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For more than a century, Parsons has been inspired by the transformative potential of design. Today, the school’s groundbreaking academic programs carry forward that mission, making Parsons the number one U.S. design school and top ranked globally. Our programs deliver a uniquely interdisciplinary education enriched by the resources of New York City.
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Parsons offers rigorous interdisciplinary programs across the spectrum of art and design, from fashion and technology to urban design, fine art, and management. Here, creators and scholars master established disciplines and develop emerging ones, fostering innovation that transforms business, advances sustainability, and enhances social impact and health.
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Faculty
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Parsons faculty comprises world-renowned artists, scholars, and practitioners who lead their industries and academic fields. You work closely with them, benefitting from their scholarship and professional experience and networks. Our small class sizes enable you to benefit from their real-world experience and industry access.
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Our Work
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Parsons re:D
Beautiful, provocative, transformative, and boundary-breaking: The creative outpouring of Parsons’ students and faculty is as diverse as our community itself. Uniting it all is a commitment to reflective process and the understanding of the power of art and design to bring about needed change in the world.
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Our school is animated by progressive creativity, activism, and its setting within a dynamic urban environment and university. Parsons is where ambition, ingenuity, and collaboration tirelessly converge, and New York City is the ideal setting for starting your journey.
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After Parsons
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At Parsons, your career begins your first day on campus. Here, you gain the creative and critical foundation you need to turn passions into a professional life of your own design. With your toolkit of hands-on, collaborative methods and global support network, you enter prepared for sustained success in your field or in advanced studies.
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Parsons welcomes applicants who seek a rigorous education in an environment where creativity, critical thinking, and global perspectives thrive together. If you are ready to take first steps toward your creative education and career, you have come to the right place. Learn more about visiting, applying to, and attending our school.
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Faculty

Christopher Beck

Part-time Assistant Professor

Email
beckc@newschool.edu

Office Location
L - 2 West 13th Street

Christopher Beck

Profile

Chris Beck designs, draws, organizes and writes in Brooklyn, and is a Registered Architect in the state of New York. He has over 10 years experience in the Architecture, Construction and Engineering industries, working at various community-based non-profits and architecture firms with a primary focus on affordable housing. His research examines the creative process in art and design fields, focusing on the effects of digital technology on methods of making, and systems of capital in labor and production. He also is an advisor for Architectural Workers United (AWU), utilizing his experience organizing the first private-sector architecture union. His book, The Labor of Architecture: Creativity, Design, and the Building of a New Class Consciousness, is available with Monthly Review Press.

Degrees Held

M.A. in Liberal Arts, The New School (ongoing)

M.Arch, Rhode Island School of Design

B.S. in Architecture, University of Maryland-College Park

Recent Publications

Book

The Labor of Architecture: Creativity, Design, and the Building of a New Class Consciousness, Monthly Review, 2025

Articles

"Architecture Today, America Tomorrow: How Designers’ Unions Are Fighting for a Fairer Future", Power at Work, 2025

"Designers Can Help Build a Stronger Labor Movement", The Progressive, 2024

"Architects Are Starting to See Themselves as Workers — and Organizing Unions", Jacobin, 2023

Portfolio

cgbeck.com

Current Courses

Construction Technology 1
PGAR 5023 - Fall 2026
Representation and Analysis
PUAD 2020 - Fall 2026
Integrative Seminar 1
PUFY 1010 - Fall 2026

Future Courses

Design Studio 2
PGAR 5002 - Spring 2027

Past Courses

Design Studio 2
PGAR 5002 - Spring 2026
Labor and Design
PSCE 5120 - Spring 2026

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Notice of Nondiscriminatory Policy

The New School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.