• About Us Hero

    About Us

  • The Schools of Public Engagement graduate, professional, and adult bachelor's programs connect theory to real-world practice, training students to study social ecologies, create new forms of culture, and respond to contemporary challenges around the world. Whether you're studying at the Milano School of Policy, Management, and Environment; the School of Media Studies; the Julien J. Studley Graduate Programs in International Affairs; the Creative Writing Program; or the Bachelor’s Program for Adults and Transfer Students, you can pursue your academic, creative, and professional goals while studying and working alongside a network of collaborative and progressive individuals.

  • 100 Years of Engaged Learning

    100 Years of Engaged Learning

    The New School was founded in 1919 by a group of progressive American educators as a center for discussion and instruction for adult students. By 1930, their “new school” had acquired a special place in the intellectual and cultural life of New York City and a permanent home in Greenwich Village. A leader among American colleges and universities, The New School was one of the first to offer courses in cinema studies, psychoanalysis, photography, modern dance, African American studies, women's studies, urban policy, and creative writing. In 1934, it was chartered as a university by the state of New York and began conferring degrees. Today, The New School is a major urban university of five colleges enrolling more than 10,000 degree-seeking students and with an additional 6,500 continuing education students taking courses every year.

    The Schools of Public Engagement are the direct successors of the original New School and are motivated by the same progressive values that guided the university in 1919. Each of the six schools — the Milano School of Policy, Management, and Environment; the School of Media Studies; the Julien J. Studley Graduate Programs in International Affairs; the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Program; the Creative Writing Program; and the Bachelor's Program for Adults and Transfer Students — has its own history and background in the larger institution.

    The Schools of Public Engagement also continue their commitment to lifelong learning by offering hundreds of Open Campus continuing education courses each year that are accessible to everyone without formal admission requirements.

    The Schools of Public Engagement continue to uphold the ideals of the original New School as an institution dedicated to lifelong education and the betterment of society. On the cutting edge of the intellectual and creative life of New York City, the schools connect theory to practice, support innovation in culture and communication, and continue to build bridges between the academy and the larger community it serves.

    Show More
  • Interim Executive Dean Lisa R. Rubin

    Message from the Dean - Lisa Rubin

    Lisa R. Rubin was appointed interim executive dean of the Schools of Public Engagement in 2024. Lisa joined The New School in 2006, with a joint appointment with the Schools for Public Engagement (SPE) and The New School for Social Research (NSSR). Lisa has served in various leadership roles encompassing undergraduate and graduate studies: as co-director of the university-wide Gender and Sexuality Studies Graduate Certificate, as chair of Psychology in the School of Undergraduate Studies at SPE, and, most recently, as the assistant director of Clinical Training in NSSR’s APA-accredited Clinical Psychology program. She holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Arizona State University. 

    ‌Lisa's scholarship connects health psychology with psychologies of gender, exploring lived experiences of embodiment, illness, and disability across intersections of gender, race, and class. Her research has been funded by the National Cancer Institute and the NIH/Human Genome Project Ethical Legal Social Implications program, and she has published widely in leading journals in psychology, social science, medicine, and bioethics. She has served on the editorial board of the leading journals in feminist psychology, including Psychology of Women Quarterly, Feminism & Psychology, and currently Women’s Reproductive Health. Lisa is a past recipient of The New School’s Distinguished University Teaching Award and the 2024 recipient of the Florence Denmark Distinguished Mentoring Award from the Association for Women in Psychology. 

    Show More
  • Office of the Executive Dean


    Lisa Rubin
    Interim Executive Dean
    [email protected]

    Fabiola Berdiel 
    Associate Dean of Partnerships and Practice-Based Learning
    [email protected]

    Dansha Cai
    Vice Dean of Strategy and Administration
    646.909.2416
    [email protected]

    Yvonne Garrett
    Executive Secretary, Student and Academic Affairs
    212.229.5119 x2490
    garretty@newschool.edu

    Christina Gasparini
    Assistant Director of Administration
    [email protected]


    Terri Gordon
    Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs
    [email protected]

    Leah Iannone
    Assistant Dean of Academic Planning
    646.909.2420
    [email protected]

    Timi Lewis 
    Senior Director of Communications and Engagement 
    [email protected]

    Janelle McKenzie
    Senior Director of Administration
    212.229.8903 x3973
    mckenzij@newschool.edu

    Laurrice Morgan-Eady
    Executive Secretary, Administration
    morganel@newschool.edu

    Jason Nu
    Assistant Director of Strategic Initiatives and Executive Assistant
    646.909.2132
    [email protected]

    Cecilia Ponte
    Assistant Dean for Full-Time Faculty Affairs
    646.909.2448
    [email protected]

    Chrissy Roden
    Vice Dean for Student and Academic Affairs
    646.909.2150
    [email protected]

    Stephanie Szitanyi
    Associate Dean for Academic and Curricular Strategies
    646.909.2122
    [email protected]

    Dirk Van Stee
    Director of Operations, Budget, and Administration
    646.909.2798
    [email protected]

    Kate Tooley
    Associate Director of Communications and Engagement
    212.229.5800 x2419 
    [email protected]

    Tracy Varites
    Director of Academic Planning
    646.909.2101
    [email protected]

    Board of Governors

    James Keith Brown
    Senior Managing Director
    Coatue Management

    Christopher J. Castano, Chair
    Managing Director
    Grosvenor Capital Management, LP

    John A. Catsimatidis
    Chairman, President, and CEO
    Red Apple Group

    Marian Lapsley Cross
    Founder and Senior Advisor
    Adult Literacy Media Alliance

    Robert J. DiQuollo
    Senior Managing Director
    Mariner Wealth Advisors 

    Susan U. Halpern, Esq.
    President
    The Sirus Fund

    Phineas Lambert
    Publisher and Director
    Guernica Magazine

    Bevis Longstreth
    Retired Partner
    Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

    Anthony Mannarino
    Executive Vice President
    Extell Development Company

    Lawrence H. Parks, Jr., Vice Chair
    Founder
    Forethought Advisors

    David Wasserman
    Chairman
    The Art Therapy Project

    Lilian Shiao-Yen Wu
    Program Executive
    IBM Global University Programs
    IBM Corporation

    Lewis H. Lapham
    Honorary Member

  • Take The Next Step

Submit your application

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.

Close