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College of Liberal Arts, Sciences and Engineering

Pursuing a degree in the College of Liberal Arts, Sciences and Engineering at SUNY Oswego combines the best of an ancient tradition of learning with the knowledge and skills required for success in the 21st century.

The liberal arts denote an approach to education that hails from antiquity and prioritizes those areas of learning that are essential to full engagement in civic life.

These areas of learning are no less salient today, and our graduates must be prepared to meet the challenges and expectations of a fully globalized civil society and workforce.

Overview

The College of Liberal Arts, Sciences and Engineering (CLASE) is the largest academic division of SUNY Oswego, with 19 academic departments, 19 interdisciplinary programs and other resources that include Rice Creek Field Station. Along with bachelor's and master's degree programs, CLASE also is the academic home for undeclared students.

CLASE has more than 200 faculty members and offers unique opportunities for hands-on learning, including summer undergraduate research opportunities.

Mission statement

The College of Liberal Arts, Sciences and Engineering is an interactive, learning-centered community of teacher-scholars committed to high intellectual standards and to guiding our students as they apply the skills and knowledge of an education in the liberal arts and sciences to the needs of a changing and diverse world.

Through in-depth study in traditional and interdisciplinary programs, and a general education curriculum designed to meet 21st century learning needs, we prepare students to identify and develop productive solutions to the many challenges facing regional, national, and global civil society; communicate effectively in written, oral, and digital forms; and approach the world with a curious and critical spirit.

The CLASE Promise


At the College of Liberal Arts, Sciences, and Engineering, we guarantee every student a clear path, steady support, and real-world experiences that you can rely on from day one. Here’s our promise to you:

1. Guaranteed Mentorship
Every student has access to faculty mentors to guide your learning and an alumni mentor to open doors in your future career field.

2. Hands-On Learning in Every Major
Every CLASE student completes real-world projects, research, or creative work including a capstone that connects classroom learning to skills for your career. Every CLASE student has access to internships for course credit. You’ll graduate with a resume, not just a degree.

3. A Guided Four-Year Plan
Every major includes a four-year academic plan and a four-year learning experience map.  That way you always know what’s next and how each step moves you toward graduation and your career goals.

4. Career Support for Life.
From your first semester to your first promotion, and every step after, you have access to Oswego’s career coaching, a network of over 95,000 alumni, and job resources for life.

News

Soma Mei Sheng Frazier of English and creative writing is author of the acclaimed new novel Off the Books

Oswego professor honored to write newest ORI selection, ‘Off the Books’

Poet and Subnivean judge Chen Chen

Luminary poet Chen Chen, award-winning novelist Megan Mayhew-Bergman to judge SUNY Oswego contest

SUNY Oswego's Triandiflou Institute for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Transformative Practice proudly announced the appointment of Celinet Duran Jimenez as its newest Faculty Fellow.

Institute names Celinet Duran Jimenez as newest Faculty Fellow

Our programs

The College of Liberal Arts, Sciences and Engineering offers strong degree programs in traditional fields of inquiry across the humanities, social sciences, and STEM fields. Choose from 37 majors, 44 minors, 3 cooperative degree programs, honors programs, and several special-interest tracks.

Undecided? CLASE gives students up to two years to try different majors — so explore, take courses in different disciplines, and decide what interests you.

CLASE Programs

Applied Learning

The founder of our institution, Edward Austin Sheldon, advocated "learning by doing," and this is still a core value of ours as well. Students in the Liberal Arts and Sciences apply their learning through: 

  • Challenge Grants, which fund faculty-student research collaborations;
  • Scholarly and Creative Activities Grants available through the Student Office of Research and Creative Activities (ORCA);
  • and our GetGo Global Experience Travel Grants from Oswego, which enable our students to travel abroad in non-English speaking countries around the world.

Overflowing with Opportunities

We provide our students with many opportunities to develop the transferable skills in demand from today's most innovative employers. These include:

  • strong oral, written and digital communication
  • adaptive learning
  • the ability to collaborate to solve complex and shifting problems in their chosen fields

These combined experiences give students the 21st century skills and literacies they need to succeed in their first jobs, but also in later positions. Just as crucially, students gain the knowledge they need to function as engaged citizens in a diverse and changing world.

Facilities

The college’s facilities are located across several buildings. The Shineman Center for Science, Engineering, and Innovation is home for mathematics, science, computing and engineering programs. This impressive 230,000 square foot building features a planetarium, three observation decks, a greenhouse and extensive research laboratories.  The Rice Creek Field Station is a 330-acre living laboratory for scientific research and classroom instruction.  The field station’s trails, telescopic observatory and main building is a treasure both to the campus and broader community.  Located in the heart of the campus, several humanities and social sciences programs are in the vibrant Marano Campus Center.  Lastly, Mahar Hall, home to social sciences and several humanities departments, is undergoing major renovation and when completed will feature new laboratories, an archaeology dig lab and collection spaces, state-of-the-art classrooms and student spaces. 

Focus on Interdisciplinarity

We also pride ourselves on our innovative and constantly expanding interdisciplinary programs of study, supported by the Interdisciplinary Studies Department and faculty across the University. We encourage student opportunities to partner with peers in innovative ways, building collaborations between the performing arts and the sciences, for example, since it will take harnessing all of our combined efforts to address the big challenges of the future.

Contact

CLASE Office
601 Culkin Hall
315.312.2285
[email protected]

Staff

Dr. Kristin Croyle, Dean
Dr. Paul Tomascak, Associate Dean
Dr. Emily Estrada, Associate Dean

Ms. Jennifer Cook, Senior Staff Assistant
Ms. Caroline Currier, Administrative Assistant