State University of New York at Plattsburgh - Academics and Demographics

Academics and Demographics

SUNY Plattsburgh has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA) since 1952. The college offers more than 60 baccalaureate degrees and a wide variety of minors within three principal academic divisions; Arts and Sciences, an internationally accredited School of Business, and Education, Health and Human Services. Graduate degrees are offered in Education, School Psychology, speech-language pathology, and liberal arts. All courses offered at Plattsburgh are taught by faculty, the majority of which hold doctoral degrees.

A few of SUNY Plattsburgh's more notable academic programs include:

• Education - Plattsburgh was founded as a teacher's college and Education is still the school's largest major.
• Center for Communication and Journalism - Encompassing four distinct majors, it is the only center of its kind in the SUNY system.
• Canadian Studies - The most comprehensive undergraduate Canadian studies program in the United States.
• Expeditionary Studies - The only collegiate academic program in the nation to focus on rock climbing, ice climbing, free-heel skiing and sea kayaking.

For four consecutive years (2009-2012), SUNY Plattsburgh has been ranked by U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" edition, as one of the top regional public universities in the North. In 2008, Kiplinger's Personal Finance recognized SUNY Plattsburgh among the Top 100 colleges in the nation for the value of its academic quality.

59% of SUNY Plattsburgh students are female and 41% are male. In 2005, 4,061 students (75%) were categorized as White, 261 (5%) Black, 216 (4%) Hispanic, and 111 (2%) of Asian/Pacific Islands descent. That year, SUNY Plattsburgh stated that it was their goal to raise the number of minority students from its current 11% to 13% or greater by 2010. The number of incoming freshman who classified themselves as minority rose to 16% in 2007, 17.2% in 2009, and to 22.5% in 2011.

Over 90% of students originate from within New York state, 4% of students come from other states, while foreign students comprise 5% of the student population. 52% of students live in on-campus dormitories, a requirement for freshman and sophomores. 21% of the student population are commuters, while 27% are considered off-campus renters.