The New School

The New School, New York

The New School, in New York City, was founded in 1919 by a group of prominent progressive scholars as a place where citizens of a democratic society could engage in the free exchange of ideas with scholars and artists representing the widest possible range of intellectual, aesthetic, and political orientations. Their institution is now a renowned progressive university comprising several divisions bound by a common purpose: to prepare and inspire nearly 15,000 undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education students to make a positive difference in the world.

The New School educates students in the liberal arts, social sciences, fine art and design, management and administration, creative writing, contemporary and classical music, and dramatic arts, at its historic Greenwich Village campus and, in many areas of study, online throughout the world. It graduates economists and actors, fashion designers and urban planners, dancers and anthropologists, orchestra conductors and filmmakers, policy analysts and jazz musicians, poets and psychologists, filmmakers and philosophers, teachers and sustainability managers, architects and opera singers, graphic artists and social entrepreneurs.

This unique, diverse urban university prides itself on nurturing students into world citizenship, growing individuals whose ideas and innovations forge new paths of progress in the arts, sciences, humanities, and public policy.

 The academic divisions of The New School are:

Parsons The New School for Design

Parsons is one of world’s most prestigious colleges of art and design. It was founded in 1896 by the American artist William Merritt Chase and his associates and named in 1936 for its former president, Frank Alvah Parsons. In 1970, Parsons joined The New School, which enabled it to expand its educational offerings and strengthen the connections between design training and academic education. Parsons offers undergraduate, graduate, continuing education, and pre-college programs that emphasize social awareness and civic engagement as part of a contemporary art and professional design education.

The New School for Public Engagement

This division was formed in 2011 by the merger of The New School for General Studies and the Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy. Considered the founding division of the university, it still supports the original mission of The New School, the lifelong intellectual and cultural education of adults. It offers a self-managed undergraduate degree program for transfer students and working adults and master’s programs in creative writing, English language teaching, and media studies as well as graduate programs in International affairs, management, and urban policy at the Milano School.

The New School for Social Research

The New School for Social Research continues the legacy of questioning, critique, ethical engagement, and intellectual innovation inherited from its 1933 origins as the University in Exile, a refuge for scholars driven from Europe by the Nazis. This graduate division offers master and doctoral programs in the social sciences and philosophy in a setting where disciplinary boundaries are easily crossed and contemporary research is leavened by the traditions of American progressivism and European critical theory.

Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts

Eugene Lang College The New School’s four-year liberal arts college for traditional-age students, is named for educational philanthropist Eugene M. Lang, a major benefactor. The college offers mature and self-motivated undergraduates a rigorous education centered on seminar-type classes with strong emphasis on civic engagement activities and internships. Students can choose from a unique selection of traditional and interdisciplinary majors and minors, all of which involve them in analysis and problem solving through seminar presentations and discussion and capstone projects.

The New School for Drama

The New School has been a center for the dramatic arts since the 1930s and 40s, when Tennessee Williams studied playwriting and Marlon Brando studied acting there. Today, The New School for Drama is an MFA program with concentrations in acting, directing, and playwriting for career-minded students. The New School faculty includes leading artists of the New York City theater. Students benefit from a wealth of performance and production venues and professional networks.

The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music

This unique BFA program makes use of the tradition of the artist as mentor to offer talented young musicians an amazing conservatory music education in a major university setting. New York City is the jazz capital of the world, and The New School is able to offer some of the world’s great jazz and contemporary musicians as teachers and mentors and incomparable performance opportunities. The mission of the program is the creation of a new breed of musician ready to take contemporary music to a new level.

Mannes College The New School for Music

Mannes College is one of the nation’s leading classical music conservatories. Its undergraduate, graduate, continuing education, and preparatory programs provide a comprehensive world-class music education to a select group aspiring musicians from around the world. Mannes was founded as a neighborhood music school almost 100 years ago, and it maintains an intimate atmosphere, fostering mentoring relationships between its students and its eminent faculty. Students have performance opportunities in leading New York City classical music venues.

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