History

1919

Education for Social Change

Charles Beard, John Dewey, and other progressive educators establish The New School for Social Research to engage citizens in open discussion of timely issues and efforts to solve social problems.

1921

First Steps in Paris

Parsons initiates a satellite school in Paris, becoming the first international branch campus for an American school.

1926

Exploring the Art of Cinema

One of the earliest courses devoted to the cinema as an art form, The Motion Picture, is offered at The New School.

1926

A New Take on the Mind

The New School offers the first continuing education course in psychoanalysis, taught by Freud's associate Sandor Ferenczi.

1927

Musical Insight from a Legend

Composer Aaron Copland begins teaching at The New School. His lectures become the enormously popular book, What to Listen for in Music.

1930

A Home in Greenwich Village

The New School's landmark West 12th Street home in Greenwich Village opens, designed by Bauhaus architect Joseph Urban.

1931

Dancing Into the Modern Era

The New School offers workshops in modern dance taught by Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey.

1933

The University in Exile

The New School for Social Research incorporates German scholars fleeing fascist persecution into their community as a graduate school of political and social science called the University in Exile.

1934

Photography in Focus

The New School offers the first college course in photography, taught by Berenice Abbott.

1940

A School for the Stars

Erwin Piscator brings his Dramatic Workshop to The New School, attracting students like Marlon Brando, Walter Matthau, Harry Belafonte, Elaine Stritch, and Tennessee Williams. 

1941

Jazz Joins the Canon

The New School offers the first-ever college course devoted to the study of jazz.

1946

Great Minds Reveal History

The New School offers courses in African American culture and history, taught by Alain Locke, Sterling Brown, and W.E.B. DuBois.

1951

A Visit from Dior

Celebrated French couturier Christian Dior attends Parsons classes to critique fashion design projects and share with students his innovative construction techniques.

1956

Composing with John Cage

Artists and New School alumnus John Cage offers his groundbreaking course in post-modern music composition at The New School.

1962

Celebrating Women in History

The New School offers the first college course in the U.S. devoted to women's history.

1964

Civil Rights on Campus

Martin Luther King, Jr. speaks about school integration, housing discrimination, and affirmative action at The New School in Tishman Auditorium.

1964

The City Becomes a Subject

The New School opens the Center for New York City Affairs, the first research center in the U.S. devoted to a single urban area.

1968

Philosophizing with Arendt

Sociologist, philosopher, and political scientist Hannah Arendt begins teaching at The New School.

1970

Design as Discipline

Parsons School of Design becomes part of The New School and awards the country's first university degrees in fashion design, interior design, and lighting design.

1975

Creativity in the Urban Space

The university establishes the Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy, later named for trustee Robert J. Milano.

1975

A New Perspective on Media

John Culkin, a media education pioneer, launches America's first master's program in media studies at The New School.

1977

Modern Art Finds a Venue

The New School becomes the first home for the New Museum, the only major museum in New York dedicated to contemporary art. One of the museum's first exhibitions features work by Joel Shapiro and other American artists.

1982

Creativity Sparks at Parsons

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei enrolls at Parsons. In a 2012 interview in Time magazine, Weiwei discusses how during his time at Parsons, he gained an understanding of the work of contemporary artists like Jasper Johns which changed the way he looked at the world.

1984

A Fashion Career Takes Off

Fashion designer Marc Jacobs graduates from Parsons with the Designer of the Year Award. Just two years later, he launches his eponymous collection, and in 1987 he becomes the youngest designer ever to receive the fashion industry's highest tribute, the Council of Fashion Designers of America's Perry Ellis Award for New Fashion Talent.

1985

Lang - A New Kind of Undergrad

The Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts is formed. Lang, which began as the experimental Freshman Year Program in 1972, joins the university and offers students small seminar-style classes taught by a faculty of prominent scholars.

1986

Learning from Legends of Jazz

The School of Jazz is established with a faculty of legendary musicians. Learning takes place in the classroom, studio, and also in ensemble playing, tutorials, public performances, and master classes with professional performers.

1989

Mannes Joins The New School

Mannes College of Music, the world-famous conservatory on Manhattan's Upper West Side founded in 1916, becomes part of The New School. Like the students they teach, Mannes faculty members come from every corner of the world and include performers and conductors from prominent performers, conductors, and scholars.

