Finding your fit

Students have been affected by the closure of several New York state-based colleges, so we know you’re going through a difficult, confusing, and overwhelming time.

We know the Saint Rose community well, and we’ve created this page to help you understand the similarities between our two colleges as you look to find your fit.

Undergraduate Students

Many Saint Rose students joined our community after Saint Rose discontinued several majors in 2020. They found a welcoming community at Russell Sage that nurtured them through the transition and on to earning their degrees.

Seamless transfer: As a teach-out partner for Saint Rose, we will accept all your earned credits. Upon transfer evaluation, we’ll advise you of the remaining credits that you need to complete your degree.

Generous financial aid packages: Tuition “sticker price” at Russell Sage is already lower than tuition at Saint Rose by more than $1,000 a year. Fees are also lower at Russell Sage. We will evaluate your Saint Rose financial aid with the goal of matching as much of that institutional aid here as we can so you’ll land at the same bottom-line tuition cost. See more on tuition and room and board below.

Transfer vs. Teach-out

We’re looking at every student whose program does not have a formal teach-out agreement and evaluating their programs to transfer the most credits possible with the goal of matching pace to graduation.

Russell Sage offers the following bachelor’s degree programs that align with Saint Rose programs:

Thinking about something else? Russell Sage also offers bachelor’s degree programs in:

Student hanging out Albany campus

How Much Does It Really Cost?

Tuition: When you meet with us to discuss transferring, you’ll bring your financial aid award letter from Saint Rose and your semester bill. We’ll then work with you to determine bottom-line tuition cost with a goal of matching the bottom-line tuition cost at Saint Rose. 

Federal changes: This is a very unusual year given the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) has undergone the most dramatic changes in decades, and Pell Grant eligibility may change for students depending on their circumstances. No matter what college or university you attend, this is something we want you to know. You’ll have a clear idea of Pell eligibility when the federal government transmits the 2024-2025 FAFSA data to your future college or university. It is not expected these changes will impact New York State Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) Awards.

Room and board: Your housing and meal plan costs are separate from the teach-out agreement, but the cost of room and board is also slightly lower at Russell Sage compared to current charges at Saint Rose (based on a double room and the highest meal plan option). It’s also less expensive than most SUNY institutions.

Room and Board Costs

The cost of room and board is also lower at Russell Sage compared to what you’re currently paying at Saint Rose, based on a double room and the highest meal plan option.

  • Russell Sage: $14,048
  • Saint Rose: $14,600

Housing Options

Housing is available on both our Troy and Albany campuses. Read more detail about our upperclass student housing here. You can easily travel between the two on our free shuttles, which run every 20 minutes.

On the Albany campus, you can live in University Heights College Suites, apartment-style living with new, fully furnished four-bedroom units.

On the Troy campus, students can choose from traditional residence halls or any of our historic homes, including charming brownstones.

Each campus is equipped with all of the amenities, including fitness centers, libraries, wellness/health centers, dining halls and quick-serve eateries, gyms and recreation spaces, and arts opportunities.

Our Graduate Programs

We know graduate school was a big decision from the start, so the closure of Saint Rose is difficult news. But we want to make it as easy as possible for you to continue your degree. We know Saint Rose had excellent graduate programs, and fortunately, we do, too. We offer master’s degree programs in the following areas:

Transferring Credits: Our teach-out agreement with Saint Rose will allow for a smooth transfer from your Saint Rose program to our program to keep you on track.

Cost: Your tuition will not exceed what you paid at Saint Rose. Our per-credit cost at Russell Sage is already less than what you paid at Saint Rose.

Education Graduate Programs:

Management students working at computer

Business Graduate Programs:

Health Graduate Programs:

Other Graduate Programs:

Doctoral Programs:

Costs for Graduate Students

Learn more about affordability for graduate students at Russell Sage here.

Unlike Saint Rose, tuition varies by program at Russell Sage College, with our cost per credit competitively priced with other private and public colleges and universities. In most comparable programs, tuition per credit hour is $100-$200 less than at Saint Rose. 

Tuition is published on the webpage for each academic program, or you can find a list of graduate tuition rates here.

Student Life

Student clubs and organizations

We have 30+ student clubs and organizations, and you can see a full list of our active clubs here. 

Some of the active clubs include the Black Student Union, Caribbean Student Association, Democracy Matters, Muslim Student Association, Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The Queer Collective, Sustainability Club, Cheer Club, Ping Pong Club, and Finance Club. Some clubs also tie to majors, such as the Student Nursing Association and Psychology Club. 

Don’t see what you’re looking for? Like Saint Rose, students at Russell Sage are supported in starting their own clubs.

