Bachelor of Science in Water Resources (STEM)

at State University of New York College at Brockport USA

Our biochemistry degree opens doors to cutting edge knowledge — molecular biology, chemical biology, neuroscience, pharmaceuticals, and more. Our electives build on these foundations so you can tailor your education to your goals.

Anthropologists study human behavior and thought in both the past and the present with the goal of improving our world. We holistically draw on sociocultural, archaeological, and biological approaches to engage with humanity’s current challenges: the outcomes of the humanity-environment relationship; human rights abuses and the need for social justice; and the complexities of human heritage and identities. Whether through ethnographic fieldwork, archaeological excavation, biological lab work, or visual and material cultural analysis, our students and faculty collaborate closely to learn and improve our knowledge of human variation. This is an invaluable resource for our students as they prepare for a more complex future.

The Anthropology Major consists of 24 required course credits plus 12 elective credits that allow students to augment their education with a dual major or minor in another field applicable to their goals and needs.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:

• Knowledge base. Students gain an understanding of the broad knowledge base of human biocultural diversity through time and across cultures, as provided through archaeology, biological and cultural anthropology.
• Methods. Students gain knowledge and skills in the different anthropological research methods used in the sub-fields of archaeology, biological or cultural anthropology.
• Theory. Students learn to define and describe anthropological theory as used in current and past practice by anthropologists, in archaeology, biological and/or cultural anthropology.
• Critical Thinking. Students develop the ability to question, reflect and critique the data and arguments upon which evaluations of human diversity, behavior and change are made.
• Analysis. Students learn to apply theories and methods to explain or interpret anthropological problems, including cross-cultural patterns of social behavior, human evolution, and social change over time and space.
• Ethics. Students learn the appropriate procedures and protocols for obtaining informed consent or access permissions, in order to avoid harm or wrong to one’s human or non-human subjects and descendants.

Computer Information Systems is the study of the use of computers for systematic organization of data that supports efficient and accurate collection, processing, analysis, and retrieval of information. An information system specialist applies existing technology to solve real-world problems. At SUNY Brockport, the Computer Information Systems (CIS) major trains students in state-of-the-art computing technology, applications, and business practices, with appropriate exposure to underlying fundamentals. The emphasis is on the use of computers in an organization to increase effectiveness and efficiency.

The Computer Information Systems major is accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET. This major is recommended for students with a strong interest in business applications of computing.

Useful information for students, such as career guidance, advisement, sample plans of study, student awards, and scholarships can be found at the department website.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:

• Analyze a complex computing problem and to apply principles of computing and other relevant disciplines to identify solutions.
• Design, implement, and evaluate a computing-based solution to meet a given set of computing requirements in the context of the program's discipline.
• Communicate effectively in a variety of professional contexts.
• Recognize professional responsibilities and make informed judgments in computing practice based on legal and ethical principles.
• Function effectively as a member or leader of a team engaged in activities appropriate to the program's discipline.
• Support the delivery, use, and management of information systems within an information systems environment.

The Department of Dance at SUNY Brockport seeks to provide a rigorous and nurturing environment for the development of artists, scholars, choreographers, and educators. We support creativity through conceptualization and performance. The Department of Dance comprises artists, scholars, and educators who train dancers on the graduate and undergraduate level for a wide variety of careers in the arts.

The department has some of the best dance facilities in the country, including its own fully equipped proscenium dance theater, a large-space studio theater, five studios, a body-conditioning lab, costume and scene shops, and computerized music and design studios. Faculty and professional staff are nationally and internationally recognized in their areas of expertise and are leaders in professional organizations such as CORD, NASD, and NDEO.

Undergraduates with a strong foundation of dance training are invited to participate in the program by auditioning to enroll as dance majors or minors in the BA or BS programs, and are eligible to apply to the BFA program in the second semester. Additionally, the department offers three graduate degrees and serves a large number of students through courses that fulfill General Education requirements.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:

• Apply artistry through qualitative and rhythmic phrasing, dynamic range & individual expressivity.
• Embody consistently clear physical knowledge, movement accuracy and technical expertise of contemporary dance idioms.
• Create choreography that integrates imaginative and structural concepts.
• Articulate an understanding of aesthetics through dance-making and/or oral and written forms.
• Summarize and synthesize concepts regarding history, aesthetics, and culture of dance.
• Analyze human movement from varied theoretical and experiential perspectives.
• Identify individual interests and abilities in order to situate within larger dance field.
• Exhibit appropriate professional conduct throughout choreographic process, performance, collaboration, and production.

The MA in English, Creative Writing and Literature tracks, introduces graduate students to advanced study in the art of language. Courses provide an opportunity for deep and sustained analysis of a variety of literary texts, emphasizing advanced critical and theoretical approaches. The program encourages students to work closely with faculty mentors and culminates in a substantial (and potentially publishable) independent project focusing on an area of the student’s interest and emerging expertise. Graduate students additionally have the opportunity to meet with nationally and internationally recognized authors through Brockport's visiting writers series, The Writers Forum.

