SUNY as a University
Buffalo State, SUNY is the largest college in the State University of New York (SUNY) system and is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and by the Board of Regents, State University of New York. The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) accredits the professional education programs. SUNY, a statewide system of 64 campuses, is the largest, most diverse multi-campus university in the United States.

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The International Learning Styles Center (ILSC)
The International Learning Styles Center of Buffalo State is responsible for the development, management and delivery of the Master of Science program in Multidisciplinary Studies as well as professional development for education professionals working at American/International Schools.  The degree program is hosted by American/International Schools for cohorts (groups) of education professionals.  The entire program requires ten (10) courses that can be delivered at the school site, electronically, or through a combined approach of on-site/on-line instruction depending on the course as well as the needs of the cohort.

Appropriate staff (e.g. School Head, Curriculum Coordinator, Teachers) from the host school collaborates with staff of the ILSC to select courses that will be offered for the degree program. The collaborative approach of course selection facilitates the design of a program that aligns with the school’s professional development initiatives and the faculty’s specific needs while adhering to the guidelines established for the degree. Selected courses usually apply across grade levels and curricula providing for the diverse needs of overseas educators.

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Program Requirements

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Program Costs and payments
Costs for our overseas programs are less than one quarter of our rates for students in the U.S.   Specific costs for each course vary with the number of people enrolled in the class.  A typical class costs between US$350 - US$650 per three-credit course.  ILSC at SUNY is able to keep these costs low by "packaging" tuition costs as follows:

• Cost for up to 25 students for three semester credits - US$7,700.00.  Traditionally, cohorts consist of 20 students.  However, ILSC gives us five (5) additional slots at no extra cost to us. This gives us the opportunity to include additional members of our staff who may not want to participate in an entire degree program but would like to participate in some of the courses. The $7,700.00 includes $5,200.00 for tuition and $2,500.00 for the professor’s honorarium.

• One time registration fee of $50.00 per student, which must be included with the “Application(s) for Graduate Admission”
   

• Travel expenses including lowest economy airfare and travel agent fees, airport parking, visas, and exit tariff for the professor are added to the total cost.
   

• Lodging, meal, and transportation expenses for the professor during the course are added into the total cost.
   

• Textbook/materials for the course.  This varies per course. Each professor will provide you with the textbook/materials ordering information and frequently will send you materials to be duplicated prior to the course to save on costs.  Some of our courses can be taken on-line, which saves on travel, lodging and meal expenses. We do not offer our entire program on-line, as we believe that distance education works well for some or part of our courses, but may not be appropriate for ALL coursework.

Payments for 3-credit courses held at TAS or Online require payment to be made at the TAS cashier in the TAS accounting office.  Those enrolled in the course will be notified when and how much to pay for each course.  For 1-credit course options, students will pay directly by personal check, bank check or money order (NO CREDIT CARDS) and mail to ILSC along with the course registration form.  All payments should be made out to: THE RESEARCH FOUNDATION OF SUNY and mailed to the following address:

International Learning Styles Center, 430C South Wing
            Buffalo State, State University of New York
            1300 Elmwood Avenue
            Buffalo, NY 14222 USA

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Applying to join the SUNY Master's Program
Buffalo State maintains a student-managed admissions process that requires an applicant to submit a complete application packet with all required components by the appropriate deadline. Thus, applicants are assured the admissions committee has all the necessary information to evaluate their qualifications. Anyone with an incomplete application will be notified by e-mail, resulting in a delay in processing. Applicants are cautioned that a significant amount of time is required by the Graduate Studies Office to process an application and make an admission recommendation. There is, therefore, a point each semester beyond which no applications can be accepted. It is the applicant's responsibility to review individual admission requirements and to meet the application deadline.

The fall semester deadline is after the fall semester has been completed to allow new faculty adequate time to obtain necessary admission documents. Students may participate in the fall semester courses while waiting for an admission decision with the understanding that credit for those courses can be applied towards the degree if and only if the student is accepted in to the degree program.

All of the forms that you will need to complete are available from the International Learning Styles Center and/or the designated contact person from the host school.

A completed APPLICATION PACKET includes:

1.   Completed Graduate Admission Application. Some of the fields have already been completed on the application for you.

2.   Completed Application Fee Payment Form and a $50 U.S. nonrefundable application fee. Acceptable methods of payment: Money order, personal, certified or traveler’s check made payable to Research Foundation of SUNY.

3.  Sealed official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended (including transfer schools). Each institution must send the transcript directly to the student. Students submit unopened transcript envelopes with other application materials. Buffalo State graduates are not required to submit transcripts, as the Graduate Studies and Research Office will obtain them.

4. Applicants who completed their undergraduate degrees from post-secondary schools where English was NOT the first language must submit a certified English translation of all official transcripts along with their official transcripts from that institution.

5.  Students Who Have Completed a Bachelor’s Degree Outside the U.S.
A degree evaluation is required for all students who have completed a bachelor’s degree outside the United States. Applicants must submit photocopies of post-secondary diploma(s) to one of the following organizations for a document-by-document evaluation to determine equivalency to a U.S. bachelor’s degree:

Applicants should contact the organization or visit its Web site to request or download an application. Completed applications should be returned to the organization with the required fees and credentials. The evaluation can take up to four weeks to complete after they have received all of your documents. The evaluation report should be mailed to:

International Learning Styles Center, 430C South Wing
            Buffalo State, State University of New York
            1300 Elmwood Avenue
            Buffalo, NY 14222 USA

Canadian applicants holding undergraduate degrees from a Canadian college or university should submit their official transcripts to our office. If those transcripts follow a system similar to that of the United States, they will be evaluated locally. If they are not similar, students will be required to comply with the above international student credential policy.

6.  No applicant is required to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).

IMPORTANT! Applications for Graduate Admission will not be processed until a complete APPLICATION PACKET is received by the International Learning Styles Center. Coursework is not applicable to a degree program until the student is admitted.

Applicants must assume full responsibility for knowledge of all of the deadlines and requirements for admission as detailed in this document. All required documents must be submitted by the appropriate deadline to:

International Learning Styles Center, 430C South Wing
            Buffalo State, State University of New York
            1300 Elmwood Avenue
            Buffalo, NY 14222 USA

PLEASE do not submit a completed APPLICATION PACKET and degree evaluation (if required) to any other office or address at Buffalo State. We don’t want you “getting lost” in the on-campus student records!

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Completing the Program
The degree requires 30 semester credit hours, comprising at least 15 hours of 600- and 700-level courses, including a culminating master’s project. Students are allowed to transfer a maximum of 15 graduate level credit hours from another accredited institution into this program.

Students should be sure to follow the SUNY Student Checklist to ensure they are completing all requirements in a correct and timely fashion.  Failure to follow the correct process may delay progress through the program.

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TRANSFERRING CREDITS