…creativity, collaboration, innovation, and experiential learning lead to unique preparation for a lifetime of careers. Where unbridled freedom of expression means a refreshingly inclusive community. Where challenging the status quo is the status quo. And where leadership, service to others, and environmental stewardship result in thoughtful and resilient graduates who make a positive impact on the world around them.
We’re Proudly Public
We provide an exceptional education that’s also affordable.
Purchase College was founded in 1967 as the cultural gem of the State University of New York system—a place where students from modest backgrounds could afford the finest quality arts and liberal arts education.
2021 graduates are employed, enrolled in graduate or professional school, or both
10.7%
Enrolled in graduate or professional school
84%
Employed full or part-time, including self-employment, performance, or artistic freelancing
67.4%
Working in a field directly or somewhat related to their academic study
*Results from the most recent Life after Purchase: First Destination Survey conducted 9-12 months following commencement.
Financial Aid & Scholarships
Financial aid comes in the form of loans (you pay back), grants and scholarships (you don’t pay back), and work-study (aid earned through work on campus).
Get started today by filling out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) to see how your family qualifies for federal aid.
Purchase College offers merit and talent scholarships. This year, we increased merit scholarship awards for BA and BS programs to $8.7 million, offered to every applicant earning an 87 GPA or higher on a first-come, first-served basis based on the date of application (before Jan 1 and after Jan 1.)
Living on Campus
More than 90% of first-year students live on campus, majority of Purchase students choose to live on campus all four years, so campus life is pretty vibrant.
First-year students live together in a community of residence halls clustered conveniently around the Quad and near the Dining Hall.
Those who live on campus tend to receive more support, report higher satisfaction with their college experience, earn better grades, and graduate at higher rates than those who live off campus.
Purchase College occupies 500 acres in suburban Westchester County, with buildings at its center surrounded by fields and wooded areas. Yet New York City is a mere 30 miles south. The nearby area bustles with outdoor activities, shopping, business, state-of-the-art health care, arts, culture, and entertainment. And job and internship opportunities.
The free campus Loop shuttle buses bring students into nearby White Plains and Port Chester, where they can hop a train to Grand Central Station in the heart of Manhattan. Students can venture out for exploration and inspiration, then return to a calm and relaxing green space for balance.
It’s truly the best of all worlds.
Mixing Majors to Suit Their Passion
With professional conservatory training in the visual, performing, and theatre arts and rigorous programs in the sciences and liberal arts, they can pursue overlapping or diverging passions. We encourage mixing majors to reflect what matters most to your student.
The first American woman to win a Tony® Award for Best Orchestrations, award-winning performer, recording artist, creator, and educator Katie Kresek ’98, ’99 earned a BFA in Instrumental Performance, then stayed an additional year to complete a BA in Literature. Her professors encouraged her interdisciplinary study.
“I had a lot of freedom, and I was encouraged to explore my interests.”—Katie Kresek ’98, ’99
Experiential Learning is Key
A core value here, hands-on learning takes many shapes. Our faculty of active researchers and working professionals provide guidance, experience, and expertise that’s timely and relevant.
In classes this small, they’ll know your students by name. They’re highly accessible as advisors and mentors and work side-by-side with your student on their senior projects.
Emmy® Award-winning Associate Professor of Theatre Design/Technology Dave Grill ’86 provided an invaluable opportunity to Marissa Michaels ’20 when he invited her to intern on the lighting crew as he served as a Lighting Director for the Halftime Show during Super Bowl LIV in Miami, FL. (Grill won his fifth Emmy® Award for that work.)
“The amount of knowledge I absorbed in a short 14 days was immeasurable.” —Marissa Michaels ’20
Students from the Global Scholars Program had the extraordinary opportunity this fall to visit the UN and speak privately with Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed about pressing issues.
“The Global Scholars Program invites undergraduate students to expand their minds and dig deep into their global interests, paying attention to how they can be proactive in the world they want to live in.” —Mel Efrus ’22
The Senior Project
The ultimate experiential learning is the senior project. Rare for a small public college, all seniors spend their final year working one-on-one with a faculty advisor creating an original research paper, film, performance, project, recording, etc., that’s the culmination of their four years at Purchase. It’s a defining experience and often serves as a jumping-off point for the future.
Building on the success of his senior thesis film Still Liam, Vuk Lungulov-Klotz ’16 twice earned a spot in the Sundance Institute’s Screenwriters Lab, where he developed his first feature, Mutt. The film will screen at the 2023 Sundance Competition, one of only 12 selected from more than 10,000 entries.
