Undergraduate Advisement

For Undergraduate Marxe Students

Comprehensive advisement services are provided to students pursuing the BSPA or Online BSPA and the Public Service Minor. There are two forms of undergraduate support:

The Marxe BSPA advisor provides tailored guidance on the public affairs major and Public Service Minor
The Baruch College Academic Advisement Center provides general information about the requirements to complete a bachelor’s degree or minor in the College

Undergraduate advisement at Marxe is collaborative with a personalized focus on students

From the initial step of shaping academic and career goals, to selecting the appropriate coursework and internship opportunities, and then moving to post-graduate fellowships and graduate schools, the BSPA advisor is there to help students succeed. Students are assisted with the following:

Defining and pursuing educational and career objectives
Understanding and fulfilling the requirements of the curriculum
Connecting with various forms of academic support at the college, including services offered at the Writing Center and Counseling Center
Researching internship and study abroad opportunities
Preparing degree audits prior to graduation
Learning about post-graduate options including law school and graduate programs, applying for special fellowships, such as the New York Urban Fellows or Teach for America, and pursuing employment in government and the nonprofit sector

To request information about the BSPA or the Public Service Minor, email mspia.bspa@baruch.cuny.edu.

Program and Registration Information

The first step toward pursuing the BSPA degree is to complete a Major Declaration Form [PDF]. This may be done at any point once becoming a student; however, 45 credits must be completed with an overall 2.25 GPA before a student is coded in CUNYfirst. BSPA program requirements are as follows:

The Public Affairs major requires a minimum of 120 credits to graduate.
The completion of 45 credits and a cumulative GPA of 2.25 or greater is necessary to become a Public Affairs student.
A minimum of 30 credits are from the public affairs core and elective curriculum below (each course is 3 credits unless specified)
The degree requires the satisfaction of the CUNY Pathways curriculum as designated by Baruch College
A minimum of 57 credits must be designated as liberal arts (several BSPA courses satisfy the liberal arts credit requirement)
PAF 1250 or POL 1101 must be completed in the CUNY Pathways Flexible Core or as liberal arts electives
Math 1023 or 1030, or placement in Math 2003 or higher is a prerequisite for PAF 3401.

Students are encouraged to meet with the BSPA advisor before registering for public affairs courses to ensure the right sequence of courses are taken with all required prerequisites. When meeting with the BSPA advisor come prepared to help facilitate the advisement process. Students should:

Become familiar with the BSPA program
Seek regular advisement, particularly around registration and other academic choice points
Make a list of questions and goals to accomplish before meeting either with the BSPA or College advisor
Contact the BSPA advisor early-on when having academic difficulties

Course Offerings

The Schedule of Classes is available at least three months prior to each semester for students to search for classes, instructor names, and course information. Students may add courses to their shopping cart prior to their registration time. To register for classes and be assured of a seat, click “Enroll” and “Finish Enrolling”. Neither instructors nor advisors can add seats to a closed class.

If classes are cancelled due to insufficient enrollment or for some other reason, a notification will be sent prior to the start of the semester via Baruch College email. A back-up schedule is recommended in the event a class is cancelled or moved to another time slot.

Students may take courses at other CUNY senior colleges using the ePermit system on CUNYfirst. Follow the College’s how-to guide to ePermit.

BSPA Capstone

The Capstone is the final course required to complete the BSPA degree. It is designed to highlight the culmination of all that has been learned throughout the program. This course is designed to help students create an actionable business plan for a nonprofit venture or a specific program or project within an existing nonprofit organization or a government assisted program. To achieve that goal, the course examines specific approaches needed to complete a plan that translates an idea into an operating venture. Registration for PAF 4401 needs departmental consent. Contact a BSPA advisor for permission to register.

Honors Thesis

Eligible BSPA students may write an honors thesis instead of completing the capstone course. Students do not have to be in the Honors Program. Completing an honors thesis is an opportunity to develop a thorough research project, work closely with an expert faculty mentor, and open windows into future professions. Completion of an honors thesis is highly recommended when considering an advanced degree (e.g., masters, doctoral, or professional).

Students who choose to write an honors thesis in Public Affairs must meet the following:
1) 3.5 GPA in public affairs and a 3.5 cumulative GPA;
2) a minimum of four courses in public affairs;
3) submit an application and prospectus that has been approved by the prospective faculty mentor, the Marxe Associate Dean, and the Committee on Undergraduate Honors

The deadline for the prospectus is April 1 for a student to begin the thesis in the fall semester, and November 1 to begin the thesis in the spring semester. Registration is for PAF 6001H in the first semester and PAF 6002H in the subsequent semester.
Click here for more information [DOC]

Hagedorn Internship

This internship course provides students an opportunity to work within one of NYC’s most influential nonprofit organizations. This course is open only to BSPA majors with a 3.0 or higher. Students receive a scholarship upon successful completion of the internship and course requirements. Interested students should contact the BSPA advisor who will complete registration for those who meet criteria. Once registration is complete, the professor of the course will reach out to begin discussing placement opportunities. Early registration is recommended for this course.

