Office: 202 Roosevelt Hall
Telephone: (516) 463-5840
Diane Herbert, Ph.D., Senior Associate Dean
Douglas R. Friedlander, Director of Assessment and Faculty Coordinator
Marilyn Buono, Assistant Director of Administration
SUS Web Site

Hofstra University has traditionally sought to serve students with different academic needs. In a world increasingly aware of differences in culture, language and learning style, the School for University Studies extends this tradition to students whose previous academic work does not demonstrate their  full academic potential. Currently the School for University Studies has two major programs, the Freshman Program and the Transfer Program. 

Liberal Arts Courses and Non-liberal Arts Courses

All courses, workshops and independent projects sponsored by the Freshman and Transfer Programs carry college credit. 

Liberal arts courses, workshops and projects are those thast emphasize theory, history, methods of inquiry, concepts and underlying assumptions of the traditional and emerging liberal arts disciplines. These traditional and emerging disciplines often are grouped under the general designations of the humanities, natural sciences and mathematics, the social sciences, the performing arts and interdisciplinary studies (when multiple disciplinary perspectives are brought to the study of natural and/or human phenomena). Non-liberal arts courses, workshops and projects take a more pragmatic approach, emphasizing, instead, skills and information of an immediately practical nature..

Freshman Program

The Freshman Program aims to minimize the risk of poor academic performance of students during their initial semesters in college and to prepare these students for full participation in one of the degree-granting undergraduate programs at the University.

Applicants are admitted to the Freshman Program after careful screening and evaluation by the Office of Admission and the faculty of the Freshman Program. After acceptance, an agreement is signed by both the student and the University specifying their respective commitments. The number of students accepted is limited, and normally students remain in the Freshman Program for a minimum of one academic year (two semesters).

The Freshman Program seeks to accomplish its goals through a broad assignment of instructional resources designed especially for its students. Full-time members of the University faculty are normally responsible for the academic core program and for student advisement. Additional members of the University’s faculty also offer courses for the Freshman Program as needed and/or invited. Students can also make full use of all the resources of the University outside the program, including the Library, Academic Computing, Physical Education Building, Fitness Center, Tutorial Services, health services, professional counseling services and various art, drama and communication workshops. The academic program includes a “core” course, two writing courses, seminars, tutorial services in a limited number of assigned courses, and, with advisement, courses in other units of the University.

Sample First-Year Program for Freshmen

Fall Semester
Core (6 s.h.)
Core classes are team-taught, interdisciplinary experiences in which faculty from different academic areas use a variety of teaching techniques in order to model the conversation among different perspectives on a course idea or theme.

Written Expression 1  (3 s.h.)
Written Expression 1 emphasizes the basic communication skills of reading, writing, and listening. It focuses on the development of analytical reasoning and critical thinking skills through the reading and writing of essays related to the theme of Core class. This course also stresses practice in revising and editing to create comprehensive, well-developed essays.

SUS Seminar (3 s.h.)
Open exclusively to University Studies students, the SUS Seminars are small classes that provide a forum in which students can focus and intensify their engagement with the foundational ideas within a specific academic area.

Department Courses Reserved for SUS Students (3 s.h.)
These courses, offered by other units of the University, are small classes that provide a forum in which students can focus and intensify their engagement with the foundational ideas within a specific academic area, often a student’s major.

Spring Semester
Written Expression 2  (3 s.h.)
Written Expression 2 is designed to enhance the student’s writing skills through an introduction to literature of a variety of genre involving critical and analytical thinking. Students read essays and short stories that are then discussed and become the topics for short essays. A research paper is required at the conclusion of the course.

Additional recommended courses:
Distribution Courses  from Humanities, Social Science, or Creative Participation (3 s.h.)

Distribution Courses  from Natural Science or Mathematics (3 s.h.)

Introductory or Foundations Major Area Course (3 s.h.)

Additional Distribution, Introductory or Foundations Major Area Course (3 s.h.)

Evaluation and Requirements

All course work taken at the School for University Studies and other academic units is graded according to the grading system used by the academic unit offering the course, and the grades are recorded on the student’s official academic record.

At mid-year (January for students entering in the fall, June for students entering in the spring), the student’s adviser and the Freshman Program’s faculty prepare an academic progress report, a copy of which is forwarded to the student. This mid-year progress report is based on the student’s academic work and faculty evaluations; it includes a statement from the Senior Assistant Dean of the Freshman Program and the faculty assessing the student’s chances of transitioning into a degree-granting undergraduate program at the University in the following year.

At the end of the year (June for students entering in the fall, January for students entering in the spring), the Freshman Program faculty reviews each student’s work, again based on course performance and faculty evaluations. Individual recommendations for transition into a degree-granting program at the start of the next academic year (or the Spring semester for students having entered in the previous Spring) are made to the School’s Dean and the Academic Records Committee of the University. In some cases, a student may be required to remain in the Freshman Program beyond this first year. For these students, a further evaluation of their work is prepared.

