Master of Arts in Social Studies

at State University of New York at Albany USA

Learn how governments, political organizations, individuals, and nations act to create and realize public values and goals. You’ll prepare for responsible and effective citizenship, political participation, and advanced academic or professional studies. You will also learn to understand and appreciate different political values, institutions, and processes that operate in local, national, and international systems.

The political science bachelor's program allows you to focus on the subjects that interest you most, with upper-level concentrations available in American politics; citizenship; equality and inequality; global politics; law and institutions; political theory; political economy and development; public law; security and statecraft.

Located less than one mile from the New York State Capitol, it’s easy to get a head start on a career in law or government as political science major at the widely respected Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy.

 American Politics
Learn about American political institutions including the presidency, Congress, courts, state and local government, and political parties; as well as political processes like elections, public opinion, urban politics, minority politics, political behavior, and public policy formation. With a location in the state capital, you will have unique opportunities to study ongoing research projects at the intersection of politics and public policy.

Ranked among the top 20 public affairs programs in the nation, the Rockefeller College Master of Public Administration program prepares you to excel as a government administrator, policy analyst, information technology manager, or strategic and financial leader of public and nonprofit institutions.

As you move through the 49-credit MPA curriculum and complete your professional internship, you learn how to successfully oversee projects, support and motivate teams, improve organizational performance, and monitor policy impact to help solve complex socioeconomic problems.

Information Technology Management
This concentration prepares you for decision making roles related to the creation, management and use of information and information technologies as essential tools for problem solving and public management within single organizations and across multiple organizations, sectors, and levels of government.

Drawing from public administration and other fields, you will learn how policies, organizational factors, information content, and information and communication technologies influence decisions and performance.

To develop specialized skills, you can earn sub-concentrations by taking multiple courses in one or two sub-fields: Information Strategy and Management, Data Analytics and Modeling, Information Policy, or Cybersecurity.

Get advanced training and experience in the theory and practice of city planning, design, and development in the Master of Regional Planning (MRP) program at the University at Albany.

This program prepares you to assist community leaders, elected officials, and the public with issues of neighborhood change and preservation, environmental conservation, mobility and accessibility, comprehensive planning and zoning. You will also learn about emerging issues, such as how to reimagine community development, ensure equitable planning strategies and understand the impacts of extreme weather.

Focus your undergraduate studies on the social, economic, cultural, political, and environmental forces that shape the lives of people and nations around the world.

The interdisciplinary major with globalization studies concentration will give you a broad understanding of international diversity and economic interdependency. Many students pursue globalization studies as a second major to enhance their understanding of another major that supports their career goals more directly.

Earning this degree will prepare you for domestic and international careers in foreign affairs, community development, environmental sustainability, education access, and global media, tourism, finance, and trade.

Create useful applications and solve practical data management problems with interdisciplinary skills in information technology and computer science taught in the bachelor's program in informatics.

Through team-based activities and hands-on exercises, you'll learn how to store and retrieve data, employ emerging technologies, and build user-centered systems – all of which are embedded in the day-to-day operations of every organization.

From relational databases to client-based web technologies, and internal computer architecture to networking fundamentals, you'll be prepared to lead complex digital projects from start to finish.

Data Analytics
Select from courses such as Introduction to Data Analytics: Seeking Information in Data with Computation, Probability and Statistics for Data Analytics, Modern Issues in Databases, Information Storage and Retrieval, Machine Learning.

If you care deeply about the natural world, you can make a positive contribution to habitat protection efforts by pursuing a career in environmental policy and research.

The multidisciplinary MS in Biodiversity, Conservation, and Policy program at the University at Albany explores the intersections of policy, politics, planning, and conservation biology. Through integrated coursework, you’ll deepen your understanding of the conservation decision-making process as both a scientist and policy analyst.

Many students in this program complete internships with state agencies to gain experience working on ecosystem and biodiversity preservation projects that inform their master’s thesis research.

Get advanced training and experience in the theory and practice of city planning, design, and development in the Master of Regional Planning (MRP) program at the University at Albany.

This program prepares you to assist community leaders, elected officials, and the public with issues of neighborhood change and preservation, environmental conservation, mobility and accessibility, comprehensive planning and zoning. You will also learn about emerging issues, such as how to reimagine community development, ensure equitable planning strategies and understand the impacts of extreme weather.

Help prevent illegal trading and ensure fair play in stock exchanges and other securities markets by designing and enforcing federal and state financial regulations.

The interdisciplinary bachelor’s in financial market regulation (FMR) at UAlbany is geared to meet the needs of accounting, business, computer science, economics, political science, public policy, and sociology students who want to complete a double major that supports their career goals.

In this program, you’ll learn how to analyze securities data, evaluate compliance, identify unusual market behavior, and locate evidence when companies violate securities laws and FINRA regulations.

Deepen your understanding of major civic issues and explore different ways you can help solve social problems by developing creative public policy solutions and improving management.

The interdisciplinary Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy and Management at UAlbany will give you a broad understanding of the relationships between government legislation, public policy, economics, politics, civil rights, regulation and finance, and city, state, federal, and global affairs.

The program includes foundational coursework and electives in management and politics, and quantitative methods and policy. Then you get to earn a concentration in the area of study that best matches your personal interests and career goals.

Human Services: Health, Education, and Labor
This concentration is ideal if you're interested in health and education policy.  Courses and topics in this concentration include genetic makeup, primary and secondary education policy and management, peer-education, and learning. Heavily influenced by the courses from psychology, education, and sociology, this concentration offers depth and breadth of content.

In this cross-disciplinary major, you’ll develop an advanced understanding and transnational appreciation of the evolving social, economic, political, and geographic histories of the Latin American experience in a vibrant, student-centered learning community.

After graduation, Latin studies students often pursue careers in public service, media broadcasting, community development, foreign affairs, citizenship and immigration, and international business.

The LACS undergraduate program provides a unique education that prepares you to explore the major forces that shape and transform the lives and experiences of the people and communities throughout the Americas. 

You will have the unequalled opportunity to study how events and transformations in Latin America and the Caribbean influence the formation and development of Latinx communities of the United States, in areas including: 

• Transnationalism, migration and immigration policies
• Social movements and collective political action
• Diaspora communities 
• Culture, power and knowledge
• The formation of identities 

In this interdisciplinary major, you will take classes in different academic fields, such as anthropology, sociology, women's studies, economics, political science, and geography and regional planning. This will uniquely prepare you to study what is interest to you from multiple perspectives. 

In addition, you will have opportunities for community-oriented research, community service and internships. You can also choose to study abroad in a number of Latin American and Caribbean countries.