Youngstown State University - Academics

Academics

The University comprises the following colleges as of the Summer 2007 academic reorganization:

• The College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (a.k.a. CLASS)
• The Beeghly College of Education
• The College of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (a.k.a. STEM)
• The College of Fine and Performing Arts
• The Bitonte College of Health and Human Services
• The Williamson College of Business Administration
• The School of Graduate Studies

YSU offers doctoral degrees in educational leadership and physical therapy, as well as a doctorate in mathematics in cooperation with Rhodes University. Together with the University of Akron and Kent State University, YSU sponsors the Northeastern Ohio Universities College Of Medicine (NEOUCOM), a BS-MD program. YSU engineering students may pursue doctoral studies in cooperation with the University of Akron and Cleveland State University. In addition, YSU has 35 masters programs and over 100 undergraduate majors.

The Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University was deemed an "All-Steinway" school in 2004. The Dana School of Music is one of the oldest non-conservatory schools of music in the United States. It is housed in Bliss Hall. Additionally, the Youngstown State University Symphonic Wind Ensemble performed in March 2005 at New York City's Carnegie Hall. The ensemble's performance was highly praised, and they received a standing ovation.

Youngstown State University is also home to the Center for Working Class Studies and offers a Regional and American Studies program, which was the first of its kind in the United States. The school assisted the University of Chicago in developing a similar program. The center is operated by John Russo and Sherry Lee Linkon.

YSU is somewhat unique for a sizable university in that it utilizes only college professors and not graduate assistants in undergraduate instruction. This is because YSU has few doctoral programs and a relatively high standard teaching load (four courses per semester). In many colleges this size, graduate assistants teach courses to undergraduate students while full-time professors sometimes limit their direct involvement in undergraduate education to lecturing in large sections of introductory courses and supervising graduate assistants. Template:October 2012.

About one-third of the classes, including all of the senior capstone courses for each major, utilize e-learning through Blackboard. Before using Blackboard, YSU utilized WebCT, which Blackboard acquired in 2006 but didn't convert to its own software until 2010, with YSU running both programs during the Spring 2010 semester. Both WebCT and Blackboard have been criticized by YSU students and professors.