“Coming to Stony Brook and being part of the College of Leadership and Service was an important way for me to get involved. I was very involved in extracurricular activities in high school so it was important for me to join something. I love meeting new people and enhancing my academic experiences.”— ADAISHA, STONY BROOK STUDENT

Each incoming freshman is assigned to one of six Undergraduate Colleges: Arts, Culture, and Humanities; Global Studies; Human Development; Information and Technology Studies; Leadership and Service and Science and Society. The colleges are named for distinct themes around which academic and social life revolves; the system is intended to let students explore a wide range of interests, both within their intended majors and across the academic spectrum. The Undergraduate Colleges are small but vital communities, offering individualized support while tailoring the first-year experience for students with similar interests.

While each College has its own personality, there are many experiences that will be the same for every first-year student.

 

The Undergraduate Colleges

Structure

The Stony Brook Undergraduate Colleges are academic and social communities, each the size of a liberal arts college. Every year, between 400 and 450 new first-year students join each college. The colleges are named for the distinct themes that drive their academic and social lives. These themes are not tied specifically to particular majors, but broadly designed to appeal to a wide range of student interests. The six colleges and their themes are as follows: Arts, Culture, and Humanities (ACH); Global Studies (GLS); Human Development (HDV); Information and Technology Studies (ITS); Leadership and Service (LDS); and Science and Society (SSO).

The notion of organizing a university around colleges is very old. The college system of Oxford and Cambridge dates back to medieval times and the colleges still form the core of these institutions. In the United States, the undergraduate college or house systems of Harvard and Yale date to the 1930’s. Among public universities, the University of California at San Diego, one of the best models by any measure, is organized around undergraduate colleges, each with its own distinct theme, flavor, and core curriculum. The University of California at Santa Cruz is also college-based, and was originally set up very much along the lines of Oxford and Cambridge. What all these institutions share with Stony Brook is the fact that the colleges are not an optional element or a special program for just a few students, but an integral organizing element of the university.

In order to get new students off on the right foot, professional academic advisors are assigned to each college. The Undergraduate College Advisor helps individual students to plan their course of study and is available to assist students with any academic questions or concerns that they may encounter. Each College Advisor also teaches a number of sections of FYS (First Year Seminar) 101 every fall. FYS 101 is a small one-credit seminar course in which new students are introduced to the university through positive interactions with students and staff. By the end of the first semester, each student will have developed a connection with their instructor and/or college advisor that should last throughout their undergraduate career.

Each College is headed by a Faculty Director who is a full-time tenured member of the Stony Brook faculty. The Faculty Directors are identified and appointed personally by the University Provost, who ensures that each is a respected teacher with a strong research program in a field closely related to the theme of their college. For example, the Faculty Director of the Undergraduate College of Leadership and Service could also be a faculty member in the College of Business or Political Science Department. Other Faculty Directors have come from the departments of Mechanical Engineering, Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies, Biochemistry, Music, Ecology and Evolution, Sociology, and Africana Studies. The Faculty Director oversees all academic activities of the college, which include first-year seminars taught by members of the college faculty, the college Living Learning Centers for upper-class students, faculty-student dinners, and special academic events held throughout the year.

The College Faculty Director, college faculty, and Undergraduate College Advisors work closely with Student Affairs staff. For students living on campus, each college is linked to one of Stony Brook’s six residential quads so that residential first-year students in the college live together in the quad associated with their Undergraduate College. Students of Information and Technology Studies reside in Mendelsohn quad, students of Science and Society in Roth quad, and so on. The Quad Director, the Residence Hall Directors, and the Resident Assistants all work together with the Faculty Director, college faculty, and Advisors in organizing college programs in the quad. All college activities, regardless of where they are held, are open to both residential and commuter students.

For first-year students, the primary academic component of their undergraduate college is the academic seminar program. In the fall semester, students are enrolled in FYS 101, a one-credit introduction to the university, taught in small groups by the college advisor or another staff member. In the spring semester, faculty members teach the one-credit seminars (FYS 102) for small groups of students. These seminars are less formal than other academic courses and seminar leaders are encouraged to explore topics of their own choosing that will appeal to first-year students. Both seminars foster contact and build relations between faculty and students that are expected to last throughout a student’s career at Stony Brook.

