History | Mission | Students| Campus and Student Activities | Faculty | Degree Programs | Nontraditional Programs | Centers | The Arts | Tuition | Financial Aid | Admissions Requirements | Accreditation | Alumni | Location | Queens College Contacts

History
Queens College in Flushing, Queens, opened its doors in 1937 with the goal of offering a first-rate education to talented people of all backgrounds and financial means. Part of the City University of New York (CUNY) since its founding in 1961, Queens College is one of CUNY’s largest senior colleges. Often referred to as “the jewel of the CUNY system,” the college enjoys a national reputation for its liberal arts and sciences and pre-professional programs.

Queens College was named one of the nation’s 25 “hottest” and “most interesting colleges” by the 2008 Kaplan/NewsweekHow to Get into College Guide.  To quote the guide, “The school’s biggest claim to fame is the several generations of lawyers, doctors and other professionals who could not afford the Ivies and say Queens changed their lives.” Queens was cited as being an especially popular choice for students who are the first in their family to attend college.

The Princeton Review America’s Best Value Colleges (2008 ed.) praised Queens for its outstanding academics, generous financial aid packages, and relatively low costs. And on the graduate level, the 2008 U.S. News America's Best Colleges lists Queens College among the 15 “Top Public Universities-Master’s-North.”

Queens College has had a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa since 1950 (fewer than 10 percent of the nation’s liberal arts colleges are members of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest and most respected undergraduate honors organization). In 1968, Queens College became a member of Sigma Xi, the national science honor society. The American Association of University Women includes Queens College in its list of approved colleges for membership.

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Mission
Queens College prepares students to become leaders of our global society by offering a rigorous education in the liberal arts and sciences under the guidance of a faculty dedicated to both teaching and research. Students graduate with the ability to think critically, address complex problems, explore various cultures, and use modern technologies and information resources. With a faculty and student population that reflects the exuberant diversity of New York City, Queens College provides an unusually rich education.

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Students
 • The college’s achievement-oriented and hard-working students, who are likely to have graduated in the top 25% of their high school class, come from over 140 different countries.

•  Enrollment: 18,494

• 14,384 undergraduates: 60% attend full-time

• 4,110 graduate students: 90% attend part-time

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Campus and Student Activities
The college is located on a beautiful 77-acre, tree-lined campus surrounding grassy open spaces and a traditional Quad. The completely renovated Powdermaker Hall, the major classroom building, reopened in fall 2003 with state-of-the-art technology throughout. The Benjamin Rosenthal Library, with its soaring, light-filled atrium and distinctive clock tower, features innovations in information retrieval. The college is also expanding its wireless capability, opening new cafés and dining areas, installing plasma boards, updating the Student Union and several other buildings, and embarking on a variety of campus-beautification projects.

Since Queens is a commuter college, it is dedicated to making students feel that the college is their home away from home. There are more than 100 clubs and teams on campus, from the Science Organization of Minority Students to clubs for theatre, fencing, environmental science, and martial arts. The only CUNY college that participates in Division II sports, Queens sponsors 20 men’s and women’s teams and has some of the finest athletics facilities in the metropolitan area. A Child Development Center, staffed by professionals, offers inexpensive child-care services to students with children. A recent honors student at the college noted that “The campus is large, beautiful, and close to home. Also, there are students of so many different ethnicities here. . . . It’s so easy to fit in.”

The college holds courses at several off-campus locations, including the 43rd Street Extension Center in Manhattan and the CUNY Center for Higher Education in vibrant downtown Flushing.

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Faculty
The college’s faculty consists of top scholars who are dedicated to teaching. There are 582 full-time faculty, 86% of whom have the terminal degree in their field (not all fields offer doctorates), and 69% have tenure. Many also teach in Ph.D. programs at the CUNY Graduate Center. Our faculty have received numerous research grants from such prestigious organizations as the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. In recent years they have also received several Guggenheim awards and Fulbright grants.

