Dean
Jeanette Altarriba, Ph.D., Vanderbilt University (Collins Fellow)
Associate Dean
Julia M. Hormes, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Research
Assistant Dean for Facilities Management
Robert Nazzaro, M.B.A., University of Massachusetts Amherst
Assistant Dean for Public Engagement and Director of UAlbany in the High School Program
Debernee Privott, Ph.D., University at Albany, SUNY
Assistant Dean for Planning and Tenure/Promotion
Marie Rabideau, M.S., SUNY Plattsburgh
Assistant Dean for Academics
Caren Stark, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
Vice Dean
Brian T. Stephenson, M.P.A., University at Albany, SUNY
The College of Arts and Sciences comprises the students and faculty of 20 departments offering majors and minors, as well as those working in a variety of cooperative interdisciplinary programs. These include the arts, humanistic studies, physical sciences, and social sciences. Study in the Arts and Sciences provides students with a liberal education, including knowledge and skills applicable to further study and to occupations in a great variety of fields.
The presence of research faculty and graduate students in the programs of the College affords undergraduate students the opportunity to study with scholars and researchers working at the cutting edge of their disciplines. Qualified advanced undergraduates, in accordance with University policy, may enroll in appropriate graduate courses.
Fields of study leading to majors in the College are actuarial and mathematical sciences, Africana studies, anthropology, art, art history, atmospheric science, biology, business economics, chemistry, Chinese studies, climate science, communication, East Asian studies, economics, English, geography, history, human biology, Japanese studies, journalism, Latin American, Caribbean and U.S. Latino studies, linguistics, mathematics, music, philosophy, physics, psychology, quantitative economics and data analytics, sociology, Spanish, theatre, urban studies and planning, and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies.
In addition, the College is responsible for Faculty-Initiated Interdisciplinary Majors with concentrations in biochemistry and molecular biology, documentary studies, environmental science, and globalization studies. There are opportunities for students to propose Student-Initiated Interdisciplinary Majors, faculty-sponsored and drawing upon two or more fields in the College.
Most major programs also offer a minor. Other minors through the College include acting, bioethics, cognitive science, creative writing, electronics, film studies, French, forensic science, geographic information science, Hebrew studies, instrumental performance, international studies, Italian, Judaic studies, Korean studies, Latin American and Caribbean studies, law and philosophy, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer studies, medical anthropology, musical performance, musical theatre, religious studies, Russian, Russian and Eastern European studies, statistics, sustainability, theatrical design/technology, and vocal performance.
Courses under the College of Arts and Sciences are preceded by the prefix letter A.
Foreign Language Study Placement Policies
Foreign language placement is based on a student’s current level of competence, as determined by placement procedures developed by the University’s foreign language departments. Regulations covering foreign language placement and credit may be obtained from departmental offices offering the language in question.
The department, through a departmental representative, will assess the active skills in that language and will make a final placement decision for each student during the initial class meetings of the course being recommended. A student may not earn graduation credit for a course in a language sequence if it is a prerequisite to a course for which graduation credit has already been earned.
Students earning advanced placement credits from high school will be expected to register for the next course in the language sequence. Those earning credit in UAlbany in the High School course work must consult with the appropriate department chair for placement in the next course in that language’s sequence.