LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES:
HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES A.A.
CONCENTRATIONS

Concentrations offer focused electives in Criminal Justice, Early Childhood, Education, History, and Psychology for enhanced career and transfer opportunities.

Enrollment in these concentrations is only available to students matriculated in the Liberal Arts and Sciences: Humanities and Social Sciences AA degree. Concentrations are not majors and are not required to earn the Liberal Arts/ Humanities and Social Sciences degree. Consult with an academic advisor before scheduling courses for a concentration.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

This program is designed for students who plan to transfer to a bachelor’s degree program and continue studies in Criminal Justice, Law, Pre-Law, Criminology or Forensic Psychology. By utilizing free electives, students can build a concentration in criminal justice while fulfilling General Education and liberal arts requirements.

If you plan to transfer to a bachelor’s degree program, you should consult with your prospective school to determine the appropriate course selection for optimum transfer of credits.

The following courses can be selected for the Criminal Justice concentration and will meet various elective requirements for the Liberal Arts/Humanities and Social Sciences degree:

* Meets free elective requirements (8–11 credit hours allowed)
** Behavioral/Social Sciences or Liberal Arts elective
† Can be used for one of the required Science electives or as a Liberal Arts elective

EARLY CHILDHOOD

This program is designed for students seeking the flexibility of a Liberal Arts AA degree with specific coursework in Early Childhood Education.

To complete the concentration, ECH 101, 102, 105, 106, and 110 are required and will fulfill the 8–11 general electives needed for the Liberal Arts degree. MATH 115 and 116 are recommended.

In order to graduate with an A.A degree in Liberal Arts with an Early Childhood concentration, the student must demonstrate competency (a grade of C- or higher) in four Key Assessments. The Key Assessments are completed in the core early childhood courses (ECH 101, 102, 105, 106 and 110). This requirement also applies to students who have transferred credits to Cayuga from other colleges.

Students must have a cumulative GPA of 2.3 or higher to enroll in field experience coursework (ECH 105).

Transfer for Early Childhood or Education course credit will only be granted after transcript review by the Education Coordinator.

Note: A minimum grade of C- (70) is required in ECH 101, 102, 105, 106, and 110 to fulfill degree requirements. For students who take BEH 101 as an elective, a minimum C- (70) grade is required.

Students must be physically able to satisfactorily and safely perform duties associated with the care and education of children from birth to eight years of age.

Cayuga has an articulation agreement for transfer to Keuka College. In addition, transfer arrangements have been made with SUNY Cortland, SUNY Oswego, SUNY Fredonia, and the College of St. Rose.

Note: A prior felony conviction may hinder a student’s ability to enroll in a course or complete the requirements of certain academic programs and/or meet the criteria for licensure required by certain professions. Students may be required to have police and child abuse clearances and physicals before beginning field experience classes. Individuals with certain criminal histories will not be able to satisfy field experience requirements for the completion of the degree. In addition, students are required to submit to alcohol and/or drug testing upon request by either the College or any of the cooperating field placement sites. Students who test positive are subject to removal from the field placement and will therefore not be able to satisfy requirements for the completion of the degree. Refusal to submit to the test will result in the student being asked to leave the field placement site and may result in dismissal from the course and/or the program. Students must be able to satisfactorily and safely perform the duties associated with the care and education of children. Download the Technical Standards for the degree.

EDUCATION

This program is designed for students who plan to transfer to a bachelor’s degree program at a non-SUNY school to continue studies in a childhood or adolescence education program.

To complete the Education concentration, the following course is required: EDU 202. In addition, at least six credit hours from the following courses are required: EDU 120, PSY 215 or 216, PSY 217 BEH 101, SOC 110.

Students must be able to satisfactorily and safely perform the duties associated with the care and education of children. Technical Standards for the degree may be obtained from the Education Coordinator or from the Office of Accessibility Resources. For further information, please contact the Early Childhood coordinator.

Transfer for Early Childhood or Education course credit will only be granted after transcript review by the Education Coordinator. Because of varying requirements among bachelor’s degree programs, students should contact Cayuga’s transfer counselor or Education coordinator to maximize transferability of coursework to the desired institution.
Note: Students may be required to have police and child abuse clearances and physicals before beginning field experience classes. Individuals with certain criminal histories will not be able to satisfy field experience requirements for the completion of the degree. In addition, students are required to submit to alcohol and/or drug testing upon request by either the College or any of the cooperating field placement sites. Students who test positive are subject to removal from the field placement and will therefore not be able to satisfy requirements for the completion of the degree. Refusal to submit to the test will result in the student being asked to leave the field placement site and may result in dismissal from the course and/or the program. Download the Technical Standards for the degree.

HISTORY

This concentration is designed for students interested in furthering their education in the fields of history, museum studies, or social science research. A concentration in history will be very helpful for those working in or members of historical associations. Our courses are designed to transfer to colleges offering bachelor’s level studies. The concentration (depending on courses chosen) can be oriented to local and regional historical subjects.

A concentration in history requires 12 credit hours of history courses. Students must complete one general education history course and three additional history courses to qualify for the concentration, two of which must be 200 level history courses.

PSYCHOLOGY

This concentration is designed for students interested in studying psychology, human services, social work, or education upon transfer to a bachelor’s degree program. As a concentration within the Liberal Arts / Humanities and Social Sciences degree, this concentration enables students to choose from a variety of psychology courses offered at Cayuga by selecting courses in the behavioral sciences, liberal arts, or free elective categories.

All students within this concentration must take the prerequisite Psychology 101 (Introductory Psychology), which fulfills a General Education requirement.

Students must take 3 additional psychology courses from the following list.

NOTE: For all courses except PSY 217, PSY 101 is a prerequisite. Some courses listed may not be offered each semester.

Due to the nature of the liberal arts components of the degree program, students should expect ease of transfer to similar programs elsewhere. Cayuga’s transfer counselor can assist in planning for transfer to four-year colleges and universities.