A University in New York City | The New School

I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones.

— John Cage

Former New School faculty

Avant-garde composer

Arriving at one goal is the starting point to another.

— John Dewey

Co-founder of The New School

Influential educational reformer

If you don't ask the right questions, every answer feels wrong.

— Ani DiFranco

Former New School student

Singer-songwriter and activist

I believe what saved my life is, in fact, critical thinking.

— bell hooks

New School scholar-in-residence

Author, feminist, and social activist

We live with—and within—a gap between knowledge and wisdom.

— Simon Critchley

New School faculty

Philosopher and moderator of the New York Times online forum The Stone

An idea is salvation by imagination.

— Frank Lloyd Wright

Former New School faculty

Architect, interior designer, writer, and educator

It is only in his work that an artist can find reality and satisfaction.

— Tennessee Williams

Former New School student

Playwright and author

I really do believe that art changes the landscape of the world.

— Marc Jacobs

New School/Parsons alumnus

Fashion design innovator and humanitarian

We don't need more of the same, we need better ideas.

— Anna Sui

New School/Parsons alumna

Fashion design entrepreneur

Say yes to almost everything. Don't be afraid to fail, and don't be afraid to work hard.

— Ryan McGinley

New School/Parsons alumnus

Artist and photographer

Learn the value of silence. Learn the value of control and discipline.

— Frederica von Stade

New School alumna

Operatic mezzo-soprano

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The New School in NYC is the only university where a world-renowned design school comes together with premier undergraduate and graduate programs and colleges to seek out ways to create a more just, more beautiful, and better-designed world.

Explore Our University
Academics

Our multidimensional approach to academics helps you view traditional disciplines in unconventional ways. With immersive learning opportunities across disciplines, you will stretch yourself both within and beyond conventional academic pathways. Develop problem-solving skills through hands-on research and learning. Hone your critical thinking skills as you propose, prototype, and apply solutions. Forever change the way you investigate and create.
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Our colleges and schools

Parsons School of Design

Master established art and design fields or advance emerging ones. At Parsons, consistently ranked one of the top design schools in the world, you will be guided by our renowned faculty as you challenge convention and transform the field of design.
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Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts

At Lang, our intellectually rigorous liberal arts college, in-depth exploration meets real autonomy. Lang’s flexible curriculum gives you the freedom to chart your own academic journey, benefit from small seminar classes, and engage with real-world issues.
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College of Performing Arts

Our renowned School of Drama, School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, and Mannes School of Music make up the College of Performing Arts. Test the outermost limits of your artistry and move between disciplines to reinvent tradition, engage with social issues, and develop the entrepreneurial skills needed to become a 21st-century artist.
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The New School for Social Research

Upholding the university’s legendary tradition of challenging orthodoxy, graduate programs at The New School for Social Research foster an intellectual environment that promotes public discourse and cultivates academic rigor. Study with distinguished faculty as you push scholarship and knowledge in new directions.
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Schools of Public Engagement

Our graduate and professional programs in international affairs, management and urban policy, media studies, creative writing, and TESOL and programs for adult and transfer students connect theory to practice, preparing you to tackle issues in civic life, create new forms of culture, and respond to contemporary challenges in organizations and around the world.
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Parsons Paris

Built on the curriculum of Parsons School of Design, Parsons Paris offers students the opportunity to master classic traditions, explore new technologies, and defy design conventions in an intimate, atelier-like setting. Develop creative and critical thinking skills side by side with students from around the world in one of the most vibrant creative cities in the world.
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Open Campus (Continuing Education)

Open Campus, our progressive approach to continuing and executive education, offers courses online and on-site that enable you to enhance your intellectual and professional skills and join a dynamic, diverse community of progressive thinkers and creators. It’s more than a course—it’s a new kind of network.
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#1
ranked art and design school in the U.S.