Athletics

Unlike Saint Rose, Russell Sage College student-athletes compete at the Division III level. We belong to the competitive Empire 8 Conference. Being DIII means student-athletes do not receive athletics-specific scholarships.

21

Men’s and women’s teams at Russell Sage.

Men’s teams

  • Basketball
  • Baseball
  • Soccer
  • Lacrosse
  • Golf
  • Volleyball
  • Track and Field (Indoor and Outdoor)
  • Cross Country

Women’s teams

  • Basketball
  • Softball
  • Lacrosse
  • Soccer
  • Golf
  • Volleyball
  • Cross Country
  • Field Hockey
  • Track and Field (Indoor and Outdoor)
  • Tennis

Co-ed teams

  • E-sports (our team also has its own esports arena on the Troy campus)

Thrive@Russell Sage

One of the founding values of The College of Saint Rose is development of the whole person. In 2022, Russell Sage College became the second college in New York state and the 11th in the country to sign the Okanagan Charter. The charter formalized our membership in the U.S. Health Promoting Campuses Network.

Our Thrive@Russell Sage initiative puts that promise into action.

Thrive@Russell Sage extends into and beyond the classroom to help members of the Russell Sage community – students and employees – achieve the 8 Dimensions of Wellness: physical, emotional, social, intellectual, environmental, spiritual, vocational, and financial.

Female students walking on the Russell Sage College campus

Women’s Institute at Russell Sage College

The Women’s Institute was created in 2020 to respond to the contemporary and evolving cultural landscape of the 21st century while honoring Russell Sage College’s century-long dedication to women’s empowerment. The institute offers public programs and community partnerships and promotes women’s leadership and gender inclusivity through a student-learning community of institute ambassadors.

Theatre at Sage - Blackbeard

The Theatre Institute at Sage

The Theatre Institute at Sage provides public performances and arts-in-education programming to the Capital Region. Students from any major can participate in shows, whether as performers or crew.

Equal Justice Under Law

Criminal Investigation Resource Center (CIRC)

The Criminal Investigation Resource Center (CIRC) will open at Russell Sage College in January 2024 and utilizes Russell Sage College students to assist law enforcement agencies in investigating unresolved cases.

CIRC was developed to address the mounting problem of unresolved, or “cold cases,” in the criminal justice system. The CIRC provides training and experiences to students in unresolved case investigation and analysis while forming relationships with community agencies and contributing resources to local law enforcement to address their cold case initiatives.

Under the direction of Dr. Christina Lane, a criminologist and an associate professor of criminal justice at Russell Sage. Lane previously co-founded the Cold Case Analysis Center at The College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York with Dr. Chris Kunkle, who serves as co-founder and advisor to this new center.

With its opening in January 2024, the CIRC becomes only the second center of its kind in New York state and one of less than a dozen such centers in the nation.

36%

of undergraduates and 30% of graduate students identify as BIPOC

10:1

student-to-faculty ratio

2,100+

students

#15

Ranked 15 for Social Mobility and 35 for Best Value among national universities by U.S. News & World Report

96%

of surveyed students are employed or accepted to graduate school after graduation

100%

of undergraduate students receive at least two resume-building experiences

Frequently Asked Questions

General Teach-out and Transferring FAQs

At many of the colleges that have closed, including Saint Rose, high levels of debt have been cited as a key issue leading to closure. Russell Sage does not carry significant debt (less than $8 million, which it has paid down each year) and has posted five consecutive years of budget surpluses. In an October 2023 article, the Times Union wrote about the college’s success under President Christopher Ames.

In January, Moody’s, a global integrated risk assessment firm, upgraded Russell Sage College’s credit rating from a “stable” to a “positive” outlook. This offers an unbiased third-party evaluation of the college’s financial stability.

When an institution plans to close, it must provide its accrediting body, such as the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), with a plan for how it will assist students in completing their degrees. These plans include what are essentially memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with other colleges and universities called “teach-out agreements.”

Students experiencing a college closure have had their plans disrupted and often feel in shock. But they will have good options to finish degrees in their planned major on time and with the same or similar level of financial aid. Colleges participating in teach-out agreements are committed to helping those students continue their studies as seamlessly as possible.

We have signed a teach-out agreement with Saint Rose. A teach-out agreement is a formal agreement that allows students to finish their degrees at another institution as smoothly as possible. Students don’t need a teach-out agreement to transfer from a closing college to another college, but the agreements offer credit transferability and financial aid that typically goes above and beyond what a student might receive in a typical transfer.

For example, the teach-out agreement between Russell Sage College and Medaille University, a university in Buffalo that closed on August 31, 2023, after announcing its closure on May 15, stated that:

“The Institution will accept all credits accepted and/or earned by Medaille University Legacy students and which were based on Medaille University’s prior evaluation of applicable credit. Upon transfer evaluation, Medaille University students will be advised of the remaining requirements for the major in addition to the credits earned at Medaille.”

