Message from the Dean

The New School for Social Research has long dared to be different.

The school was founded in 1919 as an experiment in education, meant to explore new ways to instruct adults passionate about civil liberties and social justice. It was reinvented in 1933 as a “University in Exile,” a home for scholars fleeing oppression and censorship. Today, a century later, The New School for Social Research remains a magnet for students and faculty committed to social change.

New York City, our home, is a global crossroads that puts us at the center of contemporary debates over migration, racial discrimination, and the prospects for forging a transnational community of self-governing citizens prepared to combat growing inequality, intolerance, and the threat of catastrophic climate change. 

Our faculty are world renowned for their writings on topics as varied as capitalism, ethics, trauma, tragedy, collective memory, and the prospects for democracy under the fraught conditions of globalization today.

Our core doctoral programs build on the pragmatic and theoretical interests of our founders. At the same time, our position within The New School—which includes Parsons School of Design—has created exciting opportunities for graduate students in the social sciences and philosophy to engage with performing artists and practitioners in literature, urban design, publishing, and digital media.  

As executive dean of The New School for Social Research, I often hear from newly arrived students and faculty about how inspired they are with the way we as a community struggle together to understand our current historical moment. I am proud of our students, faculty, and alumni and the legacy they are renewing. I encourage you to join us and to become an active participant in this very special community of scholars.

Christoph Cox, Executive Dean