Undergraduate Advisement

ADVISEMENT OPERATIONS UPDATE – as of 8/16/2021

Dear students.

Marxe Academic Advisors are now working hybrid schedules and are available to meet in various formats, including in-person.

Please continue to reach out to MSPIA.ADVISEMENT@BARUCH.CUNY.EDU if you’d like to set up an appointment with an advisor. Advising sessions can be scheduled via zoom, telephone or in-person via appointments, and we are always available via email.

Remember to meet and stay in touch with your advisor to make sure you are on track for success in your degree program!

Sincerely,
Your Marxe Academic Advisement Team
Sandra Fajardo, Maureen Samedy, Elaine Truong, Liting Zhang

Comprehensive advisement services are provided to students pursuing the BSPA and the Survey Research Minor. There are two forms of undergraduate support:

The Marxe BSPA advisor who provides tailored guidance on the public affairs major and Survey Research 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 finally moving to post-graduate fellowships and graduate schools, the BSPA unit 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 Survey Research 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 BSPA requires 120 credits
The completion of 45 credits and a cumulative GPA of 2.25 or greater is necessary to become a BSPA 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)
Pre-Calculus must be completed to satisfy the “Mathematical and Quantitative Reasoning” requirement of the Pathways Required Core as a STEM Variant
PAF 1250 or POL 1101 must be completed in the CUNY Pathways Flexible Core or as liberal arts electives
ENG 2150 is a prerequisite for most PAF courses; ECO 1001 is a prerequisite for PAF 3102; either STA 2000 or STA 2100 are 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

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

Retroactive course withdrawal from a semester
Reinstatement into a program
Extension of time to complete a degree

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

The Committee considers appeals twice during each fall and spring semesters and once during the summer. The Committee will convene to review cases in March and May 2021. Submission due dates for the Spring 2021 term are: Wed. March 3, 2021 and Wed. May 5, 2021. Any appeals received after May 5th will be carried over to the Summer 2021 CAS meeting.

Student Resources

Post-Graduate Opportunities