Undergraduate Bulletin, 2002-2003

Available Majors


Regulations Concerning Majors

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

Some majors are available through an honors program or a combined bachelor's/master's degree program.

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 and transfer students are admitted to the University and not to a particular department, college, or school. Normally, students are expected to declare their intended major when they have earned 24 graduation credits. By the time they have accumulated 42 graduation credits, students must have officially declared a major or have applied for admission to a restricted major. For most majors, students need only complete a Declaration of Major form with their advisers and a minimum of 24 graduation credits to be officially enrolled in the school or college offering their major. Other majors, however, are restricted in the sense that students must be granted formal departmental or school approval or satisfy stated admissions criteria before being officially classified as that major.

Currently, admission to the following majors is restricted: accounting, business administration, criminal justice, mathematics, psychology, rhetoric and communication, and social welfare. In addition, students must obtain approval to enter the Teacher Education Program, Faculty-Initiated Interdisciplinary Majors in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Information Science, and the special departmental program majors in art or music.

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. The first major listed shall be from the department from which the student elects to receive advisement. The faculty of the school or college that offers the first major shall recommend the student for the appropriate degree. For example, a student completing the three majors Geology, History, and Philosophy would receive a B.S. degree if the first major were Geology or a B.A. degree if the first major were History or Philosophy.

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 two 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.

NOTE:  The display of more than the first and second majors on the student's official transcript will not be possible before fall 2003. Until the full listing becomes possible, students desiring to declare a third or subsequent major must do so in the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Studies, LC 30. Once satisfactory completion of the third or additional majors has been verified, a separate official document will be issued by the Dean of Undergraduate Studies verifying which additional majors (beyond the first two) have been completed.


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 course work 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 but not more than 66 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 one 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 course work.

B.A. or B.S. Degree:  The course work 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 adviser 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.

Student 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 course chosen.

Further information and application procedures and forms may be obtained by contacting Mr. Richard Collier in the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Studies, LC 30 (518-437-3747).




The chart that follows lists all University at Albany majors, whether or not the major leads to a B.A. or B.S. degree, and whether the major is available in the Teacher Education Program and/or the General Program. The charts on the page after that list all the "BAMA" programs-combined baccalaureate/master's programs that are designed to assist students interested in obtaining a graduate degree as quickly as possible.

Undergraduate Majors HEGIS Code Degree Program
School of Business:
Accounting 0502 B.S. Degree General Program
Business Administration 0506 B.S. Degree General Program
School of Criminal Justice:
Criminal Justice 2105 B.A. Degree General Program
College of Arts and Sciences:
Actuarial and Mathematical Sciences 1799 B.S. Degree General Program
African/Afro-American Studies 2211 B.A. Degree General Program
Anthropology 2202 B.A. Degree General Program
Art 1002 B.A. Degree General Program
Asian Studies 0301 B.A. Degree General Program
Atmospheric Science 1913 B.S. Degree General Program
Biology 0401 B.A. Degree
B.S. Degree
General Program
Teaching Program
Chemistry 1905 B.A. Degree
B.S. Degree
General Program
Teaching Program
Chinese Studies 1107 B.A. Degree General Program
Computer Science 0701 B.A. Degree
B.S. Degree
General Program
Computer Science & Applied Mathematics 0701 B.S. Degree General Program
Earth Science 1917 B.S. Degree Teaching Program
Economics 2204 B.A. Degree
B.S. Degree
General Program
English 1501 B.A. Degree General Program
Teaching Program
French 1102 B.A. Degree General Program
Teaching Program
Geography 2206 B.A. Degree General Program
Geology 1914 B.S. Degree General Program
Greek & Roman Civilization 2205 B.A. Degree General Program
History 2205 B.A. Degree General Program
Interdisciplinary Majors
   (Art History) 4901 B.A. Degree General Program
   (Biochemistry & Molecular Biology) 4901 B.S. Degree General Program
   (Earth and Atmospheric Sciences) 4901 B.A. Degree General Program
   (East Asian Studies) 4901 B.A. Degree General Program
   (Human Biology) 4901 B.S. Degree General Program
   (Japanese Studies) 4901 B.A. Degree General Program
   (Medieval & Renaissance Studies) 4901 B.A. Degree General Program
   (Religious Studies) 4901 B.A. Degree General Program
   (Urban Studies and Planning) 4901 B.A. Degree General Program
Italian 1104 B.A. Degree General Program
Teaching Program
Judaic Studies 0399 B.A. Degree General Program
Latin American Studies 0308 B.A. Degree General Program
Linguistics 1505 B.A. Degree General Program
Mathematics 1701 B.A. Degree
B.S. Degree
General Program
Teaching Program
Music 1005 B.A. Degree General Program
Philosophy 1509 B.A. Degree General Program
Physics 1902 B.S. Degree General Program
Teaching Program
Psychology 2001 B.A. Degree General Program
Puerto Rican Studies 0399 B.A. Degree General Program
Rhetoric and Communication 1506 B.A. Degree General Program
Russian 1106 B.A. Degree General Program
Teaching Program
Russian & East European Studies 0307 B.A. Degree General Program
Social Studies 2201 B.A. Degree Teaching Program
Sociology 2208 B.A. Degree General Program
Spanish 1105 B.A. Degree General Program
Teaching Program
Theatre 1007 B.A. Degree General Program
Women's Studies 4903 B.A. Degree General Program
School of Information Science & Policy:
Interdisciplinary Major
    (Information Science)
4901 B.A. Degree General Program
Graduate School of Public Affairs:
Political Science 2207 B.A. Degree General Program
Public Policy 2102 B.A. Degree General Program
School of Social Welfare:
Social Welfare 2104 B.S. Degree General Program
University-Wide:
Interdisciplinary Studies 4901 B.A. Degree
B.S. Degree
General Program


