Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Relations

at State University of New York at New Paltz USA

Bachelor of Science programs in Accounting, Business Analytics, Finance, General Business, International Business, Marketing, and Management are offered.

It is expected that students who complete the program will possess skills in critical thinking, oral and written communication, teamwork and ethics. Follow the links below to learn more about the curriculum for each major, as well as for the minors in Business and Business Analytics.

Psychology is an empirically based science. Therefore, it is desirable for psychology majors to have the skills to interpret and generate new information. To that end, courses in statistics and research methodology are required of all majors. In addition, psychology majors take a writing-intensive capstone seminar in which they demonstrate their mastery of the techniques and the content areas of the discipline. Students majoring in psychology are advised to acquire a broad range of training in the Liberal Arts. Taking a variety of elective courses in other disciplines is strongly recommended.

The nationally accredited MFA program offers varied and extensive opportunities for graduate study in a unique setting. Our location is just 90 minutes north of New York City in the historic Hudson River Valley, allowing access to cutting edge artists, historians, critics, and curators. The campus features expansive facilities, private and semi-private secure studios, and extensive computer labs and digital fabrication technologies. Additional exhibition spaces complement the prestigious Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art.

Sculpture - Specialization
The graduate Sculpture program embraces and cultivates the diversity and complexity of what is defined as sculpture today. The program supports investigations that encompass installation, intervention, performance, sound, video, new media as well as more traditional approaches to sculpture. The Sculpture program encourages independent exploration, experimentation, critical awareness, and engagement in the issues, forms, and contexts of contemporary, professional investigation. The program challenges and expands on the individual graduate student’s rationale and modes of working. In a flexible program encompassing the breadth of today’s sculptural possibilities, each student has the opportunity to articulate an individual vision and make a significant contribution to the discipline.

The overall footprint of the sculpture facilities encompasses 10,000 square-feet of space, which is divided into individual studio space for MFA and BFA students, general class workspace, an area for woodworking, welding, and metal fabrication. The facilities also include a separate room for experimental work such as installations. Equipment includes welding and metalworking tools and machinery, woodworking tools and machinery, video and sound equipment, and a computer lab for digital imaging, sound and video production.

Chemistry at New Paltz offers both undergraduate and masters degree programs. Three undergraduate programs leading to liberal arts degrees are available: the general chemistry major, the American Chemical Society (ACS)-approved chemistry major, and the chemistry major with biochemistry emphasis.

A student who obtains an ACS-approved degree is eligible for employment as a chemist in industry or government. The ACS-approved program also prepares students for graduate study and for professional training in medicine, dentistry, and veterinary medicine. Course offerings allow chemistry majors to obtain a broad background in several areas of chemistry.

The biochemistry emphasis is designed for the student interested in biochemistry or health-related sciences requiring a substantial background in chemistry. This program provides excellent preparation for health professional training, as well as for graduate study in clinical chemistry, physiology, and medicinal chemistry. Students take core courses in chemistry and biology and complete the year-long biochemistry sequence.

Anthropology, the study of human diversity across geographic space and evolutionary time, takes on these far-reaching questions. Courses in the Department of Anthropology deal with three areas:

• Physical anthropology is concerned with the evolution of human beings as biological organisms and with the physical variation within contemporary human populations.
• Archaeology and prehistory explore the extinct cultures of the past and attempt to elucidate the processes involved in their development.
• Sociocultural anthropology is involved with the comparative analysis of socially learned behavior patterns and institutions of contemporary populations from all areas of the world.

The nationally accredited MFA program offers varied and extensive opportunities for graduate study in a unique setting. Our location is just 90 minutes north of New York City in the historic Hudson River Valley, allowing access to cutting-edge artists, historians, critics, and curators. The campus features expansive facilities, private and semi-private secure studios, and extensive computer labs and digital fabrication technologies. Additional exhibition spaces complement the prestigious Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art.

Painting & Drawing - Specialization
The Painting/Drawing program encourages the technical, conceptual, and professional development of its students through a balance of intensive studio experience and critical and theoretical dialogue. Students working in traditional, experimental, and multimedia formats are challenged to assess their work in a contemporary context. 

The Department of Economics offers a program leading to a Bachelor of Art or a Bachelor of Science in Economics. It is designed to prepare students for careers in private and public sectors, non-profit organizations, and for graduate work in economics and business administration.

In addition to a broad General Economics track, students may complete prescribed clusters of upper-division elective courses to concentrate their studies in Business Economics or International Economics tracks.  Students who intend to pursue graduate study in economics are advised to complete additional courses in mathematics.

The concentration areas within the program are designed to enable students to combine a liberal arts education with their individual graduate work or career objectives. Prospective majors are strongly advised to plan their program of study in consultation with the department chair or another member of the Economics faculty.

The Department of Music strives to educate students by providing a rigorous undergraduate core program in music within the liberal arts context. We aspire to promote integrated student learning through a diversity of offerings within the department and across the campus. Prospective students - majors and non-majors alike - will find a variety of liberal arts and professional courses as well as a full range of performing ensembles. We also offer an extensive series of on-campus concerts involving faculty members, guest performers, students, and student ensembles.

The department offers Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in Music, with concentrations in Classical Performance, Jazz Performance, and Recording & Electronic Music, as well as a general music program with broad elective offerings in music genres and history, classical and jazz performance, recording and electronic music, music therapy, and composition.

English offers several programs designed to give students a knowledge of their linguistic, literary and cultural heritage and to develop their skills as writers and critics. Each of the tracks within the major has its own requirements. These programs prepare students for careers in teaching, publishing, communications, and public and private administration. They also prepare students for graduate work in English and in a variety of other disciplines in which effective reading, writing and critical thinking skills are important, such as business, law and medicine.

The Department of Mathematics offers undergraduate majors in Mathematics, Adolescence Education Mathematics and Early Childhood & Childhood Education Mathematics. Graduates with the Mathematics major go on to do graduate work in mathematics and other fields requiring strong quantitative and reasoning skills. Those graduating from the Adolescence Education program have a depth of knowledge that underlies the courses they will teach. Early Childhood & Childhood Education majors go on to become mathematics specialists within the primary schools.