The Graduate School

Program Proposals

Please complete the Program Proposal Inquiry Form before submitting a letter of intent, new program proposal, or any modifications to an existing program.  The Provost's Office and the Graduate School will manage all communication with SUNY, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) and the Department of Education. For information about academic program proposals outside of the Graduate School, please visit the Provost's website.

  • Curricular changes of 30 percent* or less of the total degree credits (cumulative from the last NYSED action date) need approval by appropriate Academic Dean, the Graduate Council and the Graduate School Dean.
  • Curricular changes of 30 percent* or more of total degree credits need approval by SUNY and reregistration with the NYSED.
  • Reregistration of programs is also required when there is a change in the programs focus/design, adding or eliminating concentrations, eliminating requirements for program completion, change in title, etc..
*Please verify with David Rubenstein and Colleen O'Toole if your program meets this criteria. 

The Graduate School will coordinate academic program research and identify course modality options to assess market demand for new master's and graduate certificate program proposals.
  • Proposals first require a letter of intent (LOI), approved by the appropriate Academic Dean and Graduate Council, be sent to SUNY for review and a comment period.
  • After SUNY approval of the LOI, a full program proposal can be prepared and submitted for external review by at least 2 SUNY approved evaluators.  The program is responsible for paying for the external review, which can include a site visit.
  • A full new program proposal, which includes comments from the external evaluators, is submitted for review and approval by the appropriate Academic Dean, the Graduate Council, the Graduate School, the University, SUNY and NYSED.
  • It is recommended that directors of new programs speak with the Provost's Office regarding tuition sharing prior to proposal submission. The Graduate School can help support budget requests to the Provost's Office.

  • Program proposals begin with Academic Dean approval. 
  • Graduate Council, the Graduate School and the Provost's Office will review the proposal before submission to SUNY and NYSED.
  • Certificates comprise of a minimum of 12 credits.  Professional certificates likely require more credits.

Program Proposal Inquiry Form

 

Timeline

A faculty member or program has an idea for a new program or modification to an existing program.  They connect and coordinate with their program, department, academic unit and the Graduate School.
A letter of intent (LOI) should be created and approved by appropriate local units. The University will submit the LOI to SUNY for review, comment period and approval.
Complete proposal, making use of available campus resources and expertise, and obtain approved by Department/Program, Academic Dean, the Graduate Council, the Graduate School and the University. Approvals for new programs can only be obtained after the reports from the site visit have been included within the proposal.
Share site visit report and institutional response with the approving units (see STEP THREE). These reports must be included with the full proposal for new programs.
The Provost's Office will submit to SUNY for final approval from SUNY and NYSED.