Majors and Combined Bachelor's/Master's Degree Programs

Combined Bachelor’s/Master’s Degree Programs
 

Bachelor’s/Master’s Degree Programs Combining Disciplines
 

Combined Bachelor's in Art History/Master's in Liberal Studies

Department of Art and Art History/Program in Liberal Studies: B.A./M.A.

Combined Bachelor's in Economics/Master's in Public Administration and Policy

Department of Economics/Department of Public Administration and Policy: B.A./M.P.A.

Combined Bachelor's in English/Master's in Liberal Studies

Department of English/Program in Liberal Studies: B.A./M.A.

Combined Bachelor's in Human Development/Master's in Educational Psychology and Methodology

Department of Educational & Counseling Psychology/Department of Educational & Counseling Psychology: B.S./M.S.

Combined Bachelor's in Human Development/Master's in Higher Education

Department of Educational & Counseling Psychology/Department of Educational & Counseling Psychology: B.S./M.S.

Combined Bachelor's in Human Development/Master's in Mental Health Counseling

Department of Educational & Counseling Psychology/Department of Literacy Teaching and Learning: B.S./M.S.
 

Combined Bachelor's in Human Development/Certificate of Advanced Study in School Psychology

Department of Educational & Counseling Psychology/Department of Educational & Counseling Psychology: B.S./C.A.S.

Combined Bachelor's in Human Development/Master's in Special Education and Literacy II

Department of Educational & Counseling Psychology/Department of Educational & Counseling Psychology: B.S./M.S.

Combined Bachelor's in Political Science/Master's in International Affairs

Department of Political Science/Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy: B.A./M.I.A.

Combined Bachelor’s in Political Science/Master’s in Public Administration and Policy

Department of Political Science/Department of Public Administration and Policy: B.A./M.P.A.

Combined Bachelor’s in Public Policy and Management/Master's in International Affairs

Department of Public Administration and Policy/Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy: B.A./M.I.A.

Combined Bachelor’s in Public Policy and Management/Master’s in Public Administration and Policy

Department of Public Administration and Policy/Department of Public Administration and Policy: B.A./M.P.A.

Combined Bachelor's in Psychology/Master's in Mental Health Counseling

Department of Psychology/Department of Educational & Counseling Psychology: B.A./M.S.

Combined Bachelor's in Quantitative Economics and Data Analytics/Master's in Public Administration and Policy

Department of Economics/Department of Public Administration and Policy: B.S./M.P.A. 

Combined Bachelor's in Sociology/Master's in Public Administration and Policy

Department of Sociology/Department of Public Administration and Policy: B.A./M.P.A.

Combined Bachelor's/Master's in Secondary Education

The Department of Educational Theory and Practice offers combined bachelor’s/master’s for the following undergraduate majors in the College of Arts and Sciences and master’s in Secondary Education:

B.S. Atmospheric Science /M.S. Secondary Education Earth Science
B.S. Biology/M.S. Secondary Education Biology
B.A. Biology/M.S. Secondary Education Biology
B.A. Chemistry/M.S. Secondary Education Chemistry
B.S. Chemistry/M.S. Secondary Education Chemistry
B.A. English/M.S. Secondary Education English
B.A. History/M.S. Secondary Education History
B.A. Math/M.S. Secondary Education Math
B.S. Math/M.S. Secondary Education Math
B.S. Physics/M.S. Secondary Education Physics
B.A. Spanish/M.S. Secondary Education Spanish

Combined Bachelor's/Master's in Information Science

The Department of Information Sciences and Technology in the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity offers combined bachelor's/master's for the following undergraduate majors across the Schools and Colleges combined with the master's in Information Science:

B.S. Actuarial and Mathematical Sciences/M.S. Information Science
B.A. Africana Studies/M.S. Information Science
B.A. Anthropology/M.S. Information Science
B.A. Art/M.S. Information Science
B.A. Art History/M.S. Information Science
B.S. Atmospheric Science/M.S. Information Science
B.S. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology/M.S. Information Science
B.S. Biology/M.S. Information Science
B.A. Biology/M.S. Information Science
B.S. Business Administration/M.S. Information Science
B.S. Chemistry/M.S. Information Science
B.A. Chemistry/M.S. Information Science
B.A. Chinese Studies/M.S. Information Science
B.A. Communication/M.S. Information Science
B.S. Computer Science/M.S. Information Science
B.A. Computer Science/M.S. Information Science
B.A. Criminal Justice/M.S. Information Science
B.S. Cybersecurity/M.S. Information Science
B.A. Economics/M.S. Information Science
B.S. Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity/M.S. Information Science
B.A. Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity/M.S. Information Science
B.A. English/M.S. Information Science
B.A. Geography/M.S. Information Science
B.A. History/M.S. Information Science
B.S. Informatics/M.S. Information Science
B.A. Interdisciplinary Studies - Concentration in Documentary Studies/M.S. Information Science
B.S. Interdisciplinary Studies - Concentration in Environmental Science/M.S. Information Science
B.S. Interdisciplinary Studies - Concentration in Financial Market Regulation/M.S. Information Science
B.A. Interdisciplinary Studies - Concentration in Globalization Studies/M.S. Information Science
B.A. Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies/M.S. Information Science
B.A. Linguistics/M.S. Information Science
B.S. Mathematics/M.S. Information Science
B.A. Mathematics/M.S. Information Science
B.A. Music/M.S. Information Science
B.A. Philosophy/M.S. Information Science
B.S. Physics/M.S. Information Science
B.A. Political Science/M.S. Information Science
B.A. Psychology/M.S. Information Science
B.A. Public Policy and Management/M.S. Information Science
B.S. Quantitative Economics and Data Analytics/M.S. Information Science
B.S. Social Welfare/M.S. Information Science
B.A. Sociology/M.S. Information Science
B.A. Spanish/M.S. Information Science
B.A. Theatre/M.S. Information Science
B.A. Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies/M.S. Information Science