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Degree Programs
The college offers over 115 undergraduate and graduate majors. Academic programs are organized into four divisions , which offer both day and evening courses: Arts and Humanities; Education; Mathematics and the Natural Sciences; and the Social Sciences. Classes are also offered during a winter session and four summer sessions.

The college recently introduced new degree programs in graphic design and neuroscience as well as a Bachelor of Business Administration degree that offers majors in Finance, International Business, and Actuarial Studies. New additions to the graduate curriculum include a unique Master of Fine Arts in creative writing and translation, a degree program in environmental geosciences, and two certificate programs: one in earth sciences for high school teachers and another in archives record management and conservation.

Interdisciplinary programs include Africana studies, American studies, business and liberal art, Honors in Mathematical and Natural Sciences, Honors in the Humanities, Honors in the Social Sciences, Latin American and Latino studies, journalism, and women’s studies. Special programs and advisement are also available in accounting, pre-engineering, pre-law, and the pre-health professions.

Queens College participates in the Macaulay Honors College. This challenging program for academically gifted students provides full tuition, an academic expense account, mentors, internships, a free laptop, special seminars, and study abroad programs. Queens College also offers its own Honors programs in the arts and humanities, sciences, and social sciences to qualified students.

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Nontraditional Programs
The Adult Collegiate Education (ACE) program, for highly motivated adults 25 years of age and older, offers the option of obtaining college credit for life achievement. The Weekend College allows busy students to pursue their degrees on Saturday and Sunday. Worker Education assists union members returning to school, including non-degree, matriculated, and graduate students. The Continuing Education Program offers lifelong learning opportunities through non-credit courses that stress personal and professional development.

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Centers
Queens College has many special centers and institutes that serve the diverse communities in the borough of Queens. These units address pressing social issues, including cancer, AIDS, pollution, and racism; study the changing workplace and workforce; and celebrate the borough's many ethnic communities, including Asians, Greeks, Italians, and Jews.

• Asian American/Asian Research Institute works to integrate the talents of individual faculty and the resources of different institutions within CUNY to create a community of scholars who focus their energies on Asia and the Asian American experience

• Asian/American Center is dedicated to community-oriented research that analyzes the multicultural diaspora experience of Asians in global and local communities.

• John D. Calandra Italian American Institute fosters higher education among Italian Americans and insures that the Italian-American experience is documented and preserved for future generations. This is accomplished through research, counseling, lectures, symposia, and administering an exchange program with CUNY and Italian universities.

• Center for the Biology of Natural Systems (CBNS) conducts research that analyzes real-world environmental and resource problems and their policy implications. Recent projects include a study of the impact of air pollution on asthma sufferers in the South Bronx and a continuing examination of the health of workers involved in the cleanup after 9/11.

• Center for Byzantine & Modern Greek Studies initiates, supports, and coordinates the teaching of Byzantine and Modern Greek subjects; promotes Byzantine and Neo-Hellenic scholarship and publications; and relates academic research and teaching to the needs and interests of the Greek community of Queens and beyond.

• Center for the Improvement of Education  forges links between public schools and Queens College that allow staff from each to perform their primary functions more effectively.

• Through outreach and research, the Center for Jewish Studies serves as a bridge between the academic Jewish Studies program and the community. It offers numerous lectures, concerts, symposia, and performances.

• Equity Studies Research Center  develops programs to provide equitable access to education for underserved children and families within the New York City area.

• The Michael Harrington Center for Democratic Values and Social Change promotes public discourse about social issues, advocates for social change, and works in partnerships with others to build a more just society.

• Neuroscience Research Center encourages a collaborative educational and research experience within the field of neuroscience for faculty and students. It works to enhance the research education of students by establishing undergraduate and graduate neuroscience programs, seminar series, symposia, and research-related clubs.

• Joseph S. Murphy Institute Center for Labor, Community, and Policy Studies designs an array of educational services and materials for unions and the public, with an emphasis on enabling rank-and-file workers to play more active and informed roles in their unions, workplaces, and communities.

