After a frigid winter break here in New York, the spring semester is almost ready to get started. First year students have had a chance to settle in and seniors are one semester closer to that coveted degree. So what classes will be part of your schedule this semester?
With all of the options at SUNY, we’re here to offer some suggestions as we’ve done before. Whether it’s at your local campus, online, or via cross-registration at a different campus, there are thousands of interesting classes available to students who enroll at one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities.
There’s still time to register. So here are 10 interesting courses you can take this semester that you may not have known are offered at SUNY:
SPRT 102: Theory & Techniques of Coaching – Hudson Valley Community College
Take your athletic passion to the next level. This course introduces students to the basic concepts common to all sports and the history of interscholastic athletics in New York State. Students study the objectives, rules, regulations and policies of athletics, as well as performance skills, technical information, and organization and management practices will also be covered. The special training and conditioning of athletes in specific sports, the fitting of equipment, specific safety precautions and officiating methods will also be examined.
Best of all, in order to put the classroom material to use, students taking this class must obtain an internship that includes practical experience as a coach or observer of other approved coaches in the students’ specified sport.
AAS 328: Race, Humor and Asian America – Stony Brook University
Comedy is more than telling a good joke. This comparative ethnic American cultures course examines how contemporary American comedians, fiction writers, visual artists, independent filmmakers, feminist and transgendered comics deploy the language of comedy to invoke serious social matters in contemporary American life such as racism, immigration, homophobia, class biases and other burning issues of the day. The class explores how the ends of comedy are more than laughter and how comedy confronts political issues that are both integral and threatening to the U.S. body politic.
MUSB 201: The Business of Music – SUNY Fredonia
From the recorded album to the tour and all the promotions that come with it, if you’re into music this course will get you behind the scenes of how it all happens. The Business of Music gives students a comprehensive exploration of the various sides of the music business including careers in music, music publishing (copyrights, licensing, music books, exploitation of catalogue), the record business (recording, artist management, licensing, record distribution), tour management, self-employment business basics and ethics in the music business.
POS 201: Comparative Politics – Onondaga Community College
Politics is everywhere today. We’re so immersed in the politics of the United States, but what about the rest of the world and how their governments influence ours and others? In this class, students will learn about six of the world’s regions and particular nation-states within those regions and how they compare to one other and to the USA. Historical and geographical factors will be examined to determine their effects on contemporary political, economic and social patterns that exist in each of the regions. And finally, future problems and prospects that may come from political activity in each region will also be explored.
GAME 230: 3D Modeling and Texturing for Gaming – SUNY Canton
The new Game Design and Development program available at SUNY Canton is taking the classroom into virtual reality. In order to do so however, students need to learn the details of how to build those virtual worlds and the characters that live and interact in them. Just like known “celebrities” Sonic, Mario, Laura Croft, Link, and others, the next great game character is waiting to come to life somewhere. This course provides an introductory overview of the critical elements of digital figure modeling and texturing. The students will practice the learned 3D modeling and texturing knowledge, algorithms, and skills through finishing a final project.
CRC 230: Cloud Security – Monroe Community College
Cloud technology is becoming more and more popular for all kinds of consumers. But with every developing technology comes risks and a need to protect one’s data and documents. This course covers the economies of scale and flexibility of cloud systems offer strengths and challenges from a security perspective. The enormous concentrations of resources and data found in the cloud present a very attractive target for malicious activity. However, cloud-based resistance to threats can be made robust, scalable, and cost-effective. This course focuses on the development of strategies that address the security risks and benefits of using cloud computing and on developing Defense-in-Depth tactics to protect corporate resources deployed in the cloud.
ITA 262-01: Beyond The Godfather: New Perspectives On The Mafia – SUNY New Paltz
When most people think of the mafia, Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather probably comes to mind. In case you haven’t seen the film, it shows an inside look at how an aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfer control of the “family business” to his son. Despite the accuracies of how the mafia is displayed throughout The Godfather trilogy, there is a lot more to learn about this organized criminal group. Students taking this class will explore the Mafia and its effects inside and outside of Italy through the analysis of historical, literary, and cinematic texts.
BIO 114: Life on Earth – North Country Community College
Take your chance to study the course of human beings from the beginning. How did we respond to changes in environment and ecology throughout history, and what influenced those trends? Targeted at non-science students, this introductory course provides an in-depth look at the history of life on earth as it is currently understood by scientists. Principles of heredity and evolution will be used to explain life’s progression over time. Adaptations of life throughout history will be viewed as progressive challenges to new environments and conditions. In addition to human trends and behaviors, topics covered will also include bacteria, plants, invertebrates, reptiles, birds, and mammals to give each student a complete picture of Earth from the early days to today.
CME 343: Construction Estimating – SUNY ESF
When you get into that first house or condo, the desire to make it your own takes over. Whether you’re a DIYer or a professional contractor, knowing how to understand and explain the entire scope of the project is important. This course will allow students to understand the processes for reviewing and interpreting contracts, specifications and blueprints and their role in the estimating/bidding process for home and building projects. Through project based learning, students will learn how to perform a quantity takeoff, be able to create a final estimate/bid including the appropriate General Conditions and Markups.
WOOD 180: Furniture Design Construction – Morrisville State College
Have you ever caught yourself in a binge-watch of HGTV furniture makeover videos and wished you had the skills to do the same? Or maybe you have a particular piece of furniture in mind you’d like to craft from scratch. Maybe your apartment or residence hall room can use a new end table. Well, then you may find yourself jealous of students taking this course! In furniture design construction, students will experience a survey of the various styles of furniture, their design and construction. Students will also design and construct their own period piece of furniture.