommend choosing the campus where you plan to take the majority of your courses.
Yes, until you reach 68 total credits (drawn from any combination of colleges); then you must transfer to a CUNY senior college. Individual arrangements can be made for students who want to complete their Associate’s degree while in the program.
If you have graduated from a CUNY community college and would like to apply to a CUNY four-year college, you must complete the online CUNY Transfer Admission Application. Admission to a CUNY four-year college is guaranteed, although not necessarily to your first-choice college, if you meet the following conditions: 1) you earned an AA, AS or AAS degree with an overall 2.0 GPA or higher and 2) you completed at least one college-level course in mathematics and one in English with grades of “C” or better.
If you did not graduate with a degree from the CUNY community college, you may still apply for transfer and will be allocated on a space-available basis. Transfer applicants to the CUNY senior four-year colleges must have completed at least one college-level course in mathematics and English with a grade of “C” or better. If you have not taken a math course, you should do so prior to transferring, and aim for a grade of “C” or better; you will also be considered for transfer to a senior college if you demonstrate proficiency in mathematics via an exemption (SAT/ACT or New York State Regents scores and coursework or COMPASS test score).
Most colleges deactivate your matriculation status when you are not registered for classes. Contact your college’s registrar's office to see if you need to file an application for readmission. That process generally involves a one-page form and a $20 fee.
Contact the college's registrar's office directly; in most cases, you will simply be file a one-page application for readmission and pay a $20 fee.
We notify your home college that you are CUNY BA upon admission to the program.
Yes, with the single exception being the Thomas Hunter Honors Program at Hunter College – students invited to be Thomas Hunter Honors students would have to choose between being CUNY BA students and being in that program.
No, CUNY BA has different degree requirements.
No. Your degree will be awarded by The City University of New York, under the auspices of The CUNY Graduate School and University Center. You will receive alumni privileges at your home college, and you will also be able to participate in your home college’s graduation ceremony.
Tuition and Fees
There is no fee to apply. All transfer applicants to CUNY, however, must pay a fee to file a City University of New York transfer application.
No, you pay tuition (at your home college) at the same rate.
CUNY BA does offer scholarships and fellowships, but does not offer financial aid. Students apply for financial aid separately and receive it from their home colleges.