College of Arts & Sciences

The College of Arts and Sciences comprises the students and faculty of 23 departments offering majors and minors, as well as those working in a variety of cooperative interdisciplinary programs. These include the arts, computational sciences, 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, Asian studies, atmospheric science, biology, chemistry, Chinese studies, economics, English, French, geography, Greek and Roman civilization, history, human biology, Italian, journalism, Judaic studies, Latin American studies, linguistics, mathematics, music, philosophy, physics, psychology, Puerto Rican studies, rhetoric and communication, Russian, Russian and East European studies, sociology, Spanish, theatre, urban studies and planning, and women�s studies.

In addition, the college is responsible for interdisciplinary majors with concentrations in art history, biochemistry and molecular biology, documentary studies, earth and atmospheric science, East Asian studies, globalization in the Americas, Japanese studies, medieval and Renaissance studies, and religious studies; and for minor programs in bioethics, cognitive science, film electronics, studies, Hebrew, Korean studies, organization studies, Portuguese, and U.S. Latino Studies.

For purposes of degree requirements for the B.A. and B.S. degrees, the following undergraduate courses offered by the college are defined as liberal arts and sciences: all courses except A Eaj 423, A Eco 495, A Heb 450, A Mat 204, A Mus 315, A Rus 395, A Thr 315.

Courses in this section 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 no later than the second class meeting 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 University in the High School course work must consult with the appropriate department chair for placement in the next course in that language�s sequence.

University at Albany Home Page