Minimum performance necessary to be considered for transition into a degree-granting undergraduate program at Hofstra is:

1. satisfactory completion of Core (“C” or better);
2. satisfactory completion (“C” or better, or the equivalent in Pass/Fail) of at least two courses (minimum six credits) in a baccalaureate program at Hofstra during the student’s stay in the Freshman Program;
3. reasonable progress toward the satisfaction of the Writing Requirement (see next section);
4. a grade point average (GPA) and completion ratio compatible with minimum University standards;
5. finally, the faculty of the Freshman Program and the Dean of the School for University Studies must be satisfied with the student’s academic progress.

Writing Requirement

Students in the Freshman Program of the School for University Studies are expected to enroll in Written Expression 1  concurrent with the Core Course and are expected to complete the course successfully. Upon successful completion of Written Expression 1 , in the second semester they enroll in Written Expression 2  and must complete that course successfully.

Students from the Freshman Program who transition into another school or college within the University must fulfill the following requirements to earn the equivalent of WSC 001 :

1. successfully complete their Freshman Program Core Course;
2. successfully complete Written Expression 1 , or the equivalent, normally taken concurrently with the Core Course;
3. successfully complete Written Expression 2  and receive a positive recommendation from the instructor.

These students must still take WSC 002  and the Writing Studies and Composition Department’s Writing Proficiency Examination.  Students who do not complete the Freshman Program’s requirements listed above will, at the recommendation of the faculty, take WSC 001 . These students are then required to take WSC 002  and the Writing Proficiency Examination. On the recommendation of the Writing Faculty of the Freshman Program, the Written Expression 2  requirement may be waived. Students for whom this waiver is given will register for WSC 002  and take the Writing Proficiency Examination.

Transfer Program

Similar to the Freshman Program, the Transfer Program aims to eliminate a previous pattern of poor academic performance by students that may have occurred during their initial semesters in another college and to prepare these students for full participation in one of the degree-granting undergraduate programs at the University.

Applicants are admitted to the Transfer Program after careful individual screening and evaluation by the Office of Admission and professional staff of the Transfer Program. After acceptance, an agreement is signed by both the student and University specifying their respective commitments. The number of students accepted is limited, and normally students remain in the Transfer Program for a minimum of one academic year (two semesters).

The Transfer Program seeks to accomplish its goals through a broad assignment of instructional resources designed especially for its students. Full-time members of the University faculty are normally responsible for the academic core program and for student advisement. Additional members of the University’s faculty also offer courses for the Transfer Program as needed and/or invited. Students can also make full use of all the resources of the University outside the program, including the Library, Academic Computing, Physical Education Building, Fitness Center, Tutorial Services, health services, professional counseling services and various art, drama and communications workshops.

The academic program includes a “core” course, an Analytical and Research oriented course, and, with advisement, courses in other units of the University.

Sample Program for Transfer Students

First Semester
Core (6 s.h.)
Core classes are team-taught, interdisciplinary experiences in which faculty from different academic areas use a variety of teaching techniques in order to model the conversation among different perspectives on a course idea or theme.

Analysis and Research (3 s.h.)
This class places emphasis on analytical reading techniques and their direct bearing upon the understanding of themes and the development of college essays. Students write essays as a means of examining and practicing thesis development, argumentation, textual references, and research methods. A research paper is required at the conclusion of the course.

After a careful analysis of a student’s transcript(s), faculty advise the student into distribution courses and courses directly related to the prospective majors.

Second Semester
Provided students successfully complete the CORE course and Analysis and Research, they continue to take courses in their possible or chosen major and take courses to meet the University distribution requirements.

Requirements and Evaluation

All course work taken at the School for University Studies and other academic units is graded according to the grading system used by the academic unit offering the course, and the grades are recorded on the student’s official academic record. At mid-year (January for students entering in the Fall, June for students entering in the Spring), the Transfer Program’s faculty prepares an academic progress report, a copy of which is forwarded to the student.

This mid-year progress report is based on the student’s academic work and includes a statement from the faculty assessing the student’s chances of transitioning into a degree-granting undergraduate program at the University.

At the end of the year (June for students entering in the fall, January for student’s entering in the spring), the Transfer Program faculty reviews each student’s work, again based on course performance. Individual recommendations for transition into a degree-granting program at the start of the next academic year (or of the Spring Semester for students having entered in the previous Spring) are made to the School’s dean and the Academic Records Committee of the University. In some cases, a student may need to remain in the Transfer Program beyond the first year. For these students, a further evaluation of the student’s work will be required.

Students who successfully complete the curriculum of the Transfer Program and who receive a positive recommendation from the dean and faculty of the School for University Studies are permitted to matriculate in any other school or college within Hofstra University, provided they meet the entrance requirements of that school or college.

Minimum performance necessary to be considered for matriculation into a degree-granting undergraduate program at Hofstra is:

1. satisfactory completion of Core (“C” or better);
2. grade of “C” or better in the required writing course;
3. grades of “C” or better in area courses during the first and second semesters.
4. achievement of a grade point average (GPA) and completion ratio compatible with minimum University standards;
5. satisfactory evaluation of academic progress from the faculty of the Transfer Program and the Dean of the School for University Studies.

Writing Requirement

Students in the Transfer Program who have successfully completed the writing requirement and transition from the Transfer Program into a degree-granting program at the University must fulfill the writing requirements of the school or college in which they enroll.  That may include completing WSC 002  and taking the English Department’s Writing Proficiency Examination.