The areas of study and concentration guidelines identify the knowledge expectations of academic and/or professional fields for the university's 12 individualized degrees.   Students use the guidelines to develop their degrees so that they include both expected knowledge and currency in their field. The guidelines are not names of specific courses; instead, they identify knowledge expectations that are included in multiple courses and in multiple ways.

A student’s degree represents a body of knowledge that has been acquired. If a student chooses to design a degree with a concentration, his or her mentor helps develop a concentration title that accurately represents a focus that fits within the particular area of study.

In planning a degree, the student’s mentor helps interpret the guidelines. When the degree program is submitted for approval it goes through faculty and university-level review processes; the guidelines will be used as the basis for the review of the degree design and concentration. In the degree program rationale, the student explains how studies address the area of study and where necessary, concentration guidelines, as well as the university’s learning goals and degree requirements.

THE AREA OF STUDY GUIDELINES FRAMEWORKS

Each area of study guideline is written broadly to represent a body of knowledge expected within that field. The guidelines will help to structure the degree with the student’s goals in mind. Degrees fall into one of five general structures or frameworks:

1. Disciplinary – a program of study guided by the existing framework of a discipline. Degrees designed around this framework are similar in design to programs of study at other institutions.
2. Interdisciplinary – a program of study that simultaneously interrelates two or more disciplines. Degrees designed around this framework draw upon the methods and bodies of knowledge of multiple disciplines to think across boundaries.
3. Problem Oriented – a program of study designed around a problem. Degrees designed around this framework examine a significant issue in depth from multiple perspectives.
4. Professional/Vocational – a program of study that focuses on acquiring knowledge and skills needed for specific career performance and applications. Degrees designed around this framework explore the conceptual foundations of the profession, the role of the professional in that career, and the relations between the profession and society at large.
5. Thematic – a program of study focusing on a particular theme or set of ideas. Degrees designed around this framework trace the development of a theme or idea, or explore various aspects of a theme to examine its cultural and intellectual influence.

CONCENTRATIONS AND GENERAL LEARNING

Individualized degree programs at Empire State University divide learning into two major categories: concentrations and general learning. A student's concentration may be a focused, in-depth study of a discipline (for example, economics, physics, political science); an interrelated study of two or more disciplines; the study of a problem or a theme; or study in preparation for a profession or vocation.

Because it requires serious, focused learning and implies a degree of competence in an area, a bachelor’s degree concentration should contain at least 24 to 41 credits of study. Generally, no more than half of the total number of degree credits should be in the concentration. An associate degree can have a concentration but does not need to.

Professional areas regulated by State Education Law (e.g., engineering) are not included in SUNY Empire's range of concentrations. The area of study guidelines are included in this catalog (see page 25). For detailed information, including concentration guidelines and excluded concentration titles, see the Student Degree Planning Guide.

Degree programs also must contain general learning, a term used to describe learning outside of the concentration. General learning may support the concentration, may add breadth to the degree program and meet general education requirements, or may be in areas that are unrelated to the concentration but are of interest.

CONCENTRATION GUIDELINES AND TITLES

In addition to the broader, general area of study guidelines, several areas of studies have developed concentration guidelines that have specific meaning in the academic and professional worlds. These concentration guidelines also identify knowledge expectations rather than specific courses. Students can address these expectations through multiple studies and in multiple ways.

Many degrees that are designed around a disciplinary or professional/vocational framework use established concentration titles. For example, in the Business, Management and Economics area of study guidelines, there are specific concentration titles for Economics, Finance, Marketing and more. In the Science, Mathematics and Technology area of study guidelines, there are specific concentration titles for Biology, Mathematics, Information Systems, Computer Science and others.

In addition, students often design concentrations for which no specific guidelines exist. These students research their interests and explain their choices within their degree program rationale. Students can self-design their own concentration title using a disciplinary or professional/vocational framework, as long as the title is clear about the learning represented in the degree. If the degree is designed around an interdisciplinary, problem oriented or thematic framework, they will be designing his or her own concentration title. Many students decide to develop their own concentration titles, especially when they have significant advanced standing credits. This option provides flexibility in the degree program design. For example, if a student chooses to design a degree in business without including several of the topics listed in one of the concentration guidelines, he or she might select another framework and develop a title that better describes the degree program plan.

Restricted Concentration titles