Thematic and Global Pathways
Admitted before Fall 2023?
Students admitted to UB prior to Fall 2023 should visit the older pathways requirements here.
Take ownership of your education by choosing topics of interest to you and applying them to your major or using them as a platform to explore another field of study.
Pathways are a central component of the UB Curriculum. Students are required to complete both a Global and Thematic pathway. Each pathway requires a minimum of nine credit hours, typically satisfied by completing three courses of three or more credit hours.
The university provides a Path Finder Tool, a planning tool to aid in the selection of your pathway courses. This page provides additional resources to help guide engineering and computer science students with respect to course selection. If you have any issues using the tools provided below or need assistance, contact the SEAS Office of Academic Affairs to meet with an academic advisor.
On this page:
Learn how to use the UB Pathfinder tool in this instructional video.
Pathways are typically satisfied by completing three courses of three or more credit hours from the same topic, with the first selected from “List 1”, the second selected from “List 2”, and the third selected from “List 3.” Students who select a language and culture track for the Global pathway may only need to complete two courses, as some introductory language courses are more than three credit hours.
Courses already completed, transferred to UB, or enrolled in are shown in the Path Finder tool and can be selected where applicable in each List or topic. Students may review the full list of applicable courses in the Course Filter tab of the Path Finder tool.
Transfer credit with a direct articulation will appear directly in the List where the UB course has been approved. All applicable transfer courses that do not coincide with a direct articulation to a Pathway course will appear in the Path Finder tool as “wildcards”, in List 1 and List 2.
Test credit may be used only where a direct articulation to a Pathway course exists.
Students may find that choosing pathways with courses related to their major can help them make meaningful connections between their field of study and the UB Curriculum, while potentially streamlining their progress through the pathways.
Engineering Majors
Engineering majors are advised to select the following courses as “List 3,” as they are also major requirements:
- Aerospace Engineering: MAE 434 and MAE 451 (admitted before Fall 2025) or MAE 474 (admitted after Fall 2025)
- Biomedical Engineering: BE 493 and BE 436
- Chemical Engineering: CE 408 and CE 404
- Computer Engineering: CSE 450 and CSE 453
- Civil Engineering: CIE 340 and CIE 415
- Electrical Engineering: EE 383 and EE 336
- Engineering Physics: EE 494 and EE 336
- Engineering Science: ENS 493 and ENS 494
- Environmental Engineering: CIE 344 and CIE 415
- Industrial Engineering: IE 494 and IE 323
- Material Science and Engineering: MDI 450 and MDI 471
- Mechanical Engineering: MAE 494 and MAE 451
Computer Science Majors
Computer Science BS and BA majors should select any List 3 classes that do not have prerequisites.
Explore pathways by course or by term.
If you have any issues using pathways tools or need assistance, please contact the SEAS Office of Academic Affairs to meet with an academic advisor.