If there was a significant difference in the curriculum between an undergraduate major or graduate program at the closing institution and the new one, the student may still be required to take additional specific courses to earn their degree at their new college.

Those teach-out agreements are approved by the closing college’s accrediting body, in this case Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), which is also the accrediting body for Russell Sage College. According to MSCHE teach-out agreements are “to make accommodations for and assist students as much as possible and provide clear and transparent information regarding those arrangements.”

As part of the teach-out plan, the closing college creates a page on its website listing schools that are formal teach-out agreement partners. They sometimes include links to other institutions even if they haven’t signed a formal teach-out agreement. The closing college often hosts a transfer fair on campus for its students.

Undergraduate FAQs

A teach-out agreement will allow Russell Sage to accept all of your Saint Rose credits for any academic program covered by the agreement. The best way to get a true picture is to connect with our admission team at [email protected] or 518-292-1730.

State and federal aid always follows the student because it is based on financial need when the student files their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and NYS Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), if they’re from NYS and going to a NYS institution.

Teach-out agreements typically guarantee the teach-out partner won’t charge the student more for tuition than what they paid at the institution that’s closing. Sticker-price tuition at Russell Sage is already lower than at Saint Rose.

Yes, it can.

First-year and sophomore students are likely still working through general education courses and introductory courses in their majors. Those types of courses tend to transfer most smoothly between institutions. If they choose to remain at Saint Rose for the spring, there’s still lots of time to explore options and the teach-out process will give them ample opportunity to weigh options. Sometimes, because of personal preference and comfort, students want to make the transition earlier, and again, a teach-out agreement does not have to be in place for a student to transfer to another institution.

Juniors (typically defined as students who have completed between 61 and 90 credits) have the most complicated transfer path. Juniors should map their route to completion early with the institutions they’re considering as transfer destinations. Regardless of whether they want to transfer in the spring or fall, talking to your potential transfer destinations early can help you design the smoothest transition.

Seniors on track for a May graduation will be able to complete their degrees easily at Saint Rose, and it would not make sense to transfer to another institution for one semester. Seniors who won’t graduate in May are best to start weighing their options now and having discussions with colleges and universities of interest to minimize possible disruption.

Student-athletes with remaining eligibility may feel more pressure to begin the transfer recruitment process if they’d like to continue their collegiate athletic careers. Athletic scholarships are particular to college athletic programs. They may or may not be honored by their new teams. Student-athletes do not have to sit out for a year if they transfer.

It’s important for students with the Build the Teacher Pipeline grant to know that, unfortunately, we are not able to honor that housing award, which was funded by donors at Saint Rose. We have not received that same donor funding for the program.

Graduate FAQs

Yes. It can be. Because graduate programs may often have specialized accreditation (for example, Russell Sage’s Counseling and Community Psychology program is accredited by the Masters in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation Council) or requirements tied to state certifications, the course requirements can be very specific.

Our teach-out agreement with Saint Rose will allow us to accept all of your Saint Rose credits.

Yes. It can.

For graduate students, if a new college of choice doesn’t have as much transfer credit flexibility due to specific accreditation or certification requirements, it’s best to start searching for a new program sooner rather than later so the student doesn’t accumulate more credits that won’t transfer to the new institution.

Students in graduate programs covered under the teach-out agreement will have a smooth carryover to Saint Rose, as those program alignments have already been mapped out. If you choose a different graduate program at Russell Sage than the one you were pursuing at Saint Rose, your situation would need the review of admissions and program faculty.

We’d love to welcome you to Russell Sage. Program requirements vary by program, so we encourage you to review the requirements for your specific program of interest on our website. Our admission team is also happy to discuss your program of interest with you and answer any questions about the process. The graduate admission team can be reached at [email protected] or 518-292-8615.

Visit Us

Make it Happen Monday Instant Admission Day | Every Monday, April 15-May 20
Schedule your Instant Admission Day to get a decision on the spot, tour campus, and chat with the office of admission and financial aid.

Check out our events and visits page for additional information sessions and visit opportunities.

Undergraduate education students looking to transfer to Russell Sage should attend a Virtual Information Session on April 11 at 6 p.m. to chat with the program chair, Kelly Smith and the office of admission about transfer credits and the teachout plan, the program, and life at Sage. Register today!

Interested in learning more about Russell Sage? Let us know!

Contact Us

Contact Us
You don’t have to attend an event to find out more. We’re happy to talk with you on your schedule.

Undergraduate Admission
[email protected]
518-292-1730

Graduate Admission
[email protected]
518-292-8615