Bachelor of Arts in History

at State University of New York College at Brockport USA

Physics is the study of the physical properties of the universe and of the fundamental properties and interactions of matter and energy. Physics has applications in every field of pure and applied science, such as engineering, optics, materials science, space science, and medicine.

The major in Physics Adolescence Education is intended for students who want to become certified to teach high school Physics. It includes 57 credits in the Physics Content Core and 36 credits of Pedagogy Content offered by the Department of Education and Human Development (EHD). Because of the large number of required credits in this major, students should plan their time at Brockport carefully and consult with advisors in both Physics and EHD.

The Physics Adolescence Education major leads to initial certification (see 'Certification' below) under the 'Adolescence Physics Education' category as outlined by the New York State Education Department (NYSED):

• Adolescence Physics, 7-12
• Adolescence Physics, 5-6 Extension

What You’ll Learn

Physics pursues answers to how the Universe works on scales both large and small. High school teachers get to share these answers with their students and spark their curiosity about the natural world.

Your Physics Teacher Education degree will provide you with the content and skills necessary to become an outstanding educator in Physics and prepare you to teach in today's diverse classrooms. You will leave with an initial single certification in teaching Physics.

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 study of philosophy is excellent preparation for a career in any field that requires clear, analytical thinking, writing, and speaking, including law, government, teaching and education, the ministry, business and management, publishing, and many other fields. Philosophy is traditionally considered the premier major for those planning to apply to law school. Philosophy majors score on average significantly higher on the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) than do the majors in any of the humanities or social sciences, including political science, history, and English; and philosophy majors on average are accepted to law school at higher rates than are students majoring in many other popular pre-law fields. Philosophy is also an excellent double major.

The Department of Philosophy sponsors the College's chapter of Phi Sigma Tau, the International Honors Philosophy Society, which recognizes student academic excellence. The Department also operates the Center for Philosophic Exchange, which sponsors free public guest lectures on campus by distinguished philosophers and publishes the on-line journal, Philosophic Exchange.

Student Learning Outcomes:

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

• Present a philosophical problem, by (1) concisely and precisely stating a philosophical problem to be resolved by an argument or essay, (2) explaining why the problem is significant, (3) explaining the scope of the problem, (4) defining any terms necessary for understanding the problem.
• Explicate the meaning of a philosophical theory by (1) correctly deducing the logical implications of that theory, (2) describing those implications in terms of specific examples, (3) recognizing when another statement or theory contradicts the relevant theory explicitly, (4) recognizing when another statement or theory contradicts the relevant theory implicitly.
• Demonstrate understanding of evidence by (1) correctly stating what counts as relevant evidence for a philosophical position, (2) correctly stating what counts as relevant evidence against the argument for a philosophical position and recognizing that evidence as such, (3) explaining why any cited evidence is relevant or irrelevant to a philosophical position, (4) distinguishing evidentiary claims about a philosophical position from rhetorically persuasive but specious claims about a philosophical position.
• Demonstrate knowledge of logic, by (1) recognizing arguments, (2) constructing good arguments, (3) evaluating arguments, (4) avoiding fallacies (e.g. begging the question).
• Demonstrate knowledge of dialectical method in philosophy, by (1) formulating possible objections to the thesis of an essay, (2) formulating possible objections to the argument for the essay's thesis, (3) responding to possible objections to the essay's thesis by showing that they are mistaken, (4) responding to possible objections to the argument for the essay's thesis by showing that they are mistaken.

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 studio art major is designed to provide a well-rounded, multi-disciplinary education in the appreciation and creation of visual art and design, encompassing two-dimensional and three-dimensional media, art and design history and criticism, and a four-course disciplinary concentration in one area such as Ceramics, Drawing, Graphic Design, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, and Sculpture. Students majoring in art are encouraged to explore other knowledge areas through a double major and/or minors. NOTE: For GRAPHIC DESIGN CONCENTRATION requirements, scroll further down the page.

Student Learning Outcomes:

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

• Apply technical skills and the elements of art and principles of design to achieve basic visual communication and expression in one or more media.
• Identify and holistically discuss major works of art through formal and conceptual analysis, socio-historical contextualization, and interpretation.
• Identify and demonstrate ways to utilize and apply their skills and abilities to postgraduate professional practices.
• Make viable connections between concept and form/media.
• Create works of art and/or design that respond to contemporary, relevant issues inside and/or outside of the discipline.

This major allows a typical student to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology from SUNY Brockport upon the satisfactory completion of all program requirements. A typical student fulfills the General Education and major requirements during the first three years. The fourth year, Clinical Year, is completed at an approved clinical site (Hospital/Medical Lab) and includes both theoretical study and practical work. The BS in Medical Technology is awarded upon the satisfactory completion of these program requirements. Completing the Clinical Year (sometime referred to as internship) makes the student eligible to take the National Registry Examination, which the student must pass to be certified as a Registered Medical Technologist.