Regulations Concerning Majors

The University offers majors in the General Program through the schools and colleges indicated here. In addition, there currently exist unique departmental program majors in art and music that complement the regular University major options in both of these areas.

Most majors are available with an honors program option and several majors have combined bachelor’s/master’s degree programs. Approved faculty-initiated interdisciplinary majors are also included in the University’s curricular offerings. In addition, students may design their own interdisciplinary major in accordance with procedures established by the Interdisciplinary Studies Committee of the Undergraduate Academic Council.

Declaration of Major

Freshmen are generally admitted to the University and not to a particular department, college, or school. Students may declare their intended major when they have earned 24 graduation credits. For most majors, students need only complete a minimum of 24 graduation credits to declare a major in the school or college offering their major. Other majors, however, are restricted in the sense that students must be granted formal departmental of school approval or satisfy stated admissions criteria before being officially classified as that major. Students interested in declaring or changing their majors should inquire about the specifics at the Advisement Services Center, Taconic Building Second Floor. Students are advised to declare a major by the time they have completed 56 credits. Failure to do so may jeopardize timely graduation and may have serious consequences for financial aid recipients. Read more information regarding academic requirements for financial aid recipients. Student athletes must follow NCAA regulations concerning declaration of major.

Restricted Majors

Currently, admission to the following majors is restricted to those who meet admission criteria or who are selected as a result of an application process.

• Accounting
• Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Interdisciplinary Major) 
• Business Administration
• Criminal Justice
• Digital Forensics
• Financial Market Regulation (Interdisciplinary Major)
• Human Development 
• Psychology
• Social Welfare

Selection to these restricted majors will differ depending on the degree of competition generated by other applicants and/or the completion of specific course requirements. For further details on the specific requirements and selection processes for each of these majors, please refer to the appropriate department or school description in this bulletin.

Multiple Majors

Students may elect more than one major, designating which is to be considered the “first major,” the “second major,” etc. Students will receive advisement from the department of their first major. Students can confirm the order of their majors via their degree audit. A student completing, for example, two majors, one in business and one in history, would receive a Bachelor of Science degree if the first major was business or a Bachelor of Arts degree if the first major was history. The first major must be established prior to the conferral date of the degree. A student who completes more than one major and/or more than one minor, will have both majors/minors listed on their transcript. The University at Albany diploma lists only the degree of the first major and any Latin Honors, if applicable. Only one diploma is awarded to each undergraduate student.

For each major, students must complete the major requirements as outlined in this bulletin. However, for a student with two or more majors, a specific course that is applicable to more than one of the majors may be applied toward each of the majors to which it is applicable. For example, a student with majors in accounting and economics may “double count” calculus and some economics courses, applying the credits toward both majors; if the student also had a third major in computer science, the calculus course A MAT 112 would “triple count,” applying to all three majors.

The above ability to apply a course to multiple majors is limited to the extent that all students must complete a minimum of 48 non-overlapping credits between majors and/or minors. Thus, a student with two 36 credit majors may apply up to 12 credits of coursework to each major (provided the coursework is approved to fulfill requirements in both programs). For example, a student with majors in criminal justice and sociology may apply A SOC 310 and A SOC 221 to both majors and up to 6 additional credits of coursework if they are courses that have been approved to apply to both majors.

Academic departments which offer more than one major can choose to develop a policy to prohibit students from declaring multiple majors within their programs. Any such policy proposal must be submitted to UAC for review and approval.

The Student-Initiated Interdisciplinary Major

In addition to existing majors offered by the University’s departments, schools and programs, a “Student-Initiated Interdisciplinary Major” option is available through the Undergraduate Academic Council’s Interdisciplinary Studies Committee. This option is designed to allow highly motivated students to meet special educational goals not available from the many existing majors at the University.

