University-Wide and Independent Offerings
Interdisciplinary Certificates
Special Programs and Opportunities
University-Wide Undergraduate Courses
Interdisciplinary Certificates
Global Studies Integrated Curriculum
The Global Studies Integrated Curriculum (GSIC), established in 2001, is a multidisciplinary concentration available to undergraduate students at Binghamton University in every school and major. GSIC is not an independent major; to receive a notation of the GSIC concentration on their final transcript, graduates must satisfy the requirements for one or more undergraduate majors plus the GSIC requirements, which include intensive study of language and culture and global studies (GLST) electives. Accordingly, the GSIC concentration furthers the University’s commitment to internationalization in its educational and research missions (see listing for the graduate certificate program in global studies).
The GSIC is administered by a committee chaired by a director who, with his or her colleagues, is available to mentor participating students. The GSIC requirements (40 total credit hours) are comparable to those of undergraduate majors across the campus. Not counting the language requirement, GSIC students need take only one GLST course per semester in order to complete the program in four years.
Requirements
Each year the GSIC program is built around a particular theme, the “Global Studies Theme of the Year” (in 2003-04, the theme was “labor”; in 2004-05 it will be “human rights”). There are four kinds of requirements in the GSIC program, two of which involve specially designed courses in which students explore the “Theme of the Year.”
• GLST 201/301. Global Studies Foundation Course: at least four credits
• Global Studies Electives: 24 credits in approved courses (including up to eight additional credits of GLST 201/301, at least 16 credits at or above the 300 level and no more than eight credits from a single discipline). Note that electives are not marked as such in the Course Guide. Students should consult the list of approved courses available on the GSIC website (gsic.binghamton.edu) or see the GSIC director for guidance. Study abroad is not an obligatory part of GSIC, but the study-abroad experience provides an excellent opportunity to students to take courses that may qualify as electives, with the consent of the director of GSIC.
• Global Studies Language Requirement: Eight credits in intermediate or higher language instruction or use (with various options)
• GLST 490. Global Studies Capstone Project: four credits
Description of Courses
Global Studies 201/301
The global studies foundation course is offered every year, normally in the fall semester, to provide a multidisciplinary approach to the “Theme of the Year.” It is also cross-listed in at least one department or program and counts toward the relevant majors. The course always satisfies the G (Global Interdependencies) designation under the General Education program; it may also satisfy other General Education criteria. Because the theme and instructor are new every year, the course is unique on campus in that it may be taken more than once; in fact, it qualifies as an elective for up to eight credits beyond the requirement. The course is also unique in that it may be taken for varying credit and, in some years, at different levels. It is expected that successive GLST foundation courses will be generated from different schools of the University and different divisions of Harpur College.
GLST Electives
Selected from the Global Interdependencies (“G”) courses of the University’s General Education program, approved courses focus primarily on global issues and include multiple (including non-Western and post-colonial) perspectives on one or more such issues. There may often be a comparative dimension, but always within the framework of a worldwide rather than regionally selective view of cultural, ecological, economic and other interdependencies relevant to the global issues discussed in a given course. With the approval of the GSIC Committee, study-abroad (see previous section) and other credit-bearing intercultural experiences, including internships, may also count as GSIC electives, as may “cross-cultural setting” courses relevant to an individual student’s GSIC emphasis (e.g. the geography, history or literature of a student’s chosen language and culture).
Language Requirement
A crucial part of the program is the achievement of expertise in a language other than English and in a related culture or cultures. Participants are especially encouraged to take advantage of study-abroad opportunities in order to develop familiarity with other languages and cultures.
The GSIC offers two main options, each with some flexibility, for the satisfaction of the language requirement:
Option 1: Eight credits of foreign language study beyond the first-year level, or tested advanced-level proficiency plus four credits in language, literature or culture (as required for the International Studies Certificate; see “Graduate Certificate Program in Global Studies”).
Option 2: Students who enter with three or more years of high school language study may, with prior consultation and approval, satisfy up to half (four credits) of this language requirement by participating in such activities as Languages Across the Curriculum, study abroad and intercultural internships, at a rate of one to two credits for each such activity, provided that the activity includes substantial, documentable and meaningful use of the student’s chosen language.