Approved Bachelor�s Degree/Master�s of Business Administration Programs

Majors HEGIS Codes Degrees
College of Arts and Sciences
African/Afro-American Studies 2211/0506 B.A./M.B.A.
Anthropology 2202/0506 B.A./M.B.A.
Art 1002/0506 B.A./M.B.A.
Asian Studies 0301/0506 B.A./M.B.A.
Biology 0401/0506 B.A./M.B.A.
Chinese Studies 1107/0506 B.A./M.B.A.
Economics 2204/0506 B.A./M.B.A.
English 1501/0506 B.A./M.B.A.
French 1102/0506 B.A./M.B.A.
Geography 2206/0506 B.A./M.B.A.
Greek & Roman Civilization 2205/0506 B.A./M.B.A.
History 2205/0506 B.A./M.B.A.
Interdisciplinary Studies 4901/0506 B.A./M.B.A.
Interdisciplinary Studies 4901/0506 B.S./M.B.A.
Italian 1104/0506 B.A./M.B.A.
Latin American Studies 0308/0506 B.A./M.B.A.
Linguistics 1505/0506 B.A./M.B.A.
Mathematics 1701/0506 B.A./M.B.A.
Music 1105/0506 B.A./M.B.A
Philosophy 1509/0506 B.A./M.B.A.
Psychology 2001/0506 B.A./M.B.A.
Puerto Rican Studies 0399/0506 B.A./M.B.A.
Rhetoric and Communication 1506/0506 B.A./M.B.A.
Russian 1106/0506 B.A./M.B.A.
Russian and East European Studies 0307/0506 B.A./M.B.A.
Sociology 2208/0506 B.A./M.B.A.
Spanish 1105/0506 B.A./M.B.A.
Theatre 1107/0506 B.A./M.B.A.
Women�s Studies 4903/0506 B.A./M.B.A.
Nelson A. Rockefeller College
Criminal Justice 2105/0506 B.A./M.B.A
Political Science 2207/0506 B.A./M.B.A.


Combined Bachelor�s/Master�s Degree Programs

Majors HEGIS Codes Degrees
Atmospheric Science/Atmospheric Science 1913/1913 B.S./M.S.
Biology/Biology 0401/0401 B.S./M.S.
Chemistry/Chemistry 1905/1905 B.S./M.S.
Computer Science/Computer Science 0701/0701 B.S./M.S.
Computer Science and Applied Mathematics/Mathematics 0701/1701 B.S./M.A.
Criminal Justice/Criminal Justice 2105/2105 B.A./M.A.
Economics/Public Administration 2204/2102 B.S./M.P.A.
English/English 1501/1501 B.A./M.A.
French/French 1102/1102 B.A./M.A.
Geography/Geography 2206/2206 B.A./M.A.
Geology/Geology 1914/1914 B.S./M.S.
History/History 2205/2205 B.A./M.A.
Linguistics/Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages 1505/1508 B.A./M.S.
Mathematics/Mathematics 1701/1701 B.A./M.A.
Mathematics/Mathematics 1701/1701 B.S./M.A.
Philosophy/Philosophy 1509/1509 B.A./M.A.
Physics/Physics 1902/1902 B.S./M.S.
Political Science/Political Science 2207/2207 B.A./M.A.
Political Science/Public Administration 2207/2102 B.A./M.P.A.
Psychology/Counseling 2001/0826 B.A./M.S.
Psychology/Rehabilitation Counseling 2001/2199 B.A./M.S.
Public Policy/Public Policy 2102/2102 B.A./M.A.
Rhetoric and Communication/Rhetoric and Communication 1506/1506 B.A./M.A.
Russian/Russian 1106/1106 B.A./M.A.
Sociology/Public Administration 2208/2102 B.A./M.P.A.
Sociology/Sociology 2208/2208 B.A./M.A.
Theatre/Theatre 1007/1007 B.A./M A.
Spanish/Spanish 1105/1105 B.A./M.A.
Any undergraduate major (except Accounting)/Library Science 1/1601 B.A./M.A.
Any undergraduate major (except Accounting)/Library Science 1/4901 B.A./M.S.
1 HEGIS code depends on undergraduate major.


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