Academic Program Templates

Undergraduate Academic Program Template

Graduate Academic Program Template

The templates below are designed to facilitate the creation of degree program pages for the Academic Guide. It is our hope that this creates a uniform and professional set of pages for the Guide while still allowing enough flexibility for each program to convey its necessary information to students and highlight the benefits of study in that program. Each section of the template includes information to guide writers on what information should and should not be included in each section. If you have any questions, feel free to email us at undergraded@binghamton.edu.

Below are the templates for Undergraduate Programs and Graduate Programs. There are no templates for 4+1/Combined programs or minors. Please copy and paste the templates into a word processor to create your Guide page. Headings with a * next to them are required formatting and will be pre-made on your Guide page in the Catalog software.

Undergraduate Program Template:

Title of Program (ex. Biological Sciences BS)*

Brief information about the program in the description section in the 鈥淓dit鈥 section of the program page. This is the only information that should be included in this section. The rest of the program page will utilize the 鈥淐ores鈥 feature.

DO:

  • Include a brief description of the major (3-4 sentences) (ex. Anthropology is the study of XYZ. Anthropology students learn skills A, B, and C during their course of study. This program prepares students for careers in鈥)
  • Mention any subfields of study (ex. Students who pick this major can concentrate in two specializations: x and y)
  • Include information mandated to be in this section by professional groups, SUNY, etc.
  • If there is more than one undergraduate program (ex. a BA and a BFA), you may include a link to the other program鈥檚 page at the end of the information section.

顿翱狈鈥橳:

  • List program mission statements, philosophies, etc.
  • Include marketing or promotional material
  • Include information already found in the program鈥檚 student handbook or website

The following sections are 鈥淐ores鈥 in the program page directly following the above section.

Program Admission Requirements

This section may not be necessary for all programs. Only include this section if the program has special admission requirements. Some examples include:

  • Students must be of junior status to apply to the program
  • Students must complete X credit hours before applying to the program
  • Students must submit a separate application with the department to be considered for the program

Program Requirements*

University General Education Requirements*

This information will be included as a shared core and will not be editable:

All 黑料不打烊 undergraduate students are required to fulfill this set of university-wide requirements to ensure that every graduate acquires the essential core of a SUNY university undergraduate education. Please refer to the General Education page for more information.

X College/School Requirements

This section may not be necessary for all programs. Include this section if your school/college has special requirements that every student in that school/college must meet. These requirements will be included as a shared core in Catalog. For example, if your program is part of Harpur College, the Harpur College Requirements shared core will go here.

Major Requirements*

Please Note: For providing course requirements for the major, please use a bulleted list of course requirements or the 鈥渢ypical four-year plan鈥 chart, both of which are shown below. You may use both of these formats if you wish, though we recommend using only one.

DO NOT:

  • Include lists of example courses that can fulfill a course requirement (ex. One 300 level course, such as: list of courses)
  • List course requirements in paragraphs, they should be bulleted lists or by-year chart format using the 鈥渃ourses鈥 or 鈥渁d-hoc text鈥 function.

The Prerequisites and Course Requirements sections are sub-cores beneath the Major Requirements Core.

Prerequisites

If your program has any required prerequisites that students must fulfill before entering the program or beginning their major coursework, please list those here.

Course Requirements*

Use the 鈥渃ourses鈥 function of the 鈥淐ores鈥 feature to provide a list of the course requirements to fulfill the major. You may use the 鈥淒escription鈥 section of the 鈥淓dit鈥 section to include any crucial information (such as 鈥淪tudents must fulfill the following general requirements and then choose a specialization:") The Course Requirements section may look similar to the following:

Students must fulfill the following requirements for the X major:

Core X Requirements:

  • Course 1
  • Course 2
  • Two courses from the following list:
    • Course 1
    • Course 2
    • Course 3

Upper-Division Requirement:

  • Four (16 credits) 300 and/or 400 level courses
  • Either of the following course sequences:
    • Course sequence 1; OR
    • Course sequence 2

As an alternative to the above, you may use a four-year curricular plan rather than a list of courses, such as:

Typical X Four-Year Plan (ex. Typical Biological Sciences BS Four-Year Plan)*

The following four-year curricular plan provides a sample roadmap for completing the BA/BS/etc. degree in X program. Please note that while the following plan is the typical progression of courses, your actual course progression may vary. Students are strongly recommended to consult with their advisor throughout their study at 黑料不打烊 to ensure they can complete their degree on time.

