History, Affiliations and Rankings

Established in 1896, by a painter, William Merritt Chase, Parsons School of Design was formerly known as The Chase School. The institution’s name was again changed to The New York School of Art in 1898. Parsons became the director of the institution in 1911, a position which he maintained to his death in 1930. In honor of Parsons, who was important in enhancing the institution’s development and in crafting visual-arts education with the help of his theories about linking art and industry throughout the globe, the institution became the Parsons School of Design in 1941. Parsons School of Design has academic affiliations with the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD), National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), New York State Education Department (NYSED), and the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). Parsons School of Design has been ranked #3 in the QS World University Rankings by subject in 2021.

Infrastructure, Campuses and Courses

Parsons School of Design campus is spanned out among the scattered buildings, and the main building is situated at 13th Street and 5th Avenue. Various facilities are there in the buildings that are shared by other institutions in The New School Parsons has one more campus abroad in Paris’s First Arrondissement, that is known as Parsons Paris. Parsons School of Design houses University Center which was opened in 2014 and is situated at 65th Avenue. The building offers classrooms, residences, labs, an auditorium, and a cafeteria to the downtown New York City campus added to a two-story library and lecture halls. The institution is also home to the Sheila Johnson Design Center. The main campus is situated at 2 West 13th Street in Greenwich Village in Manhattan. The 12-story L-shaped building, at the corner 70 Fifth Avenue and 2W 13th street was initially built as an office and loft building. Parsons provides 25 different degrees each homed in one of five faculties: School of Art and Design, History and Theory, School of Art, Media, and Technology, School of Constructed Environments, School of Design Strategies, and the School of Fashion.

Accomplishments and Alumni 

The New School is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), with Parsons accredited by the MSCHE. Their credits and programs are recognized and accepted by other accredited institutions, and professional schools throughout the United States. The notable alumni of the Parsons School of Design are Hatun Aytug, a designer, Donna Karan, a designer, and Kay Unger, an designer.

Student Diversity and Visiting Companies

Parsons School of Design values diversity in all its dimensions. The University has more than 5,500 students enrolments, out of which 5,000 are undergraduates, 500 are postgraduates with more than 1,400 faculty within the premises. They have students hailing from all over the world. The male to female ratio is 33:77 at the Parsons School of Design making it a fairly gender-balanced university. Some of the leading recruiters at this institute are Amazon, Ralph Lauren, L’oreal and others.