GLST 490
When sufficient students are eligible, the Capstone Seminar is designed to bring GSIC concentrators together to draw on their various majors, languages and cultures in the study and discussion of global problems within the scope of the year’s global studies theme. When the Capstone Seminar is given, students work in teams, representing different kinds of expertise and background, to explore participant-identified problems related to the GSIC “Theme of the Year.” In years when resources and student numbers do not allow the provision of such a seminar, senior students are placed in an advanced course, typically given by a member of the GSIC committee, in which the theme of the year is at the center of the discussions.
International Studies Certificate Program (ISCP)
Students desiring to complete a certificate in international studies may obtain information and the application form from the coordinator in the Office of International Programs, Nelson A. Rockefeller Center, G-1.
The requirements follow:
• Foreign Language: Eight credits of foreign language at the intermediate level or higher. As an alternative, proven advanced oral and written proficiency in a language other than English (as determined by a proficiency examination with approval of the coordinator) and one course (four credits) in language, literature or culture, taken in residency at Binghamton University.
• International Focus Distribution Courses (non-language skills): Eight credits in multicultural disciplinary areas, selected in consultation with the coordinator. For language majors, these courses must be outside the major.
• Experiential Learning: A minimum of six weeks of either (a) university-level study abroad or (b) a work internship (in the U.S. or abroad and with the approval of the coordinator) in a setting where knowledge of a second language in addition to the student’s first language is useful and/or cross-cultural skills are essential.
• Independent Study: One credit. The candidate must submit a personal statement (five to eight pages minimum) reflecting upon the significance of the student’s certificate experience. The independent study supervisor is either the international studies certificate program coordinator, the ISCP adviser from the respective school or a faculty sponsor from the student’s major or concentration.
Special Programs and Opportunities
Experiential Education
Experiential education is learning by doing. It provides an environment in which students may put theory into practice. Many forms of experiential education are offered at Binghamton University, such as internships, volunteerism, fieldwork, projects, laboratory or clinical experience, service learning, studio experience, simulations and student teaching.
Experience prior to graduation helps students develop skills, explore career options, develop contacts, enhance a résumé, gain experience and test interests.
A number of different areas on campus offer information about experiential education opportunities, including the Career Development Center (cdc.binghamton.edu, 607-777-2400; credit and non-credit internships, experiential opportunities, volunteer opportunities, international experiences and summer opportunities), Off Campus College (occ.binghamton.edu, 607-777-4273; credit-bearing internships, summer internships, and volunteer and community service opportunities), the Office of International Programs (oip.binghamton.edu, 607-777-2336; study-abroad opportunities) and individual departments. Many departments offer experiential opportunities, such as for-credit internships.
For more information, contact the experiential education coordinator in the Career Development Center at 607-777-2400.
Languages Across the Curriculum Program
Binghamton University’s Languages Across the Curriculum (LxC) Program provides unique opportunities for students to apply and enhance their existing skills in languages other than English, in courses outside of the language departments. The primary premise of the LxC program is that foreign languages should be actively used throughout the University and that their use should be linked to students’ disciplinary interests.
Since 1991, LxC has supported undergraduate courses in all three divisions of Binghamton University’s Harpur College of Arts and Sciences — Humanities, Science and Mathematics, and Social Sciences; graduate and undergraduate courses in the international business and accounting programs of the School of Management; and undergraduate courses in the Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science. Supported languages in one or more of these courses have included Cantonese, French, Gaelic, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Turkish. Students may contact the Languages Across the Curriculum office to request a list of courses offering an LxC option. The list of LxC-supported courses is also posted on the program’s website at lxc.binghamton.edu.
Faculty who choose to offer LxC options to their students design their courses so that LxC assignments may replace a certain percentage of regular coursework or serve as the basis of a group presentation or paper. Language resource specialists, who are selected for their linguistic background and disciplinary expertise, prepare LxC assignments utilizing non-English resource materials. The language resource specialists lead study groups in which they help participating students understand the foreign-language materials and relate them to the course content. The extent to which the designated language is spoken in a Languages Across the Curriculum study group is based entirely on the proficiency levels of the participating students.