Beyond the First Year

Undergraduate College life extends beyond the first year. Students interested in representing their Undergraduate College in an official capacity can apply to be Undergraduate College Fellows. Fellows plan programs, support orientation activities, and serve as teaching assistants for FYS 101 courses. Applications for the Undergraduate College Fellows program are due near the end of a student’s first full semester. Upper-class students may also join one of the Living Learning Centers that have been an important part of Stony Brook life for many years. These have been fully integrated into the colleges, so that each college has within it one or more thematically linked Living Learning Centers (LLC). The College of Science and Society, for example, is home to the Environmental Studies Living Learning Center, while the College of Leadership and Service houses two Living Learning Centers: Leadership Development and Community Service Learning. Each Living Learning Center carries with it an academic minor featuring courses that are incorporated into the life of the Living Learning Center.

Once they join an Undergraduate College, students remain affiliated with it throughout their Stony Brook career. Not all students elect to remain as involved in college life beyond the first year as those in the College Fellows program or those who take part in Living Learning Centers, but all members of the college are always invited to participate in programs throughout their career at Stony Brook University.

A COMMITTED TEAM OF FACULTY AND STAFF

Faculty Director

The Faculty Director is a tenured member of Stony Brook University who provides intellectual and academic leadership for the College. The Faculty Director brings knowledge and experience in an area related to the theme of each college. The Faculty Director works closely with the Quad Director, the Undergraduate College Advisors, and other team members affiliated with each college to bring relevant courses, lectures, and social activities to students. The Faculty Director is available to meet with students one-on-one to discuss their personal interests and goals.

Undergraduate College Advisor

The Undergraduate College Advisor(s) provide individual and group academic advising for first-year students on campus. Primarily, their role is to assist students with planning their academic schedules,

help students make the transition into the college environment, assist students with setting goals for their future, and help students take advantage of the myriad of resources available for them on campus. The advisors also coordinate the orientation and opening programs for new students, teach and administer 101 classes, and plan events and programs.

Quad Director

A Quad Director (QD) within this college serves as a specialist in the area of student community development. This person strives to make lasting impressions through creative social and educational programming efforts within the residence halls. The QD directly supervises four professional staff members—Residence Hall Directors (RHDs)—that live in the halls and oversee all building concerns. The RHDs have impressionable interactions through first-year meetings to discuss reasons for attending the university and aspiring goals. In addition, they work to make their experiences more fulfilling and worthwhile. There are approximately 30 Resident Assistants (RAs) in the Quad, who live on each floor to assure quality customer service care while focusing on first-year transitional and developmental concerns.

Shared Curriculum

The Undergraduate College curriculum requirements include two consecutive one-credit seminars designed to connect the new Stony Brook student to campus resources, faculty, staff and the Stony Brook community. Students will not only be engaged in academic and social activities, but will learn with faculty, staff and other students in their Undergraduate College.

Freshman 101 Seminar:

In the fall and spring, each freshman is enrolled in a College-specific seminar. It is a semester-long opportunity to get acquainted with Stony Brook, taught by staff who know and understand the campus community. The course is designed to give new students the skills they need for success—both academic and social—while exploring aspects of each College’s respective themes. Some of the topics covered in the course include: study skills, test taking and test anxiety, health/well-being and success in college, academic citizenship, time management, academic and career planning, introduction to campus resources, and how to get involved on campus.

Freshman 102 Seminar:

The Undergraduate College Spring Seminars are small, interactive courses designed to introduce first-year students to thought-provoking and interesting subjects. The seminars offer a unique opportunity to explore ideas, learn from peers and get to know faculty in small, intimate classroom settings. Faculty from departments across campus will instruct seminars that focus on a current intellectual interest. These topics are quite diverse and include a broad range of academic disciplines. By taking these seminars, students will learn in a small community with faculty and other students who share their interests.

Battle of the Undergraduate Colleges

Started in the 2010-2011 academic year, this year-long competition was designed
to promote and encourage Stony Brook spirit and Undergraduate College pride. Throughout the course of the academic year, a series of competitive events are held, where students from each Undergraduate College will have the opportunity to earn points for their UGC. The events cover a wide range of categories including school spirit, creativity, community service, athletic and academic teamwork.

Points are awarded to each Undergraduate College based on how their College ranks in each event. Think your Undergraduate College is the best? Prove it!

The winning Undergraduate College will receive the UGC Cup which will remain in their Undergraduate College Center through the following academic year. Wear your college color with pride at each of these events to show your Stony Brook swagger!