For accepted students exhibiting superior promise, the department has a limited number of assistantships available that provide a stipend and a tuition scholarship for up to nine graduate credits per semester. They are awarded on a competitive basis with an April 15 application deadline. Further information on assistantships may be obtained from The Center for Graduate Studies.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the program, all students will be able to:

• Construct an advanced scholarly argument about a subject situated within at least one period of English Literature
• Construct an advanced scholarly argument about a subject situated within at least one period of American literature
• Construct an advanced scholarly argument about a subject situated within at least one area of World literature

Literature Track students will be able to:

• Participate in the literary-critical conversation
• Practice standards and techniques of advanced academic research and writing
• Discuss and respond appropriately to questions about their advanced project argument.

Creative Writing Track students will be able to:

• Employ professional standards in constructive critical commentary on peer writing and in revising their own work in required workshop courses
• Practice forms and techniques in the genres of poetry and prose.
• Articulate the place of their own work in contemporary literary practices

The Biology major is designed for students with an interest in aspects of the life sciences, to provide excellent preparation for postgraduate education and careers in biomedicine, health and secondary education, as well as other fields that require an understanding and practice of scientific reasoning and methods.

Students build a scientific foundation for understanding how biological systems function through courses taken during the freshman and sophomore years. In the junior and senior years, students may concentrate in areas such as: pre-professional health, biotechnology, secondary education, or an individualized program. Research opportunities with departmental faculty as well as internships and cooperative programs with public and private organizations afford students the opportunity to apply their skills outside the classroom. Due to the complex biological issues that face modern society, the department also encourages non-majors to take selected courses in the biological sciences.

The 30-credit Consumer Health program within the Department of Public Health and Health Education provides students with foundational knowledge of public health. The Consumer Health Concentration can complement a related second major, such as Psychology, Recreation and Leisure Studies, or Women and Gender Studies.

The program consists of Required core courses and content electives focused on various dimensions of health. Students interested in becoming a public health educator or sitting for the Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) Exam should speak with an advisor about our professional program in Public Health Education.

Student Learning Outcomes

The Public Health Education program is aligned with the seven Areas of Responsibility as defined by the National Commission on Health Education Credentialing.

Public Health Major

Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:

• Assess individual and community needs for health education
• Plan health education strategies, interventions, and programs
• Implement health education strategies, interventions, and programs
• Conduct evaluation and research related to health education
• Administer health education strategies, interventions, and programs
• Serve as a health education resource person
• Communicate and advocate for health and health education

Consumer Health Concentration

The Consumer Health concentration is aligned with three of the seven Areas of Responsibility as defined by the National Commission on Health Education Credentialing.

Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:

• Administer health education strategies, interventions, and programs
• Conduct evaluation and research related to health education
• Serve as a health education resource person

The undergraduate Interdisciplinary Arts for Children major is committed to teaching, scholarship, creative expression, and service related to the education of children in and through the arts. This interdisciplinary major is unique to the SUNY system and the nation. It fulfills a major need in providing substantive arts-in-education training to prospective classroom teachers and others interested in the arts. Research shows that arts integration has perhaps the greatest potential to positively affect learning across academic disciplines. An interdisciplinary approach to learning helps students leverage new understandings that could not be obtained through singular discipline studies alone. 

What You’ll Learn

Our program is unique nationwide and within the SUNY system. It encourages students to think across disciplines, using arts integration as a focus.

Each student selects a specialty area as a focus for in-depth learning while taking courses across all of the arts disciplines. Our major is an excellent choice for those interested in education and other arts-related programs that involve working with children.

Geology majors must earn a minimum of 42 credits in required core courses and complete two semesters each of physics, calculus and chemistry. This major offers sound training in the study of the earth and its resources, and equips the student for pursuit of careers in geology leading to professional licensure, and for graduate studies in geochemistry, petroleum exploration, paleontology, hydrogeology, ground water, environmental geology, or sedimentology/stratigraphy.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:

• Explain the manner with which variables and data, relevant for geology, are properly collected using discipline appropriate methodology (fieldwork, instrumentation, remote sensing, or derived products from models).
• Properly interpret geology data using discipline-accepted qualitative analysis.
• Properly interpret geology data using discipline-accepted quantitative analysis.
• Define a scientific question and develop a methodology for answering it.
• Locate, evaluate and interpret primary source scientific literature.
• Effectively express geology concepts and research results following the accepted written format for the discipline.
• Explain geology concepts and communicate research results following the accepted oral format for the discipline.

African and African-American Studies offers students a broader and deeper understanding of our world. We promote global and inclusive perspectives—drawing from history, literature, the arts and the social sciences—to explore the realities and life experiences of Africans and African Americans. For students of any ethnic background, a major in AAS offers a uniquely rounded liberal arts education that can lead to a wide variety of career options or further studies.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:

• Articulate the purpose and history of the field of African and African-African American Studies, and its proclivity to offer a corrective to mainstream representations of Africa and Africans.
• Interpret the Africana experience by applying methodologies and perspectives in African and African American studies.
• Identify key themes on how race, ethnicity, class and gender impact issues in African and African American Studies from a variety of disciplinary approaches.
• Analyze the historical experiences of African people on the continent of Africa and in the Diaspora, underscoring crucial themes relevant to their experiences.
• Analyze the literary expressions and contributions of African people on the continent of Africa or in the Diaspora, including analysis of seminal literary treatises from ancient times to the present.
• Analyze the experience of African people on the continent of Africa or in the Diaspora from the perspective of the social sciences.
• Apply the skills and knowledge acquired in their studies to practical use, such as going on for further study or serving as agents of change in their own settings and communities.