First Year

Fall Semester (16 credits total)

  • Course 1
  • Course 2
  • Course 3
  • Course 4

Spring Semester (16 credits total)

  • Course 1
  • Course 2
  • Course 3
  • Course 4

Second Year

Fall Semester (16 credits total)

  • Course 1*
  • Course 2
  • Course 3
  • Course 4

Spring Semester (16 credits total)

  • Course 1*
  • Course 2
  • Course 3
  • Course 4

Notes:

* Use stars when appropriate to indicate further course information (ex. *course only offered in spring semester)

Additional Information About the Program*

This is the final core included in the program page.

DO INCLUDE:

  • Grading policies that differ from the college/school/university鈥檚 policies (ex. Restrictions on taking pass/fail to satisfy requirements that are unique to the specific program)
  • Residency Requirements
  • Special program requirements such as internships, clinics, field-work, etc.
  • Professional certification/licensure requirements
  • Any further steps students must take to receive their degree that is not listed above and is specific to the individual program
  • Link to accreditation information page

DO NOT INCLUDE:

  • General university policies and procedures, including grading scales
  • Anything already included in the program or department student handbook that they are required to read. DO direct students to that publication for more information in this section
  • Core values, mission statements, and/or marketing and promotional materials
  • A list of courses offered by the department to satisfy degree requirements
  • Honors requirements. These are now found on the Department's page in the Guide

At end of program description, include:

For more information on the X BA/BS/etc. program, please refer to the X website. To apply to the X BA/BS program, please visit the University Admissions website.

Graduate Academic Program Template:

Title of Program (ex. Biological Sciences, MS)*

Note: While this template includes information for both Master and Doctoral programs, each degree program will have its own page in the Guide. Master and Doctoral program information should not be on the same page.

Brief information about the program.

DO:

  • Include a brief description of the program in 3-5 sentences
  • Mention any subfields of study (ex. Students in the PhD program choose from four subfields to specialize in: A, B, C, and D.)
  • Include information mandated to be in this section by professional groups, SUNY, etc.

顿翱狈鈥橳:

  • List program mission statements, core values, etc.
  • Include marketing or promotional material
  • Include information already found in the program鈥檚 student handbook or website

Program Admission Requirements

Include a brief list of the material that needs to be submitted for admission to the Master/Doctoral program. Please include at the beginning if students are not directly admitted into the program. This section may not be necessary.

Program Requirements*

This section should include a list of requirements students must fulfill to earn the degree. This should include course requirements, exam requirements, thesis or practicum requirements, etc. Below are examples of information that would fit into this section. The requirements should be presented in chronological order as to when they need to be fulfilled.

Course Requirements*

Include a list of course requirements needed to earn the degree. The following is an example:

Students pursuing the PhD in X must take the required four semesters of coursework, which includes:

  • Three Core Courses in X
  • Two Core Courses in your chosen specialty
  • 16 Credits of Elective courses

The exact mix of courses and the distribution requirements are determined in consultation with a student鈥檚 general guidance committee.

Foreign Language/Performance/Other Requirement

Include information about requirements such as foreign language(s) that the student needs to earn the degree, music performance requirements, and any other similar program requirements.

Choosing Advisors

Include brief information as to when advisors and committees are chosen and how.

Master鈥檚 Colloquium

Include 2-3 sentences about any colloquium requirements (ex. In their third semester, students are expected to take HIST 680 for their colloquium course鈥).

Exam Requirements

Include 3-5 sentences about exams, such as qualification or comprehensive exams (ex. PhD students are required to take two comprehensive exams in their third year of study. The first is a research paper, presented at the end of the Fall Semester of their third year. The second is a written exam administered by the department in the beginning of the Spring Semester of their third year鈥).

Thesis/Practicum Requirement

Include 3-5 sentences about any thesis requirements.

Additional Information About the Program*

DO INCLUDE:

  • Grading policies that differ from the college/school/university鈥檚 policies (ex. Restrictions on taking pass/fail to satisfy requirements that are unique to the program)
  • Residency Requirements
  • Special program requirements such as internships, clinics, field-work, etc.
    Professional certification/licensure requirements
  • Funding opportunities that are program (not department) specific.
  • Any further steps students must take to receive their degree in X that are not listed above
  • Link to accreditation information page

DON鈥橳 INCLUDE:

  • General university policies and procedures, including grading scales
  • Anything already included in the program or department student handbook that they are required to read. DO direct students to that publication for more information in this section
  • Core values, mission statements, and/or marketing and promotional materials

At end of program description, include:

For more information on the X MA/PhD/etc. program, please refer to the X department website. To apply to the X MA/PhD program, please visit the University Admissions website.