Undergraduate Catalog

2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog

This catalog is current as of May 31, 2024. The provisions of this catalog do not constitute a contract, express or implied, between any applicant, student or faculty member and Empire State University or the State University of New York. The university reserves the right to make changes in policy, procedures, curricula, fee schedule, and other academic and administrative requirements, as circumstances dictate, subsequent to publication. Each student is expected to have knowledge of the information contained in this catalog and in other university publications and the student has a responsibility to stay informed of any changes. Changes in policy and programs are noted at information sessions and orientation workshops and on the university’s website. Updated information also may be obtained from the following offices:

Our Students

Empire State University is SUNY’s leading online university, and our students represent a diverse community of learners. They are motivated and enthusiastic. Many of them are busy adults with jobs, families, and real lives that might not fit a conventional university experience. 

Most of our undergraduate students are between 25 and 50 years old (with an average age of 35).

Nearly 64% of the university's students are enrolled as undergraduates, 20% are enrolled in our School for Graduate Studies, and 16% enroll in programs including the Harry Van Arsdale Jr. School of Labor Studies, the School of Nursing and Allied Health, or extended and international education.

As a public university, Empire State University's mission includes helping military-affiliated students further their education. Our Veteran and Military Resource Center is staffed with experts who are ready to help this population of students find the academic program that best meets their needs, whether stateside or on deployment.

FACULTY MENTORS

The more than 200 full- and part-time members of SUNY Empire’s undergraduate faculty come from a variety of backgrounds, from business to the arts. Approximately 96% of the full-time faculty hold doctoral or other terminal degrees.

What the faculty have in common is a passion for teaching students. Our faculty are called mentors because they are partners and guides in your education. Every undergraduate student at SUNY Empire is assigned a mentor who serves as their own academic guide and resource from orientation to graduation.  Our students confer with their mentors on a regular basis to receive advice, plan their degree, and to carry out learning activities. Students maintain contact with their mentors in a variety of ways: email, online discussion areas, or even face-to-face. Most students value the personal attention, and when our students graduate, often it is their mentors whom they celebrate when they look back on their college years.

YOUR UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE 

There is no hard and fast time frame for how long it will take to earn your degree, since this depends on how many courses you take at a time and how much credit you can include from transfer, exams and prior learning assessment. More than 50% of students complete their bachelor’s degrees within three years; some take as little as a year. 

Perhaps you’re not ready to begin a degree program right now. Empire State University offers non-matriculated study that allows you to earn college credit.

However you choose to learn, SUNY Empire is dedicated to providing you with the best education in a time-efficient and affordable way.

Rates of Degree Completion*

All Students

Entering Fall 2016 - 1880
Graduated by Fall 2022 - 935
Completion Rate - 49.73%

Part-Time

Entering Fall 2016 - 816
Graduated by Fall 2022 - 387
Completion Rate - 47.43%

Full-Time

Entering Fall 2016 - 1064
Graduated by Fall 2022 - 548
Completion Rate - 51.50%

*Within six years for bachelor’s degree seeking students entering Empire State University during fall 2016.
Source of data: Decision Support Annual Retention Cube (Data Warehouse), fall 2016 new, matriculated, bachelor’s degree seeking.