Academic Policies

Academic Performance

Academic Integrity

College courses are intended to help develop students’ knowledge and to improve their skill sets. Cheating includes any action that is intended to deceive a faculty member about the extent of a student’s information, knowledge, and/or ability to communicate related to a course of study. Some forms of cheating are known as plagiarism. There are many practices that constitute cheating and plagiarism: the basic principles are given below:

Cheating includes any form of unauthorized assistance during an examination, such as using notes or other study aids, or communicating in any way with another person for the purpose of answering test questions. It is cheating to receive unauthorized help during an examination and it is cheating to give unauthorized help during an examination.

Cheating includes any form of unauthorized assistance on an assignment, such as a term paper or laboratory report, whether that assistance directly involves the subject matter or the way in which the subject matter is communicated. It is cheating to receive unauthorized help on an assignment and it is cheating to give unauthorized help during an examination.

Plagiarism is the misrepresentation of another’s work as one’s own. To avoid plagiarism, whether another’s work is being presented in writing or orally, it must be acknowledged with sufficient citations to represent the source accurately. The failure to acknowledge the source of material is plagiarism regardless of whether that source was in writing, in oral communication, by electronic transmission, or by any other means.

Engaging in acts of academic dishonesty can end a student’s college career and jeopardize future career goals. Baruch College is committed to maintaining an atmosphere of academic integrity.

Academic Appeals

Marxe Committee on Academic Standing

Graduate and undergraduate students at the Marxe School can file an academic appeal for a number of reasons including:

Retroactive withdrawal from a class or total resignation (after the semester is over)
Permission to drop after the deadline (within the semester)
Request for an extension to resolve an INC grade
Request for reinstatement if dismissed
Three-Time Repeat of a Course
Curricular adjustments or waivers of academic rule

Academic Appeals are heard by the Committee on Academic Standing (CAS) which is comprised of four faculty members elected by the entire Marxe faculty and two student representatives as well as staff members. Students do not appear before the CAS.

A Marxe ACADEMIC APPEALS form must be submitted along with a written statement and any supporting documentation (e.g. doctor’s notes, hospital records, email correspondence, The appeal form and all supporting documentation in PDF format must be submitted to mspia.advisement@baruch.cuny.edu with the subject line: ACADEMIC APPEAL

Click here to check the date and time of next CAS meeting of reviewing academic appeals.

Pathways Transfer Credit Appeal Committee

After admission to Baruch College, students receive a Transfer Credit Evaluation Report which provides an accounting of how transfer credits will meet Pathways and other degree requirements. Any transfer student with concerns about how completed courses have been evaluated for transfer credit must meet with a campus advisor to review their Transfer Evaluation Report. After that meeting, students may initiate the Pathways transfer credit appeal process.

The appeal committee meets regularly during the fall and spring semesters, and reviews requests from students to substitute transferred courses to satisfy Pathways Core requirements, to reconsider how transfer credits were evaluated, and/or to deviate from established Pathways curriculum policies. Please refer to the Baruch College Pathways Appeals Process page for more detailed information and instructions.

Student Resources

Other Forms and Application

Independent Study Forms

Occasionally, students wish to pursue an area of study not covered in the college’s course offerings. A student who wishes to enroll in an independent study selects a subject in consultation with a full-time Marxe faculty advisor, who acts as his or her supervisor. A full description of the project and its specific goals, as well as a preliminary bibliography and an account of the means of evaluation (papers, exams, etc.), should be included in the written prospectus.

Once approved by the faculty advisor, the proposal is submitted to Public Affairs advisement at MSPIA.BSPA@baruch.cuny.edu for school approval.

This form must be filed with Public Affairs advisement no later than the following dates during the semester before the Independent Study will be taken:

Fall–August 15
Spring–January 15

Please Note

Independent studies are NOT offered during winter or summer sessions.
Independent studies have the same registration deadline as regular courses.
Students must have a minimum GPA of 2.0 and be in good standing, without unresolved INC grades.

Download Independent Study Forms

Once proposals are approved, students are contacted via email with registration instructions. Please refer to the Academic Calendar for registration deadlines.

Application For Credit Overload

The credit overload option allows students to register for 19 to 21 credits in the spring or fall semester. In the summer sessions, a maximum of five courses is allowed, with a limit of three courses in one session; in the January intersession, the maximum is three courses. Students in the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs must have an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher to be eligible for a credit overload. Those enrolled in CSTM/FSPM and/or ESL courses, those enrolled in MTH 1023, and those with unresolved INC grades are not eligible.

Students who are registered for credit overloads may not alter their schedules once the semester or session has begun, and those with approved overloads will have holds placed on their records, preventing any registration changes (add, drop, or swap). Anyone who wishes to rescind an overload request before the semester officially begins, or who wishes to adjust his or her schedule during the late registration period while maintaining the approved overload must contact Public Affairs advisement MSPIA.BSPA@baruch.cuny.edu for assistance. Requests to go below the approved number of semester credits require an appeal to the Marxe Committee on Academic Standing. Please return the completed credit overload application to Public Affairs advisement MSPIA.BSPA@baruch.cuny.edu

Download Application for Credit Overload