Dear Students and Parents,

The College of Arts and Sciences is engaged in a long-term strategic planning process that has helped us critically examine programs and evaluate how to best support specific academic areas across the College -- the arts, humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and life sciences -- that demonstrate academic and scholarly excellence.
At the heart of this process is our mission to uphold our position of academic excellence, align with the University’s strategic goals, and best provide for the success of our students during a time of constrained resources.

Upon numerous strategic discussions with College faculty leadership, members of University administration, the Provost, the Graduate School, and the University Senate, we developed a strategic pathway that will build upon the distinctive strengths and qualities of the College and foster a stronger foundation for our future:

 

• The College will create a new Department of Comparative World Literature by combining the departments of European Languages, Literatures & Cultures; Cultural Studies & Comparative Literature; and Hispanic Languages & Literature.
  
  

  This newly combined department will draw upon faculty strengths in literature, culture, and language. 
  
  

  Undergraduate majors and minors in Spanish, French, Italian, and German; a minor in Russian; and master's degree programs in language teaching will all be contained within the new Department of Comparative World Literature; in addition, the graduate degree program in Hispanic Languages & Literature will continue to be offered.
  

• The College will suspend admissions into the undergraduate degree programs in
  Theatre Arts, Comparative Literature, and Cinema & Cultural Studies.
  
  

• The College will suspend admissions into the graduate degree programs in Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature.

 

While suspending admissions into programs is an extremely difficult decision, we are committed to providing support for our students and faculty while preserving the quality of the liberal arts experience in the College. No course changes are planned for the 2017-18 academic year. For the fewer than 100 students who are currently enrolled in the degree programs into which new admissions are being suspended, every one of these students will have the opportunity to complete their programs, and we will honor existing commitments to graduate students for teaching assistantships.

 

As the liberal arts core of Stony Brook University, the College of Arts and Sciences continues to invest in strong programs across the arts and humanities, as well as social, natural and life sciences. We remain committed to offering a wide array of rich programs, courses and degrees consistent with our liberal arts mission to help students explore diverse possibilities that prepare for a lifetime of discovery.

 

If you have questions, please email CASdeanSBU@stonybrook.edu or call  631.632.6999. You may also visit our Q&A page on the College website.