In the development of an interdisciplinary major the student and prospective faculty sponsors are asked to insure its intellectual merit by considering the following questions: Will the proposed major make it possible to undertake future disciplined inquiry such as that which is found in graduate or professional study? Will the plan promote mastery of the methodological tools relevant to the subject matter? Are there sufficient bodies of scholarly literature to allow for in-depth study in the major’s disciplines? Will the plan allow for gaining significant knowledge to read and evaluate professional and scholarly literature in the major’s disciplines?

The following information will assist in the formulation of a major.

Non-Duplication of Existing Majors: The proposed major must involve coursework in at least two different departments or schools. Moreover, the proposal must not duplicate or nearly duplicate opportunities available to University at Albany students through existing major programs.

Coherence: The proposed major must consist of a coherent, integrated program of studies. As with any other major, there must be some relationship between courses to be undertaken as well as sufficient depth of study in the area under consideration. It would also be helpful to know if models exist on other campuses for the proposed major. This information will assist the student in constructing a program of studies and the citation of an existing program will support the application for such a major.

Credits: The proposed major must consist of at least 36 credits. If the major includes fewer than 54 credits, the student will be applying for a major only and will need a separate minor to meet minimum graduation requirements. If the major includes 54 or more credits, the student will be applying for a combined major and minor program and, therefore, no separate minor will be needed.

Upper Division Course Work: At least half of the credits in the proposed major must be at the 300 level or above.

Independent Study: The proposed major may include a maximum of 25^% of independent study coursework.

B.A. or B.S. Degree: The coursework in the interdisciplinary major will normally dictate the type of bachelor’s degree to be earned by the student.

Faculty Sponsorship: The proposal must have a primary and a secondary faculty sponsor. The primary sponsor must also agree to serve as the student’s major advisor for the proposed program. The two sponsors must be members of the teaching faculty and must come from two different academic units (departments or schools) offering courses included in the major.

Students who believe they might like to construct their own major should begin plans as soon as possible, but the application for the major cannot be filed until the student has completed at least 30 graduation credits.

Once a student has tentatively decided on the theme for the proposed study, the Undergraduate Bulletin should be reviewed to verify that no existing major encompasses that theme. The Bulletin and the Schedule of Classes should also be used to identify possible courses which might be included in the proposed major and, based on the courses they teach, possible faculty who might be willing to serve as sponsors for the major.

Before deciding on all the details of the proposed major, the student should speak with several faculty for the following reasons: (a) to determine the likelihood of finding two faculty sponsors for the program; (b) to solicit suggestions on how to further refine, limit, or expand the chosen theme; (c) to solicit further suggestions of individual courses or sequences of courses which might be included in the major; and (d) to determine whether or not the student’s goals in creating the major are likely to be met by the combination of courses chosen.

Further information and application procedures and forms may be obtained by contacting the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, Taconic Third Floor (518-442-3950).

Combined Bachelor’s/Master’s Degree Program Regulations

Undergraduate students of recognized academic ability and educational maturity have the opportunity of fulfilling integrated requirements of bachelor’s and master’s degree programs within a rationally designed and effective framework at the beginning of their junior year. The minimum number of credit hours required for combined degree programs will vary depending on the graduate program’s total credit requirement (138 to 193 credits).

Students may be admitted to these combined programs at the beginning of their junior year, or after the successful completion of 56 credits. A grade point average of 3.20 or higher and recommendations from faculty are required.

Clarification to Students in Combined Bachelor's/Master's Programs

“Students are considered undergraduates until they have accumulated 120 credits, satisfied all degree requirements and been awarded the baccalaureate degree."

However, although students who have failed to satisfy “all degree requirements” will not be granted the baccalaureate degree until all undergraduate requirements are met, please be aware that for determining such matters as whether students pay undergraduate or graduate tuition, the following policy applies:

"Although admitted to an integrated degree program, a student will be considered as an undergraduate student for purposes of tuition billing, financial aid, and enrollment identification until qualified to receive the bachelor's degree or until enrolled in the 13th credit of graduate coursework. Once a student is qualified to receive the bachelor's degree or enrolls in the 13th credit of graduate coursework, the student will be considered a graduate student for tuition billing, financial aid and enrollment identification, and will be eligible for graduate assistantships, fellowships, and loans.

"Students' progress through the combined program will be reviewed in the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education to ensure timely completion of the undergraduate degree. Academic advisors of bachelor's/master's programs and students themselves should also attend to course enrollment choices that lead to timely completion of undergraduate requirements." (Accepted by University Senate, March 9, 2009, revised by the Undergraduate Academic Council, November, 2015.)

Students interested in further information regarding the combined programs should contact the appropriate program’s department. Additional details on combined programs are available in the Graduate School Bulletin.