1994

A Theatrical Awakening

The New School launches a graduate program in the dramatic arts, now The School of Drama.

1994

Embracing the Digital Age

One of the first Internet-based distance learning programs at a major university is established at The New School.

1994

The Actor's Studio is Born

Paul Newman appears as the first guest on Inside the Actors Studio. Inside the Actors Studio began as drama class at The New School.

1995

A Home for the Performing Arts

The New School opens a new building on West 13th Street named for trustee Henry Arnhold and his wife, whose major gift made the building possible. Now a state-of-the-art home to The New School's College of Performing Arts.

1996

Creative Writing Flourishes

Building on its history as a center for American writing and literature, The New School begins offering the MFA in creative writing.

2005

Senator Obama Speaks to Change

Newly-elected senator Barack Obama speaks at The New School in the wake of his rousing appearance at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

2008

Parsons Unites on 5th Avenue

The Parsons buildings at Fifth Avenue and 13th Street are combined to create the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, named for its major donor.

2009

Alums Design for the First Lady

First Lady Michelle Obama wears design by Parsons alum Jason Wu to the first inaugural ball. She goes on to wear many looks by other Parsons alums during her time in office.

2010

Addressing Climate Change

In response to the urgent global climate crisis, the Milano School launches a graduate program in environmental policy and sustainability management.

2012

Designing an Empowering House

Parsons, Milano, and the Stevens Institute of Technology students design a home that wins the U.S. Department of Energy's 2011 Solar Decathlon award for affordability and lighting. Their design, Empowerhouse, was built in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity.

2012

Merging Design with Strategy

Parsons reimagines design-led business education, creating the first MS Strategic Design and Management program, preparing students to lead in creative industries and traditional businesses.

2014

Investing in a Green Future

The University Center - the country's largest LEED Gold Certified urban university building - opens on 14th Street and Fifth Avenue, uniting the campus. The American Institute of Architects names the building one of the greenest buildings in the United States.

2014

Taking Strides in Journalism

The New School introduces BA Journalism + Design program, through Parsons School of Design and Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, designed to cultivate a new generation of journalists.

2015

Creating a Dynamic Trio

The College of Performing Arts is formed, bringing our renowned schools of Drama, Jazz, and the Mannes School of Music together. Housed within one college, students have the opportunity to experiment across genres and explore new artistic disciplines.

2015

Parsons is Illuminated

Parsons School of Design is considered the Best College for Art and Design in the United States and number three in the world by the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings.

2016

A Tribute to Social Activism

Black Lives Matter activist DeRay McKesson, actress Laverne Cox, and International Rescue Committee president and CEO David Miliband are among this year's honorary degree recipients from The New School.

2016

The Making of New Ideas

Parsons opens the 28,000-square-foot Making Center, equipped with traditional and cutting-edge tools, including CNC routers, 3D printers, 3D knitting machines, digital jacquard looms, state-of-the art metal milling machinery, printing facilities, and a ceramics lab.

2017

A Critical Lens on Migration

At a time when immigrant rights are being challenged, former U.N. deputy high commissioner for refugees Alex Aleinikoff reinvigorates the Zolberg Institute with local and global initiatives.

2017

The Stone Workshops

The Stone, John Zorn’s legendary experimental music venue, makes the College of Performing Art's Glass Box Theater on West 13th Street its permanent home.

2018

Fighting for Digital Equity

Renowned litigator and New School senior vice president for social justice Maya Wiley establishes the Digital Equity Laboratory on campus, bringing scholars and policymakers together to address structural inequity involving modern technology.

2018

The New University in Exile Consortium is founded

The consortium follows in the tradition of The New School’s original University in Exile, established by The New School’s first president, Alvin Johnson, in 1933.

2018

Building New Paths

Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts pilots a program that brings together students and people incarcerated in the Metropolitan Correctional Center to learn together in a college course.

2019

The New School celebrates its centennial

To celebrate The New School’s 100-year anniversary, the university invited people around the world to explore our mission through events, exhibitions, and a book documenting our history.

