Gallatin School of Individualized Study
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| Gallatin School of Individualized Study | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name | Gallatin School of Individualized Study |
| Type | Liberal arts school |
| Parent | New York University |
| Established | 1972 |
| City | New York City |
| State | New York |
| Country | United States |
Gallatin School of Individualized Study is an undergraduate college within New York University that emphasizes student-designed, interdisciplinary programs of study. Founded in 1972, it operates in Manhattan and draws students interested in combining fields across traditional boundaries. The school interfaces with institutions and movements across the city and nation, providing individualized mentorship and culminating projects that engage public institutions and cultural organizations.
History
The school's origins trace to curricular experimentation during the era of curricular reform and student activism that involved figures such as John Dewey, Paulo Freire, Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, and institutions like University of California, Berkeley and Columbia University during the 1960s and 1970s. Founding moments connected to leadership at New York University and interactions with municipal and cultural sites including Lincoln Center, Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and The New York Public Library. Over subsequent decades, governance and accreditation discussions involved bodies such as the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and public policy forums linked to New York City Department of Education and philanthropic organizations like the Carnegie Corporation and Ford Foundation. The school expanded through collaborations with nearby institutions including Juilliard School, Columbia University, CUNY Graduate Center, Cooper Union, and policy centers such as Brookings Institution and New America.
Academic Programs
Gallatin offers a Bachelor of Arts with concentrations and individualized majors drawing on resources across New York University and external partners. Students develop programs that integrate courses from schools like NYU Stern School of Business, NYU School of Law, Tisch School of the Arts, NYU Silver School of Social Work, NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing, and programs connected to NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU Shanghai. Signature elements include supervised independent study, capstone projects, internships with organizations such as Smithsonian Institution, The Metropolitan Opera, United Nations, World Health Organization, and study-abroad options coordinated with consortia including Council on International Educational Exchange and Institute of International Education.
Curriculum and Interdisciplinary Approach
The curriculum emphasizes individualized majors, guided by faculty advisors and committee review processes akin to interdisciplinary models at Brown University, University of Chicago, and Reed College. Students craft proposals that may draw on seminars, practicum placements, and studio work connected to venues such as Guggenheim Museum, Carnegie Hall, Apollo Theater, New Museum, and research libraries including Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Coursework frequently engages faculty with backgrounds reflected in departments like History of Art, Department of Philosophy, Department of Psychology, Department of Music, Department of Computer Science, NYU School of Medicine, and policy fields represented by Harvard Kennedy School and Princeton School of Public and International Affairs through visiting faculty and joint programming.
Admissions and Student Body
Admissions are coordinated through NYU's undergraduate admissions and holistic review processes similar to those employed by Ivy League and selective private institutions such as Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University, Princeton University, and Columbia University. The student body reflects geographic diversity, drawing from metropolitan regions including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Washington, D.C., and international cohorts from countries such as China, India, Brazil, United Kingdom, and Canada. Extracurricular affiliations often link students to civic and cultural groups including Rotary International, Teach For America, AmeriCorps, Human Rights Watch, and arts collectives associated with SoHo and Greenwich Village.
Faculty and Research
Faculty advising and instruction include tenured and adjunct professors with appointments across NYU schools and practitioners drawn from institutions such as The Juilliard School, American Museum of Natural History, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, The New School, and research centers like NYU Stern Salomon Center and NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. Research and creative output engage topics and partners tied to agencies like National Endowment for the Arts, National Institutes of Health, NASA, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, foundations such as Rockefeller Foundation, and think tanks including Council on Foreign Relations.
Campus and Facilities
Located in Manhattan, the school uses classrooms, studios, and office space within NYU's urban campus and nearby cultural resources across neighborhoods like Greenwich Village, Chelsea, Lower East Side, and SoHo. Facilities include access to performance venues such as Merkin Concert Hall and research facilities at institutions like New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, New-York Historical Society, NYU Langone Health, and laboratory collaborations with regional institutions including Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
Notable Alumni and Outcomes
Alumni have pursued careers in areas overlapping with institutions and professions including arts leadership at Metropolitan Opera, journalism at The New York Times, law at firms and courts associated with U.S. Supreme Court, public policy roles at United Nations Development Programme, entrepreneurship linked to incubators such as Techstars and Y Combinator, and cultural production in film and television with credits at HBO, Netflix, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, and collaborations with artists across galleries represented by Gagosian Gallery, Pace Gallery, and festivals like Tribeca Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival.