Bachelor of Science in Physics (STEM)

at State University of New York College at Brockport USA

Political Science is the study of the state and of power relations within and among states, as they are and as they ought to be. It seeks a better understanding of political and governmental behavior and institutions in order to enable society to use its collective resources more effectively for the general welfare. The principal sub-fields of the discipline are: American politics, comparative politics, international relations and political theory.

Student Learning Outcomes:

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

• Students should have a college level understanding of American Government
• Students should have a fundamental understanding of the politics of at least 1 country/region/ system of government outside of the US
• Students will have a working familiarity with social science methodologies common to PLS/INS (including Theory and Quantitative methods)
• Students should have writing and speaking skills commensurate with BA/BS at SUNY Brockport

An in-depth understanding of mathematics is of great importance to many careers in our technologically complex society. Moreover, the study of mathematics promotes analytical and critical thinking skills, and therefore is a valuable part of any program of study. The major in mathematics is designed to provide the knowledge and skills necessary to pursue graduate study or to support career goals in a range of professions. Recent graduates who have majored in mathematics have found rewarding careers in business, teaching, computing, government, law, engineering, actuarial science and medicine. A study of mathematics is a natural complement to the study of physics, chemistry, biochemistry, biology, earth science, business, economics, computer science, philosophy, and the social sciences. Mathematics is also a fitting major for pre-law and pre-med students.

To complete a major in mathematics, students take 10 required courses that provide a thorough foundation in several central areas of mathematics, a computer science course that emphasizes the design of algorithms, and a minimum of three advanced courses chosen to give special depth in at least one area.

More details concerning the mathematics major, including sample programs of study and information on advisement for majors, student awards, computing facilities, library holdings, and the Mathematics Club, can be found in the department website.

Student Learning Outcomes

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

• Discuss and utilize mathematics as an intellectual discipline, including its problems, algorithms, and applications.
• Carry out the creative and explorative processes of mathematics, including conjecture, generalization, and the construction of mathematically rigorous proofs.
• Use mathematics to model and analyze real world problems, and utilize technology as appropriate to help solve mathematical problems and judge the reasonableness of results.
• Communicate mathematics effectively.
• Actively engage with mathematics beyond the classroom.

SUNY Brockport's Theatre program is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Theatre.

In an alliance with Geva Theatre Center, Rochester's leading professional theatre, professionals teach at the College, a Directing Fellow directs an annual production at Brockport, and theatre students enjoy increased opportunities to participate in internships, and to attend Geva productions.

The Department of Theatre and Music Studies is committed to providing its students with theatre training within a liberal arts environment. The department is focused on student learning acquired through classes and productions as its highest priority, and is dedicated to upholding the integrity of theatre as it fosters an artistic environment that nurtures developing theatre artists, scholars and technicians. Theatre education is relevant in many applications and is useful to people in many different occupations.

The department is committed to sustaining a vital artistic synergy with the surrounding community and the greater society through productions and other theatrical and musical presentations by its students, faculty and guest artists.

Student Learning Outcomes:

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

• Analyze and discuss theatrical activity within an historical perspective
• Analyze and research a theatrical text
• Apply critical thinking skills to the discipline of theatre
• Discuss a broad range of dramatic literature
• Apply skill in the craft of theatre/creation/production
• Collaborate in the creation/production of theatre
• Apply appropriate theatrical protocol

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

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.

As the nations of the world become more interconnected and interdependent, proficiency in other languages is a vital skill that allows you to engage with the world in a more immediate and meaningful way. French language and culture studies prepare you for future opportunities to compete and succeed in the global economy. Through interdisciplinary instruction and the development of intercultural understanding, our curriculum is designed to help you become proficient in French and prepares you to reach your career aspirations in your chosen field of interest. We encourage our students to double major and to participate in study abroad programs in French-speaking countries sponsored by the Center for Global Education and Engagement.

The French major consists of 33 credits and enables students to acquire an advanced level of proficiency in the language. Literature and culture courses are designed to provide a historical, political and social overview of the French-speaking world. All courses are taught in French unless otherwise noted. As with all other undergraduate degrees, students in this major must also complete the General Education program requirements.

Recent Modern Languages and Cultures' graduates have gone on to highly competitive Master's and PhD programs in Higher Education Administration, TESOL, French Literature, and Counseling at recognized research universities. Others have joined the workforce as Bilingual, French, and Spanish elementary and high-school teachers in Rochester and around NY state, ESL teachers for adult learners, translators, interpreters for defense attorneys, social workers, law enforcement officers, and health professionals.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of a baccalaureate degree in French, graduates will be able to:

• Narrate and describe using a variety of time frames, extended discourse, and specialized vocabulary.
• Deliver oral presentations on a wide variety of topics, using a variety of strategies to tailor the presentation to the needs of their audience.
• Narrate and describe in all major time frames with good control of aspect and a range of general vocabulary in writing for personal and professional needs.
• Identify the main facts and many supporting details in conventional narrative and descriptive oral texts.
• Identify some of the essential points of argumentative texts in areas of special interest or knowledge.
• Explain key perspectives of some French-speaking cultures within a comparative framework and connect them to cultural products and practices.
• Interpret and synthesize ideas and critical issues from a wide range of historical and contemporary cultural artifacts.

