New School is a private institution of higher learning in New York City. It was founded in 1919 by a group of scholars as the New School for Social Research, an informal center for the free exchange of ideas, particularly on economic and political issues. Over the years, it grew into an accredited college granting undergraduate and graduate degrees. The institution became New School University in 1997. The name was shortened to the New School in 2005.
The university has schools of general studies, liberal arts, social research, management and urban policy, design, classical music, jazz and contemporary music, and drama. The original division of the New School, now called the New School for General Studies, remains at the core of the university and attracts distinguished scholars from around the world. The school’s liberal arts college, called Eugene Lang College the New School for Liberal Arts, was established in 1975 as Seminar College. It was renamed after its principal donor, Eugene M. Lang, the founder of a technology development company. The New School for Social Research, originally established as the University in Exile in 1934, grants degrees in anthropology, economics, philosophy, political science, psychology, and sociology. The school was created for scholars who fled Europe to escape the danger posed to them by the political movements known as Fascism and Nazism.
The New School’s division of management and urban policy offers programs in urban policy analysis, management, and related fields. The school of design, called Parsons the New School for Design, has developed a reputation for its outstanding programs in fine arts, fashion design, interior design, and other similar fields. Well-known Parsons alumni include the fashion designers Tom Ford, Marc Jacobs, and Donna Karan and the painters Edward Hopper and Jasper Johns. The New School’s music divisions offer a variety of programs in classical music and jazz. The New School for Drama offers degree programs in acting, directing, and playwriting.