Student Learning Outcomes

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

• Define and accurately use biological terminology and nomenclature.
• Evaluate and analyze biological problems using knowledge of cell structure and function.
• Integrate interdisciplinary concepts to assess tissues, organs and systems.
• Evaluate and analyze biological problems using knowledge of genetics and evolution.
• Compare and contrast origins and diversity of life to explain life processes.
• Competently employ common laboratory equipment.
• Analyze and interpret scientific data, using relevant computer skills.
• Use quantitative reasoning to analyze complex biological problems.
• Apply biological knowledge to societal issues.
• Apply clinical knowledge of Medical Technology as demonstrated by satisfactory score on the New York State Licensure Examination.

The English Major Adolescent Education Track leads to initial certification as a teacher of English in grades 5-12. It enables students to prepare for the English CST alone, without the requirements related to the SWD Generalist certification. Students in this track may pursue either the Literature or Creative Writing concentrations.

The English major is designed for students who wish to pursue a passion for reading and writing, and for those who seek a versatile education as they prepare for careers in education, law, business administration, public relations, advertising, government, or any field where analytical excellence and effective use of the English language are essential. English majors choose between a literature or creative writing concentration, where their course work is designed to develop analytical, research, and creative skills.

The major in English Adolescent Education (EAE) includes 36-39 credits of EDI/PRO courses and 36 credits to complete the English major. It is designed so that students can complete the program in 120 credits, including the required 32-35 credits of General Education courses. This allows students the flexibility of taking up to 13 credits of electives. This curriculum meets the requirements for initial certification as outlined by the State Education Department for Adolescent Education (grades 5 through 12). Students will have an assigned advisor in the English department who will work closely with colleagues in the Department of Education.

Student Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of the program,

Creative Writing Track students will be able to:

• Analyze the relationship between literary form and meaning, taking into consideration literary techniques and devices.
• Construct arguments about literary works using historical contexts.
• Apply basic elements of creative writing craft, including such elements as control of form and figurative language.
• Identify reputable and relevant sources, and incorporate the words and ideas of others without misrepresentation and with appropriate documentation practices.
• Write in conformity with standard usage and grammar.

Literature Track students will be able to:

• Analyze the relationship between literary form and meaning, taking into consideration literary techniques and devices.
• Construct arguments about literary works using historical contexts.
• Argue with a command of the rhetorical strategies, terms, and major interpretive methods characteristic of academic writing in the Humanities.
• Identify reputable and relevant sources, and incorporate the words and ideas of others without misrepresentation and with appropriate documentation practices.
• Write in conformity with standard usage and grammar.

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.

Environmental problems are among the most urgent issues facing our civilization. In order to manage Earth's environment well, we must understand the processes that shape its surface; control the chemistry of its air, water and soil; and produce and maintain biological and other resources upon which humans depend. We must also understand the ecological interactions of animals, plants and other living organisms with their physical and chemical environments.

Through a curriculum with a common core in biology, ecology, chemistry and geology, and a track with a more specialized focus, Environmental Science majors develop the conceptual knowledge and technical skills necessary to address environmental problems.

Six tracks are offered in the Environmental Science major: aquatic ecology/biology, terrestrial ecology/biology, combined aquatic and terrestrial ecology/biology, wetland ecology, environmental chemical analysis, and earth science.

Student Learning Outcomes:

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

• Explain basic environmental science topics and policies, biological processes, and ecological principles.
• Design scientific studies and quantify and characterize natural phenomena using laboratory and field equipment.
• Summarize, analyze, and interpret scientific data, using relevant quantitative skills and applying major environmental concepts.
• Summarize, organize, and communicate scientific data and analyses in oral/or written formats.
• Employ decision-making and problem-solving skills, such as evaluating competing explanations or applying scientific knowledge to environmental problems.
• Develop professional skills necessary to succeed in the environmental science and ecology fields.

Our accounting major can take you in a wide variety of career directions, including:

• Public Accounting
• Non-profit/Government Accounting
• Corporate Accounting

Our accounting professions seminar prepares you for the extensive recruiting activities that annually occur on campus.

Qualified undergraduates can also take advantage of our one-year MS in Accounting program, granting them the necessary 150 credit hours to become eligible for the CPA license.

Our accounting program is accredited and registered with the New York State Board of Education.

What You’ll Learn

You will gain a strong foundation in accurately reporting financial data and utilizing this information to evaluate and make strategic business decisions. Our students complete specialized coursework in accounting software and learn about the current regulatory environment.