• Schutzman Center for Entrepreneurship provides the tools and environment for the next generation of entrepreneurs. By connecting students, faculty, alumni, and established entrepreneurs in a collaborative environment, the center encourages the cross-pollination of ideas and inspires the creation of new businesses and leaders who will drive the global economy.

• Taft Institute for Government is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit enterprise dedicated to promoting informed citizen participation in the U.S. and around the world. In 1996 the Institute chose Queens College as the site of its national headquarters. Its programs reflect the conviction that true democracy requires that each new generation of citizens be committed to civic involvement.

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The Arts
Queens College is the center for the arts in Queens. The Kupferberg Center for the Visual & Performing Arts—formed in recognition of Selma & Max Kupferberg’s gift of $10 million, the largest single gift received to date by Queens College—includes Kupferberg Center Performances, Godwin-Ternbach Museum, Queens College Art Center, Department of Drama, Theatre, and Dance, Department of Media Studies, the Aaron Copland School of Music, and Louis Armstrong House Museum and Archives.

The college regularly brings world-renowned writers to campus. Authors who have recently presented their works through our Evening Reading Series include Margaret Atwood, E.L. Doctorow, Norman Mailer, Frank McCourt, Salman Rushdie, and Nobel Laureates Orhan Pamuk, Toni Morrison, Doris Lessing, and V.S. Naipaul.

The Center for Jewish Studies offers thoughtful lectures, films, and music and dance performances throughout the year.

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Tuition
For New York State residents, yearly tuition is $4000 for undergraduates and $5420 for graduate students. For out-of-state and international students, tuition is $360 per credit for undergraduates and $425 per credit for graduate students.

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Financial Aid
Various forms of financial aid are available. In fact, more than 50% of the college’s students receive need-based financial aid. The Queens College Foundation also offers merit-based scholarships..

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Admission Requirements
Admission is based on a variety of factors, including high school grades, academic program, and SAT or ACT scores. Students should have a well-rounded program of study that includes academic course work in math (3 years), English (4 years), lab science (2 years), social studies (4 years), and foreign language (3 years).

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Accreditation
The college is accredited by the State of New York and the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education includes Queens in its list of member colleges. Other programs are accredited by their disciplinary associations.

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Alumni
Queens College has graduated over 120,000 students since its first graduating class in 1941. About 85% of alumni live in the New York metropolitan area.
Our alumni have gone on to successful careers in almost all fields.

• Arts: Jerry Seinfeld, Ray Romano, Carole King, Paul Simon, Joy Behar, Jon Favreau, Marvin Hamlisch, and Susan Isaacs.

• Politics: Congressmen Gary Ackerman and Joseph Crowley, City Councilman José Peralta, and Queens Borough President Helen Marshall.

• Business: Allan Z. Loren, Chairman and CEO, Dunn and Bradstreet Corporation; Michael Goldstein, Former Chairman and CEO, Toys "R" Us; Ira Lampert, Chairman and CEO, Concord Camera Corporation; Eugene Murphy, Retired Vice Chairman, General Electric; Carol Hochman, President and CEO Danskin, Inc.; and Warren Phillips, Former Publisher, Wall Street Journal.

• Media: Pulitzer Prize winners Richard Ofshe, Lloyd Schwartz, and Dorothy Rabinowitz, and Emmy Award-winning TV Anchor Mary Murphy.

• Other fields: Nathan Leventhal, Former President, Lincoln Center; Robert A. Moog, inventor of the Moog Synthesizer; Michael Berenbaum, Former Director, U. S. Holocaust Research Institute; Robert Batscha, former President of the Museum of Television and Radio; and M. Christine DeVita, President of Wallace-Reader's Digest Funds.

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Location
Queens College, located off Exit 24 of the Long Island Expressway, is on Kissena Boulevard in a residential area of Flushing. It is easily accessible by public transportation. The college is only 20 minutes from Manhattan, whose magnificent skyline overlooks the campus quad.

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Queens College Contacts

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