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 its air, water and soil chemistry; and produce the biological and other resources upon which humans depend. We must also understand the interactions of animals, plants, and other living organisms with their physical and chemical environments.

The Master of Science in Environmental Science and Ecology is a demanding, thesis-based experience. The curriculum is designed to challenge students to think critically, independently, and creatively, while providing the intellectual depth and breadth necessary to support the research formally developed in the thesis proposal. The curriculum, with a common core and an individual course of study, allows graduate candidates to develop the conceptual knowledge and technical skills necessary to understand and solve environmental problems in ecology, chemistry, and the earth sciences. The fields of study encompassed by the program include:

• "Green" and water chemistry
• Watershed analysis
• Limnology
• Fisheries and wildlife science and management
• Conservation biology
• Wetland ecology
• Ecosystem ecology and global change
• Aquaculture

Graduates in environmental science and biology have been very successful in gaining admission to doctoral programs or finding professional employment in their chosen field.

Student Learning Outcomes

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

• Explain advanced environmental science topics and policies, biological processes, and ecological principles.
• Design and execute an original research study involving data collection.
• 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.

An in-depth understanding of mathematics is of great importance to many careers in our technologically complex society. Moreover, the study of mathematics promotes analytical and critical thinking skills, and therefore is a valuable part of any program of study. The major in mathematics is designed to provide the knowledge and skills necessary to pursue graduate study or to support career goals in a range of professions. Recent graduates who have majored in mathematics have found rewarding careers in business, teaching, computing, government, law, engineering, actuarial science and medicine. A study of mathematics is a natural complement to the study of physics, chemistry, biochemistry, biology, earth science, business, economics, computer science, philosophy, and the social sciences. Mathematics is also a fitting major for pre-law and pre-med students.

To complete a major in mathematics, students take 10 required courses that provide a thorough foundation in several central areas of mathematics, a computer science course that emphasizes the design of algorithms, and a minimum of three advanced courses chosen to give special depth in at least one area.

More details concerning the mathematics major, including sample programs of study and information on advisement for majors, student awards, computing facilities, library holdings, and the Mathematics Club, can be found in the department website.

Student Learning Outcomes

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

• Discuss and utilize mathematics as an intellectual discipline, including its problems, algorithms, and applications.
• Carry out the creative and explorative processes of mathematics, including conjecture, generalization, and the construction of mathematically rigorous proofs.
• Use mathematics to model and analyze real world problems, and utilize technology as appropriate to help solve mathematical problems and judge the reasonableness of results.
• Communicate mathematics effectively.
• Actively engage with mathematics beyond the classroom.

The study of History promotes the knowledge, breadth of perspective, intellectual growth, and skills essential to achieving career success, leading a purposeful life, and exercising responsible citizenship. History majors develop strong critical thinking, research, communication and problem-solving skills that prepare them to succeed in a wide range of rewarding careers, including law, teaching, business, entrepreneurship, public administration, journalism, information technology/library science, publishing, urban and regional planning, social work, and government.

The Department of History offers students a comprehensive range of courses that covers the world across all time periods and features a diverse array of topics. In addition, it offers professional development courses that help students reflect on how the study of history can help serve their personal and professional goals after graduation. The History major is flexible, allowing students to select classes that match their interests, and at 36 credits enables students to complete other majors or minors that complement the History degree. This flexibility also allows majors the opportunity to broaden their horizons through study abroad and to explore future career paths through internships coordinated through the Department of History.

Students who want to teach history at the middle or high school level should enroll in the Social Studies Inclusive Education (SSI) major, which leads to certification as both a Social Studies and Special Education teacher, or the Social Studies Education (SSE) major, which leads to certification solely as a Social Studies teacher. 

Student Learning Outcomes:

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

• Articulate a thesis in response to a historical problem
• Advance in logical sequence principal arguments in defense of a historical thesis.
• Provide relevant evidence in defense of a historical thesis.
• Evaluate the significance of a historical thesis by relating it to a broader field of historical knowledge.
• Express themselves clearly in writing that forwards a historical analysis.
• Use disciplinary standards (Chicago Style) of documentation when referencing historical sources.

The Communication Studies major explores human communication in a variety of contexts, including interpersonal, professional, public, mediated, and cross-cultural settings, and examines the social influence of language and media. Students investigate a variety of communication practices with learning experiences in theory, history, criticism, application, and performance.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of the Communication Major, students will be able to:

• Speak well: Deliver an extemporaneous presentation that meets the needs of a given speaking situation and audience.
• Integrate multiple perspectives: Integrate multiple Communication theories/concepts to analyze and recommend multiple solutions for a socially significant communication problem, case, or situation.
• Advance quality arguments: Advance a sequence of evidence based arguments to support a given position.
• Write well: Write clearly and at a level appropriate to a given audience.
• Critically Evaluate: Critically evaluate a communication message using relevant theories/concepts.
• Demonstrate influence: Demonstrate influence strategies to address relevant social problems.