2019

A Residency for Philip Glass

In collaboration with the Philip Glass Ensemble, the College of Performing Arts establishes the Philip Glass Institute to preserve and celebrate the legendary composer’s music.

2020

The Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy is launched

Led by University Professor Darrick Hamilton, the Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy sheds light on structural inequalities and seeks groundbreaking ways to promote equity.

2020

IBM and Parsons establish a partnership centering on quantum computing

The Quantum Lab at The New School is a first-of-its-kind initiative that brings together quantum computing and creative disciplines in a university setting.

2024

The New School and CUNY launch the New York Retirement and Disability Research Center

Funded by the Social Security Administration, the NYRDRC is a joint effort of The New School and CUNY to identify institutional barriers that disadvantage people in social insurance programs.

2024

Joel Towers is appointed the tenth president of The New School

President Towers' appointment to lead the university forward is the next step in a career dedicated to education, research, and collaboration on environmental sustainability and resilience.

The New School was founded a century ago in New York City by a small group of prominent American intellectuals and educators who were frustrated by the intellectual timidity of traditional colleges. The founders, among them Charles Beard, John Dewey, James Harvey Robinson, and Thorstein Veblen, set out to create a new kind of academic institution, one where faculty and students would be free to honestly and directly address the problems facing societies in the 20th century. Their vision was to bring together scholars and citizens interested in questioning, debating, and discussing the most important issues of the day.

In 1919, they founded the New School for Social Research. Now formally named The New School, the university has grown to include five colleges, with courses that reflect the founders' interest in the emerging social sciences, international affairs, liberal arts, history, and philosophy, as well as art, design, management, and performing arts.

Over the decades, some of the finest minds of the 20th century have pioneered courses in new areas of social sciences and liberal arts at The New School. Faculty members and visiting scholars have included Harold Laski, Franz Boas, and John Maynard Keynes. In the late 1940s, Karen Horney and Erich Fromm introduced their new approaches to psychoanalysis. From 1954 to 1978, Margaret Mead taught courses in anthropology. The New School's groundbreaking courses attracted students from around the world, including the young Shimon Peres. In 1962, Gerda Lerner offered the first university-level course in women's history.

The New School also became known for courses in the creative arts taught by innovative 20th-century artists, including Martha Graham, Frank Lloyd Wright, Aaron Copland, and W. H. Auden. In 1926, The New School became the first American university to teach the history of film, and it was one of the first to offer college-level courses in photography and jazz.

Dissenting opinions, radical ideas, and progressive solutions have always had a home at The New School. Through the years, each of The New School's innovative colleges carries forward this legacy while evolving to provide students with a challenging and relevant education.

Historical Resources

New School Archives and Special Collections
Covering the history of The New School from its origins, The New School Archives and Special Collections is a rich resource of physical and digital records. The archives document the ongoing evolution of programs and schools, including the history of Parsons and Mannes before joining the university, student activities, public programs, exhibitions, and executive policymaking and administrative operations. Materials include photographs, audiovisual recordings, original design work, memoranda, minutes, publicity materials, reports, and more.

New School Archives Digital Collections
Containing more than 20,000 items from the university's archives, The New School Archives Digital Collections provides direct access to photographs, public programs, exhibitions, course catalogs, press releases, reports, theses, and more.

Histories of The New School
An indispensable online resource, Histories of The New School consists of short essays by faculty, students, and staff on aspects of New School history. It also provides historical information about exhibitions and collaborative projects, readings and resources, scholarly commentary, personal memories, and opinions.

Realizing The New School: Lessons from the Past
A collection of essays by New School faculty members, Realizing The New School: Lessons from the Past, builds on the research of in-house historians Julia Foulkes and Mark Larrimore to provide an incisive look at the school's first 60 years.

A Drama in Time: The New School Century
Creative writing professor John Reed created A Drama in Time: The New School Century on the occasion of the university's centennial. It is a large-format illustrated book that weaves together the many histories of the New School. 

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A Day in the Life

A Day in the Life of a New School Student, Visit and Learn

Wondering what a day in the life of a New Schooler is like? When you study in the heart of Greenwich Village, every day is a chance to explore, challenge what you know and believe, and find inspiration. Student-made videos, stories, playlists, and interactive maps immerse you in our community. 

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