Parsons School of Design
 | |
| Type | Art and design school |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1896 |
| Founder | William Merritt Chase |
| Location | New York City |
| Industry | Art and design education |
| Website | newschool.edu/parsons |
Parsons School of Design is an art and design school in New York City and one of the colleges of The New School. It offers programs in fields including fashion, technology, urban design, fine art and management. The school describes its educational model as interdisciplinary and project-based, with collaborations across The New School, industry partners and communities in New York and elsewhere.[1] [2]
History
William Merritt Chase established the Chase School in 1896. Between 1904 and 1910, the school launched what it describes as the world's first study programs in fashion design, graphic design and interior design, originally named Costume Design, Advertising or Commercial Design, and Interior Decoration.[3]
Educator Frank Alvah Parsons joined the school in 1904 and became director of the New York School of Fine and Applied Art in 1911. Following a board vote in 1940, the institution was renamed Parsons School of Design in 1941.[3][4] In 1921, Parsons and alumnus William Odom established the Paris Ateliers, an overseas branch that offered courses in architecture, decorative arts and costume design. The Paris Ateliers closed in 1939 as the Second World War approached.[3][4]
Parsons joined The New School for Social Research in 1970. The merger expanded its degree programs and research, and the resulting institution awarded the country's first university degrees in fashion design, interior design and lighting design.[3][5] Parsons moved from midtown Manhattan to Greenwich Village in 1972. In 2008, buildings at Fifth Avenue and 13th Street were combined to create the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center; in 2016, the school opened the Making Center, a facility for collaborative work across disciplines.[3]
Academics and approach
Parsons offers undergraduate and graduate degrees, associate's degrees for professionals, executive and continuing education, and pre-college courses. Its academic areas include fashion, communication and technology, fine art, architecture and urban design, design studies, and management.[1] The school's stated approach places project-based learning, collaboration and engagement with contemporary social and environmental issues at the center of design education.[2][1]
Fashion designer Elena Velez is a graduate of the school's BFA Fashion Design program.[6]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Parsons School of Design". The New School. Retrieved 2026-09-16.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Mission and Vision". The New School. Retrieved 2026-09-16.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "History". Parsons School of Design, The New School. Retrieved 2026-09-16.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 New School Archives and Special Collections (2017-12-08). "Parsons School of Design governance collection". The New School Archives & Special Collections. Retrieved 2026-09-16.
- ↑ "Our History". The New School. Retrieved 2026-09-16.
- ↑ "BFA Fashion Design Alumni Conversation: Pushing Fashion Forward". The New School. Retrieved 2026-09-16.