By GREGORY ZELLER //
The big joint-admissions wheel keeps on turning, with two more Long Island institutions joining forces to speed collegians toward higher degrees.
This time, the wheel stops on the New York Institute of Technology and Farmingdale State College, which have announced a new agreement guaranteeing admission for qualified Farmingdale State graduates to NYIT’s College of Engineering and Computing Sciences, where five 30-credit master’s degree programs await: Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Data Science, Mechanical Engineering and Electrical/Computer Engineering.
The Farmingdale State grads must finish their undergrad coursework with a minimum 2.85 GPA and “meet other admissions criteria,” New York Tech said this week, including specific prerequisite classes. The master’s programs are offered at both New York Tech’s Old Westbury and Manhattan campuses, except for the Mechanical Engineering program, which is exclusive to Old Westbury.
Farmingdale State and New York Tech will work together on course substitutions that “ensure adequate credit transfer for Farmingdale graduates,” according to New York Tech, with application fees waived for transferring students and other financial benefits in the mix: aid packages, compensated research-assistant positions, scholarships up to $3,000 and more.
It’s a familiar formula across collegiate education. Joint-admissions partnerships were proliferating regionally and nationally before the pandemic threw a monkey wrench into the higher-ed works – particularly on Long Island, where new combinations included Farmingdale State welcoming Nassau Community College students and Adelphi University funneling grads to SUNY Upstate Medical University and the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
Babak Beheshti: Cutting-edge connection.
Earlier this year, Farmingdale State and Adelphi announced a “streamlined partnership” guaranteeing Farmingdale grads admission to Adelphi master’s degree programs in business analytics, computer science, general psychology and sports management.
The idea this time is to grease the skids for Farmingdale State undergraduate degree-earners who majored in applied economics, programming and other critical computer-science fields – not only facilitating their graduate degrees, noted NYIT College of Engineering and Computing Sciences Dean Babak Beheshti, but exposing them to New York Tech’s vast alumni network, which is rich with technology-field opportunities.
“We are excited to offer another pathway to our cutting-edge graduate programs in sought-after areas,” Beheshti said. “We look forward to welcoming the highly qualified students of Farmingdale State to the New York Tech community.”
Barb Christe, dean of Farmingdale State’s School of Engineering Technology, applauded a “well-articulated pathway” between the two institutions, noting the parity between her college and New York Tech.
“New York Tech offers Farmingdale State College graduates an exciting option toward a practice-focused graduate degree that can support their career interests as implementors of technology,” Christe said in a statement. “[This] can offer learners smooth transitions to graduate work.”