  To learn more about the Battle of the Undergraduate Colleges, visit: Battle College Bowl

College Fellows

College Fellows are students who are recognized as emerging leaders in their Undergraduate College. They have distinguished themselves both academically and in their co-curricular pursuits. Through a two-semester sequence of courses, the Fellows learn to be effective peer mentors and representatives of their Undergraduate College. Qualified students may apply for this program during the fall semester of their freshman year. Those accepted will register for an Undergraduate College Fellows Seminar during the following Spring. This seminar covers four main content areas: student development theory, scholarship on mentoring and leadership development, concepts of teaching and learning,

To apply visit: College Fellows

College Interns

College Interns learn about contemporary issues in higher education, community building, and teaching at a research university through hands-on work with staff task managers, and they also participate in reflection discussions with their assigned faculty mentor. Students selected for the internship enroll in their Undergraduate College’s 488 Course and engage in the collaborative and developmental work of Undergraduate College initiatives.

Overview ACH

The Undergraduate College of Arts, Culture and Humanities (ACH) seeks to unite first-year students who share a common interest in creative expression and exploration through the use of various media.

Because the ACH experience is not strictly academic, involvement in the College is based on interest in these activities rather than on choice of major or career goal.

Theme-specific programming offered through ACH allows students to think critically about the ways in which art and culture are present in our everyday lives and how it enriches us–often times without our full awareness.

The goal of ACH is to provide a tightly knitted community in which first-year students are given the opportunity to further develop and study various forms of creative expression and how they are used to illustrate the differences and similarities among cultures.

Overview GLS

The Undergraduate College of Global Studies (GLS) is here to assist you in the transition to a new community, new friends, new opportunities and new knowledge. We want to help you start on your journey to becoming a student of Stony Brook and the world. We hope to help you discover and become involved in the various aspects of University life, to find support for defining and pursuing your own goals as a student, and to expose you to the world as a place to learn and live.

We anticipate that your transition into a research university may not be trouble-free, so we hope to equip you with a vast amount of resources that can assist you with this navigational process. As a new college student, you may not yet be fully aware of all the opportunities for education and personal development that Stony Brook has to offer. Our programs will lend a hand in your discovery of all the resources here and to develop a taste for the cultural and educational diversity of the Stony Brook community.

We look forward to helping you develop not only as a student but also as a global citizen. People conduct their lives on a global basis, and they travel physically, electronically, even emotionally to the furthest corners of the globe as part of their daily existence. The GLS community will confront the problems and embrace the enriching experiences that globalization brings, including world inequality and war as well as exotic cuisines and remarkable music. Becoming a global citizen will enhance and enrich the rewards of any profession you select, from engineering, to medicine, to literature, to business.

By participating in the College of Global Studies, you will make your life at Stony Brook richer and we hope you will form friendships and develop interests and skills that will last a lifetime. Be sure to check the GLS website for an updated list of exciting events and opportunities. 

Overview HDV

 As a member of the Undergraduate College of Human Development, you will explore Who You Are, What You Do, and How You Live in the context of being a student and member of the Stony Brook University Community.

Part of the mission of the College of Human Development focuses on creating a strong sense of community among students, faculty, and staff. This connection is the basis for the College’s commitment to communication and support which will allow all of you the opportunity to take full advantage of all this research university has to offer.

We have an enthusiastic group of faculty and staff who are dedicated to helping you experience a successful academic and social transition to Stony Brook University.  As a team we will host programs for you through the semester, such as “HDV Kickoff Program”, “Inside the Faculty Lounge” and “So You Want to go to Medical School”.

Your first year at Stony Brook is the first step in the evolution of your undergraduate college career. The College of Human Development will serve as the guide in this process.

Overview ITS 

What does technology mean to you? How does it affect your life, and the lives of those around you? How does information play a role in your life? How has the way people transfer, use, and create information affected our history and our society?

As you think about this, you might first focus on jobs in technology fields, on what you know about people in those occupations, or on how technology has advanced the transmission of information. You might think of engineers, who spend their time designing and building devices in response to needs. You might think of others whose occupations involve a high level of technological expertise, like information technology or IT professionals, research scientists, or computer hardware and software developers. Perhaps you recall reading about some sort of cutting-edge technological development in the news, like fuel cells, nanotechnology, genetic engineering, or robotic exploration of distant worlds. You might think about computers, cell phones, or the Internet.

But that is just a small part of the picture.

