The motto of Russell Sage College, Esse Scire Facere, “To Be, To Know, To Do,” informs the educational mission and purpose where the common effort is to translate learning into action and application, within a framework of value that recognizes the obligation of educated persons to lead and serve their communities.
Sage is a community of scholars committed to empowering students:
To Be: To provide the individual student with the opportunity and means to develop and advance personally and professionally, and thus to be successful in achieving life goals;
To Know: To contribute to the larger society a group of diverse, thoughtful and competent citizen-leaders who continue to be engaged in the pursuit of lifelong learning; and
To Do: To translate learning into action and application, recognizing the obligation of educated persons to lead and to serve their communities.
The mission of Russell Sage College is to prepare students to participate fully and actively in the life and work of society. The College seeks to provide students of all ages and backgrounds with a strong vision of their own power and potential. The College’s commitment to integrating liberal and career-focused study reflects the fundamental belief that each complements the other. Through both its academic program and supportive environment, Russell Sage College creates an intellectually challenging and caring community to facilitate the development of knowledge, skills, and attitudes essential in an increasingly interdependent world.
Founded in 1916, Russell Sage College, located in Albany, NY and Troy, NY, offers bachelor’s degrees in professional fields and liberal arts and sciences, such as, art & design, business, expressive arts in mental health, criminal justice, education, health sciences, nursing, nutrition science, psychology, and theatre. Through its professional and continuing studies program, Russell Sage College offers a bachelor’s degree completion programs in nursing and psychology designed specifically for working adults.
Russell Sage College offers advanced study for practice and leadership through master’s degrees and post-master’s certification in professional disciplines, as well as the doctorate in educational leadership, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and nursing science. Master's degrees include management, education, health services administration, nursing, nutrition, occupational therapy, and psychology.
Russell Sage College is a distinctive academic community: a small, professionally oriented college, where individuals count and are consistently challenged to develop their strengths, self-confidence, and autonomy. Academic standards are high at Russell Sage, as students learn to think critically, make sound value judgments, and develop a love of learning that will be theirs for life. Study in both the professional and liberal arts provides excellent preparation for successful careers and contributive lives.
Sage students benefit from recent research. Students tend to do well in an environment valuing collaborative teaching and learning. Small classes and a college philosophy that emphasizes active learning and discussion foster such an environment here.
Interdisciplinary core courses required as part of the comprehensive general education program assist students in becoming empowered, informed, participatory citizens in a dynamic and diverse society. Courses enable students to see themselves as potential agents for change, whether locally or globally, in the world beyond Sage.
Highly credentialed, talented, and caring faculty members are teachers first and foremost, but they are also authors, researchers, and leaders in their fields of study and practice. They encourage, challenge, and support students and provide programs of study that systematically connect the classroom to the world beyond the campus.
College programs have reflected the RSC motto, “To Be, To Know, To Do,” since the College’s inception. Knowledge becomes valuable as it becomes action; RSC stresses the importance of practical experiences as a crucial component of the learning process. Russell Sage offers internships at more than 900 locations in New York and New England, with internship opportunities also available overseas. Sage students learn and work in hospitals, social service agencies, laboratories, courtrooms, museums, and art centers, as well as for newspapers, the New York State Legislature, state agencies, television and radio stations, banks, law enforcement agencies, schools, and halfway houses. Many students also collaborate with professors on original research. Some students present the results of their research at national meetings or publish in refereed journals.
Another hallmark of Russell Sage is the strong connection between undergraduate and graduate study. Several programs, such as education, physical therapy, and occupational therapy, offer accelerated bachelor’s-to-master’s or bachelor’s to doctorate options. Russell Sage also offers joint degrees with other institutions, including a 3+3 program with Albany Law School.