A new major may soon take a space in the Oswego State catalogue called philosophy, politics and economics.
Developed for Oswego State by Craig Delancey, a professor in the philosophy department, this interdisciplinary major will be the first of its kind in the SUNY system.
“No other SUNY schools offer it,” Delancey said. “The closest thing in SUNY is not very close: Binghamton has a philosophy, politics, and law major, but when you look at the details it’s really quite different.”
This major, however, is the most popular major in universities in the United Kingdom. It is also available at a few U.S. colleges, such as the University of Pennsylvania.
This major bridges the three departments mentioned in its title, the department of philosophy, department of political science and department of economics. A student can focus on any one of these three topics, after getting a general education in all three as a group.
According to Lisa Glidden, a professor familiar with the major because of her position in the political science department, “This is an interdisciplinary major. The advisement for the major would be dependent on the student’s track.”
This major has not yet been implemented at Oswego State. It is currently under review by SUNY Central in Albany where it must be approved before it can be offered to students.
The process for writing and approving a major in the SUNY system can be a long one. Delancey said he has drafts of the major that date back all the way to 2011.
The process involves inviting reviewing professors from outside of the SUNY system to campus, meeting with those professors on campus to show them the details of how the major would be implemented and then getting those professors to write reports on their findings, to be included with the major proposal when it is sent to Albany for review.
Delancey is confident, however, that SUNY Central will embrace it. Being an interdisciplinary program, many of the classes that are required for the major are already being taught on campus. He said the presence of this major will be a strong benefit to the SUNY system and that Oswego State is the proper school to enact it.
Oswego already offers a number of interdisciplinary programs, such as the Linguistics major, that have brought a large number of students to the SUNY system, providing good returns for the investment required to implement this major.
The short form for this major, which provides information on the goals of the major and the classes required, details how after getting an introduction to all three of the topics the major focuses on, a student can focus on one of the three with separate capstones for each branch, but a common thesis required for graduation.
This form also provides examples of how this major could be combined with another major present at Oswego State, to put the student in the best position for a specific job. The example provided on the form is, “A student could study a science such as biology as a second major, to position herself for a career in health care policy.”
This undergraduate program is still under review at SUNY Central. Without their approval, the major cannot be implemented at Oswego State without being redeveloped.
It may be present on campus soon, or it may take a few more years before any students introduce themselves as Oswego State philosophy, politics and economics majors.