Jobs in technology, advancements in science and engineering research and the impact of technological successes and failures—all these do affect our lives, and all are represented in many of the fields you may study at a major research university like Stony Brook. But let’s think about this a bit more. You may have read about those latest technological achievements on your smart phone or through a blog. Your knowledge of world events might come to you through emails or through webcasts, or even through a podcast on the device that plays music that helps you get through the day. Many of us see the world through advanced polymer lenses or eyes modified by lasers, eat food with teeth repaired through the latest dental technologies, wear clothes chemically modified on the nanoscale to resist stains, and sneakers made with “smart-materials”. Still, it’s not just the technology we use to listen to music or which we wear or drive or have implanted into our bodies to improve our quality of life that is most critical in determining how successful we are— as students or employees or as innovators and creators of the future. It is the essential role of information in our lives, and how skillfully we use the interface between technology and that information.

Overview LDS

Students in the Undergraduate College of Leadership and Service (LDS) are encouraged to actively explore community service and leadership. Experience in community service and strong leadership skills are central to professional and personal accomplishment. This exploration and leadership development is valuable for all students, regardless of their major(s) or area(s) of interest. By regular exposure to various leadership opportunities, students from diverse backgrounds and interests learn to meet challenges that bring about personal and social change.

Leadership is the ability to garner the commitment and support of others to achieve a common goal. Leadership is providing people with a sense of purpose and direction. It is convincing others to join, gaining their commitment, motivation, and willingness to exert energy to accomplish a common goal. Leaders organize peoples’ efforts around a shared vision. Leadership, by necessity, is relationship-oriented. It is how you motivate and inspire others to help a team to work together effectively. Leadership is about change and transformation. It is bringing about change within a team and/or in yourself as a leader. Leadership often requires courage and willingness to take risks. Leaders act as change agents for their community or organization. A strong leader is willing to stand up for his or her beliefs, even when they are unpopular.

Although some people may have natural leadership qualities, leadership is a skill that can be taught and learned. Leadership takes place in businesses, governments, nonprofit and community organizations, and in colleges. During your first year at college you will learn about your personal strengths and weaknesses while developing new skills. This is a great time to discover your own leadership skills and learn what makes a successful leader. Being involved in your college community can help foster and enhance your natural and developing talents.

Service learning is about reflecting on what YOU gain from helping others. Leadership and service are often interdependent. Being involved in community service, on or off campus, teaches you about leadership and being a leader teaches you about helping others. Service learning is what you learn and gain through these endeavors. It is important to evaluate and think about the positive impact you’ve had on yourself and others directly and indirectly involved.

You will learn to evaluate service learning through personal growth and reflection. What changes have you made? Are you motivated to continue these efforts? How has your service been of value to others within the community? Did you promote awareness or educate others? What have you learned about yourself through this experience?

Overview SSO

The overarching theme of the Undergraduate College of Science and Society (SSO) is to explore, analyze, and challenge the dynamic relationship between science and society. Emphasis on imagination, research, and discovery in a social context ensures that students in this College are well-rounded and intellectually prepared to meet the challenges of our complex and changing world.

SSO students are provided with opportunities to meet researchers on the forefront of contemporary science and technology, interact with Nobel Laureate faculty, and even influence the future of Stony Brook University through curricular projects on sustainability.

The Science and Society team is here to help our students have a successful, fun, and stimulating first year through intellectually rewarding events and activities, personalized advising, and an introduction to the exciting and interesting ways that science and society interact.

First Year Reading

Each year, a book is selected for the entire incoming class to read as part of the First-Year Reading Experience. The book is given to each freshman. Over the course of the fall semester, we engage in a dialogue about the book through a variety of events and activities—including a visit by the author on Undergraduate College Commons Day. All freshmen have the opportunity to explore this book with their peers, instructors, and the broader campus community. Ideally, you will continue this dialogue, both in and outside of your classes, and bring your own experiences and viewpoints to bear on the issues raised in the book. The University does not necessarily endorse the viewpoints expressed by the author, but discussing issues like these are an important part of higher education.

Past selections include:

Pink Boots and a Machette by Dr. Mireya Mayor (2014) The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman (2013)

365 Days-365 Plays by Suzan-Lori Parks (2012)

Here’s What We’ll Say by Reichen Lehmkuhl (2011)

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (2010)

Sounds of the River: A Young Man’s University Days in Beijing by Da Chen (2009)

God Grew Tired of Us: A Memoir by John Bul Dau (2008)

Sailing Alone Around the Room: New and Selected Poems by Billy Collins (2007)

Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel (2006)

The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien (2005)

Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt (2004)

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri (2003)

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (2002)

The Color of Water by James McBride (2001)