Parsons School of Design (Parson New School)

Parsons School of Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is a private art and design college located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhattan art academies in protest of limited creative autonomy, Parsons is one of the oldest schools of art and design in New York. Parsons is consistently ranked one of the best institutions for art and design education in both the United States and the world.

Parsons was the first school to offer programs in fashion design, interior design, advertising, graphic design, and lighting design. Parsons became the first American school to found a satellite school abroad when it established the Paris Ateliers in 1921. It remains the first and only private art and design school to affiliate with a private national research university, in 1970 when it became one of the divisions of The New School. Organised in five departments, the school offers undergraduate and graduate programs in a range of disciplines in art and design with students also able to combine additional classes and majors in other colleges of The New School.

First established in Manhattan in 1896 as the Chase School by its founder, American impressionist painter William Merritt Chase (1849–1916), who led a small group of artists away from the Art Students League of New York in search of a less traditional, more progressive institution. The Chase School educated several luminaries of early American modernism, such as Marsden Hartley and Edward Hopper. But whereas Chase was a talented artist and teacher, he lacked the business acumen to run a growing school; in 1898, under new management, it became the New York School of Art.

In 1904, Frank Alvah Parsons joined the school as a professor and later became the sole director of the New York School of Art. Recognising the importance of art and design in industries, Parsons introduced the first programs in fashion design, interior design, and graphic design. The school was renamed the New York School of Fine and Applied Art to reflect these new offerings. Parsons advocated for a more inclusive approach to design education, emphasising the significance of industrial art for the nation. In 1921, Parsons and William M. Odom established the school's Paris Ateliers.

Following Parsons' passing in 1930, William M. Odom took over as director, and the school was renamed the Parsons School of Design in 1941 to honor Parsons' influential teaching philosophy. Van Day Truex, a Parsons alumnus, succeeded Odom as director and later became Tiffany & Company's design director. By the 1960s, Parsons had gained recognition as a leading institution for training designers in Seventh Avenue, the fashion hub. In 1970, Parsons joined the New School for Social Research, leading to the expansion of degree programs and partnerships. That same year, Parsons awarded the first university degrees in fashion design, interior design, and lighting design in the United States.

In 2005, the college was rebranded as Parsons The New School for Design when the parent institution changed its name to The New School.

In 2015, Pentagram Principal Paula Scher led the redesign of The New School's identity, drawing inspiration from the signage and architecture of the Joseph Urban building and the University Center building. The new branding featured a customised font called 'Neue' and was introduced through an environmental installation at the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center and on the campus water towers. At this time, the school reclaimed the name Parsons School of Design.

In 2019, Parsons collaborated with IBM to develop university courses and a Quantum Design Jam. They also partnered with the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the MS in Data Visualization program, interpreting data from The Met Open Access API. In 2020, Parsons collaborated with the United Nations on projects related to climate change and gender equality.

In 2022, Parsons' communications design department celebrated its centennial with a book that highlighted its history and contributions to the field.

Parsons School of Design offers a wide range of courses and programs that cover various disciplines within the field of art and design. These include undergraduate programs, graduate programs, and certificate programs.

At the undergraduate level, Parsons offers Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degrees in areas such as Communication Design, Design and Technology, Fashion Design, Fine Arts, Illustration, and Product Design, among others. These programs provide students with a strong foundation in their chosen field and encourage exploration and experimentation.

For graduate students, Parsons offers Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degrees in Design and Technology, Fine Arts, and Photography, as well as Master of Arts (MA) degrees in Fashion Studies, Design Studies, and Theories of Urban Practice, among others. These programs provide advanced study and research opportunities for students looking to deepen their knowledge and skills in specific areas of art and design.

In addition to the degree programs, Parsons also offers various certificate programs and continuing education courses, allowing individuals to pursue focused study in areas such as Graphic and Digital Design, Interior Design, Sustainable Design, and Fashion Business, among others. These programs provide flexible options for individuals seeking to enhance their professional skills or pursue specific interests within the field of art and design.

In 2022, Parsons School of Design was ranked as the top art and design school in the United States in the QS World University Rankings, making this the fifth year in a row the school has held this designation. In the same report, Parsons ranked third globally in the art and design category. 

In 2021, Forbes named Parsons as one of America's top design schools. The school has long been prominent for its fashion design program, which is frequently ranked one of the best in the world.