LxC study groups meet one hour per week for 10 weeks, outside of regular class or discussion section meetings. Except for the weekly study group meeting, the workload for students participating in LxC is normally the same as the workload for non-participating students. Students who choose to enroll in an LxC study group receive a zero-credit transcript notation indicating the language and course of their completed study-group participation.
Study-Abroad Programs
Binghamton University encourages students to study abroad as valuable preparation for an increasingly interdependent world. Study-abroad programs provide opportunities to live and learn in societies around the globe. Semester, academic year, summer or short study tours may be selected. Many disciplines are represented, and study in the major is normally possible and encouraged. Graduate study may be possible at some sites.
Binghamton University currently sponsors the programs listed below on an
ongoing basis. For details, see oip. binghamton.edu.
Australia
Murdoch University
Austria
German Language and Culture in Graz
Belize
Service Learning Internships
China
Total Art of Chinese Theater Summer Program
Dominican Republic
Decker School of Nursing Summer Program
England
Lancaster University
The London School of Economics and
Political Science
Philosophy, Politics and Law in Britain
Semester in London Program
University of Bath
University of East Anglia
University of Nottingham
France
French Language and Liberal Arts at the University of Paris (Sorbonne)
Germany
University of Leipzig
Grenada
The Tides That Bind Us Summer Program
Italy
University of Trento
Jamaica
Tropical Marine Biology Study Tour
Morocco
Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane
Scotland
University of Edinburgh
Senegal
School of Education and Human Development Cross-Cultural Perspectives Study Tour
Spain
Summer Language, Literature and Culture in Madrid
Summer Internships in Madrid
Turkey
Bosphorus University
Various Countries
Latin American and Caribbean Area Studies Field Research Program
Binghamton students may also study abroad on programs sponsored by other campuses of the State University of New York. Credits are normally transferable to Binghamton. Cooperative policies within SUNY allow students to maintain their residency on such programs. Students are urged to begin planning for study abroad as early as possible, ideally in the freshman year. For further information, contact the Office of International Programs (OIP), Nelson A. Rockefeller Center, G-1.
University Summer Session
The Summer Session is composed of three terms within a 10-week period (Term I, late May-June; Term II, July-August; Term III, variable dates) during which a wide variety of both traditionally taught and distance education courses is scheduled in most upper- and lower-division areas of the University curriculum. A Summer Session website (summer.binghamton.edu) and Bulletin list the courses to be offered. Students may earn up to 16 hours of academic credit (a maximum of eight credits in Term I and maximum of eight credits in Term II, excluding physical education credits). Binghamton University students are eligible to apply for the Tuition Assistance Program if they are matriculated, enrolled in at least six credit hours and are New York state residents. Students may also apply for a Federal Direct Loan if they are registered at least half time. The director of Continuing Education & Outreach (located in the Public Service Programs Center) administers Summer Session. Continuing Education & Outreach is also the central advising office for all non-matriculated undergraduates (known as Continuing Education undergraduate students) enrolled at Binghamton University, including Summer Session non-matriculated (Continuing Education) students.
University-Wide Courses
University-wide courses, offered under the UNIV rubric, are credit-bearing courses whose subject matter is not accommodated in existing University departments or schools. UNIV courses are open to all undergraduate students, regardless of school.
Students may count no more than eight credits of UNIV courses toward graduation.
Course Offerings
UNIV 395. SCHOLARS III: WORLDS OF EXPERIENCE 2-4 cr.
A topics course for students enrolled in the Binghamton University Scholars Program. Under the sponsorship and supervision of faculty, students choose one experiential learning activity from a variety of credit-bearing internships and applied-learning venues, including field study, some facets of study abroad, applied research, clinical experience, community service, studio experience in the arts, laboratory research assistantships and student teaching. Before registering, students must complete and file an application with the Scholars Program Office and obtain approval of the director of the Scholars Program.