#1
ranked for small classes

134
degree and diploma programs
Research and Work

We don’t just expand conventional boundaries—we redraw them. The groundbreaking research and work done by New School students, alumni, and faculty are defined by rigorous methodology, in-depth exploration, and human-inspired problem solving. Explore the ways we create new knowledge, forms, and models.
Discover Our Work

28K
square feet of work space in our Making Center hub

200
travel grants awarded to graduate students by The New School for Social Research in 2016–2017

42
MFA Creative Writing graduates published books in 2016

Campus Life

Find your community. Build lifelong friendships with students who share your interests, passions, and perspectives. Whether you're on our main campus in New York City or our Parsons Paris campus, the boundaries of the classroom dissolve as the city becomes your studio, rehearsal space, and research center.
Explore together

NYC
Greenwich Village is home to our main campus in New York City

10K
degree-seeking students across all schools

116
countries represented in our student body

50+
student organizations and clubs on campus

Success and Outcomes

Anna Sui
Anna Sui is an iconic American fashion designer and an alumna of Parsons School of Design. In her nearly 30-year career, she has created award-winning garments for various sportswear companies and products for Google, Anthropologie, and Samsung. In 2009, she was awarded the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award by the Council of Fashion Designers of America in recognition of her classic yet forward-looking designs.

Nelson Barbosa
Nelson Barbosa is an economist and Brazil's former minister of finance. He received a PhD in Economics from The New School for Social Research, where he focused on structuralist macroeconomics and systems that obstruct financially underdeveloped nations.

Nadine Sierra
As a student at Mannes School of Music, Nadine Sierra became the youngest winner of both the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Marilyn Horne Song Competition. She has performed at operas around the world, including the Paris Opera, the Berlin State Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera.

Jenna Lyons
Dubbed by the New York Times the "woman who dresses America" for her former role as president and creative director of J.Crew, Jenna Lyons has become one of fashion's most influential creative voices. She enrolled in Parsons' BFA Fashion Design program soon after arriving in New York City, beginning her journey through the wilds of the city's fashion scene.

Ani DiFranco
Singer-songwriter, poet, and businesswoman Ani DiFranco started her own record company at the age of 18. After moving to New York City, she studied at The New School, where she focused on poetry. While there, she met poet Sekou Sundiata, who became a friend and mentor.

Evan Roth
As a Parsons student in the MFA Design and Technology program, Evan Roth spent years exploring the expressive possibilities of technology. Now an acclaimed artist, he received the prestigious Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award in 2012. His work is part of the Museum of Modern Art’s collection and is exhibited worldwide.

Ana Oliveira
Called “an unsung hero” by Newsweek, Ana Oliveira has dedicated her life to human rights activism. After graduating from The New School for Social Research with an MA in Anthropology, she became the first female and Latino executive director of the GMHC (formerly the Gay Men’s Health Crisis). In 2006, she became the CEO and president of the New York Women’s Foundation, a nonprofit that pursues justice and economic security for women and girls.

Tracy Reese
Tracy Reese set new standards in women’s ready-to-wear fashion after studying at Parsons School of Design. Working under French designer, Martine Sitbon, Reese branched out, becoming head of the Women’s Portfolio for Perry Ellis, and eventually starting her own line of resort wear housed in flagship stores in New York and Tokyo. Her celebrity clients include First Lady Michelle Obama, and in 2007, she was invited to sit on the board of the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

Bill S. Ritter
Bill S. Ritter is an award-winning journalist and was already a New York City institution before enrolling in the Bachelor’s Program for Adults and Transfer Students at The New School. Bill is currently co-anchor of WABC-TV New York's Eyewitness News, where he investigates topics ranging from drug use among young Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn to fire safety in NYC apartments. His early roots in activism have informed both his journalism and his coursework at the university, where he was a highlighted student speaker at his 2016 graduation.

The benefits of a New School education are life-changing. Our graduates discover innovative ways to realize their potential and their academic, professional, and creative aspirations. See why education at this one-of-a-kind university is so valuable for life after graduation.
Look Ahead

88%
of 2017 graduates went on to professional opportunities and further education within a year of graduating.

1K+
employers hired New School students for internships during the 2016 academic year

50%
of graduating seniors had internships while at The New School
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Undergraduates

To apply to any of our undergraduate programs (except the Bachelor's Program for Adults and Transfer Students and Parsons Associate of Applied Science programs) complete and submit the Common App online.

Undergraduate Adult Learners

To apply to any of our Bachelor's Program for Adults and Transfer Students and Parsons Associate of Applied Science programs, complete and submit the New School Online Application.

Graduates

To apply to any of our Master's, Doctoral, Professional Studies Diploma, and Graduate Certificate programs, complete and submit the New School Online Application.