Parsons is known for being the alma mater to many influential theorists and practitioners in the field of art and design including painter Jasper Johns, industrial designer Sara Little Turnbull, pop artist Roy Lichtenstein, sculptor Alexander Calder, chief creative officer at Google Creative Lab Robert Wong, Bob Williams of Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, painter Julie Umerle, painter Norman Rockwell, Ryan Germick the designer of Google's doodles, interior designer Van Day Truex of Tiffany & Company, Pixar artist Peter de Sève, Alex Lee of OXO, Baggu founder Emily Sugihara, architect Rose Connor, photographer Duane Michals, artist and activist Ai Weiwei, film director Joel Schumacher, and painter Danielle Mastrion, interior designer Mario Buatta, and graphic designer and creative director Paul Rand also attended the school.

The school has educated some of the most famous designers in the fashion industry as well, including Donna Karan, Kay Unger, Scott Salvator, Marc Jacobs, Alexander Wang, Tom Ford, Anna Sui, Jason Wu, Narciso Rodriguez, Sophie Buhai, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, Isaac Mizrahi, Samantha Sleeper, Irina Fedotova, Derek Lam, Prabal Gurung, Heron Preston, Jenna Lyons, Jo Copeland, Jasper Conran and Yeohlee Teng.

Notable alumni from famous families include Bella Hadid, Nicky Hilton Rothschild, Rina Bovrisse, Sailor Brinkley Cook (daughter of Christie Brinkley), Brooklyn Beckham, and Alexandra von Fürstenberg.

• Parsons History l The New School
• Accreditation Parsons School of Design l www.newschool.edu
• Program Detail Parsons School of Design l www.newschool.edu
• Enrollment Data l The New School
• Where is Gnarls the Narwhal | Student Leadership l www.newschool.edu
• University Rankings: Art & Design l QS
• Parsons School of Design l aicad.org
• Parsons to Re-Open Campus in Paris l The New York Times
• A Short Visit: Parsons, The New School for Design l Educated Quest
• Academics l The New School
• William Merritt Chase l Smithsonian American Art Museum
• History l The New School
• Van Truex: Designer And Catalyst l The New York Times
• Pentagram Rebrands The New School l Fast Company
• The New School l Pentagram
• Wanted: School With Runway l The New York Times
• The New School — Story l Pentagram
• Quantum Computing for Design and Social Good l SXSW 2022 Schedule
• Taking a Quantum Leap Forward with IBM | Parsons School of Design l www.newschool.edu
• Show Your Work: Parsons Students Design Stunning Data Visualizations with Met Open Access API l www.metmuseum.org
• Parsons School of Design's GEMS Program Creates a Climate Action Campaign for the United Nations l New School News
• Communication Design at Parsons Celebrates Centennial with New Book l New School News
• Exterior of the 63-65 5th Avenue Building of The New School l The New School Archives and Special Collections
• University Center - The New School l Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
• Police Arrest 22 at New School Building l www.nytimes.com
• The New School l Newschool.edu
• The University Center at The New School Receives ULI Global Award for Excellence l www.som.com
• University Center at The New School Earns Copper Award l www.som.com
• About This Project l thenewschoolartcollection.org
• Orozco's New School Murals Re-Imagining Orozco University Art Collection l www.newschool.edu
• Thomas Hart Benton America Today l www.metmuseum.org
• University Art Collection The New School l www.newschool.edu
• New School Sheila C. Johnson Design Center l Wikimapia
• Johnson Design Center l Newschool.edu
•  Two historic Manhattan buildings unanimously voted to receive landmark status l AAMNY
• Our Schools l www.newschool.edu
• Parsons School of Design l bigfuture.collegeboard.org
• How to Apply: Undergraduate Programs l newschool.edu
• What is Parsons Challenege? l nyartstudio.com
• The New School - Rankings l forbes.com
• Top Fashion Schools Around the World l topuniversities.com
• The Top 50 Fashion School in the World: the Fashionista Ranking l fashionista.com
• Top 50 Fashion Design Schools and Colleges in the US - 2021 Rankings l fashion-schools.org
• We'll Always Have Paris . . . and Shanghai, and Mumbai l The New School Free Press
• Parsons To Reopen In Paris l Vogue
• Parsons to Re-Open Campus in Paris l The New York Times
• Altos de Chavón: where Dominican Republic's richest and poorest paint side by side l The Guardian
• Master's Program in the History of Design and Curatorial Studies l Cooper Hewitt
• Notable Alumni l Parsons School of Design
• Is it Time for a Woman to Run Tokyo? l www.barrons.com
• Parsons International Students l www.newschool.edu
• Admission & Aid l The New School
• The New School Free Press l Newschoolfreepress.com