Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts

Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts
Former names	Freshman Year Program; (1972–1975); The Seminar College; (1975–1985); Eugene Lang College; (1985–2005); Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts; (2005–2015)
Type	Private liberal arts college
Established	1972; 54 years ago
Parent institution	The New School
Dean	Christoph Cox
Students	1,512
Location	New York, United States; 40°44′06″N 73°59′49″W / 40.735°N 73.997°W
Campus	Urban
Colors	White, Black, Parsons Red;
Mascot	Gnarls the Narwhal
Website	newschool.edu/lang

Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, commonly referred to as Lang, is the seminar-style, undergraduate, liberal arts college of The New School. It is located on-campus in Greenwich Village in New York City on West 11th Street off 6th Avenue.^[6]

History

Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts was founded as the Freshman Year Program at The New School in 1972 as a pre-college program for high school graduates. Three years later, in 1975, the program was expanded to a full undergraduate program and renamed The Seminar College. In 1985, following a $5 million donation (equivalent to $14.97 million in 2025) by Eugene Lang and his wife Theresa, the school was renamed Eugene Lang College.^[7] The college currently has an enrollment of over 1,555 students.^[8]

In 2005, the phrase "The New School" was inserted into the name of each division of The New School as part of a unification strategy initiated by the university's President Bob Kerrey;^[9] thus, Eugene Lang College was renamed Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts. In 2015, The New School rebranded again by renaming the schools to better clarify the relationship between the university and its schools. Eugene Lang College's formal title is The New School's Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts.

Curriculum

The only required classes are a first-year and two semesters of Writing the Essay for first-year students.^[10] These writing classes have titles such as "Memory and the Self," "Poetry and the Conditions of Possibility," "Human Rights," and "Technology, Surveillance, and Climate Change."^[11]

The college places emphasis on interdisciplinary learning with a "student-directed" curriculum. All of its courses are seminars. Students at Lang may also cross-register for courses sponsored by other divisions of The New School, including Parsons School of Design and The New School College of Performing Arts. Students are allowed to double-major, minor in programs across The New School, and enroll in the bachelor's/master's program, which allows Lang students to complete a BA and MA through The New School's graduate programs.^[12]

Student publications

Several of The New School's major publications are produced by Lang students. Among these are:

The New School Free Press, a student-run newspaper published by the journalism concentration of the Writing department, has grown from a DIY zine-style pamphlet to a professionally-printed broadsheet in the years since its founding in 2002, when it was known as Inprint. It is published monthly in print and aims to serve both Lang and the wider New School community. The Free Press operates a blog^[13] and makes digital copies of the newspaper available on the Lang website.^[14]
12th Street, literary journal; contains works from undergraduate writers in The New School's Riggio Writing & Democracy Honors Program
Eleven and a Half, the literary journal of Eugene Lang College
The Weekly Observer, an online newsletter about student and alumni achievements, program announcements, and other university-wide news. Distributed via MyNewSchool web portal.

Notable alumni and faculty

Alumni

Nina Arianda, actress
Zeba Blay, writer and critic
Bethany Cosentino, musician of Best Coast
Paul Dano, actor
Borzou Daragahi, journalist
Ani DiFranco, musician
Elisa Donovan, actress
Mike Doughty, musician
Jude Ellison Sady Doyle, feminist writer
Stacey Farber, actress
Melissa Febos, writer
Anita Glesta, artist
Emily Gould, former co-editor of Gawker
Kevin Jon Heller, scholar of international criminal law
Jillian Hervey, musician and dancer
Travis Jeppesen, writer
Graeme K., musician
Karen Maine, director and screenwriter
Matisyahu, musician
Roy Scranton, writer and environmentalist
Sufjan Stevens, musician
Jake Shears, musician
Robert Schwartzman, musician and actor
Julio Torres, writer, comedian, actor
Alberto Toscano, philosopher and social theorist
Lisa Unger, novelist

Faculty

Jennifer Baumgardner, feminist writer and speaker
Laurie Collyer, director/actress
Siddhartha Deb, novelist
Jill Eisenstadt, novelist, screenwriter, and journalist
Jennifer Gilmore, novelist
Neil Greenberg, dancer and choreographer
Joseph Heathcott, urbanist and artist
Shelley Jackson, novelist and short story writer
Margo Jefferson, former theatre critic at The New York Times
Hettie Jones, poet
Barrie Karp, artist
Talia Lugacy, filmmaker
Greil Marcus, music critic
Miller Wolf Oberman, poet
Dominic Pettman, writer and theorist
Kristin Prevallet, poet and writer
Katy Pyle, dancer and choreographer
Sara Ruddick, feminist philosopher
Lynda Schor, short story writer and literary editor
Christopher Sorrentino, novelist, short story writer
Mark Statman, writer, translator, poet
Sekou Sundiata, Grammy-nominated performance artist, poet
Elizabeth Swados, writer, composer, musician, and theatre director
McKenzie Wark, virtual media theorist
Caveh Zahedi, director/actor

Rankings

In some college ranking programs, The New School's eight divisions are ranked separately, since their attributes and standards of admission differ significantly.

The Princeton Review ranks Eugene Lang among "America's 371 Best Colleges" and the "Best Northeastern Colleges.".^[15] Miriam Weinstein also cites the Eugene Lang division in her book, Making a Difference Colleges: Distinctive Colleges to Make a Better World.^[16] Lang has also appeared on The Princeton Review's following national lists:^[17]

"Dodgeball Targets" (#1)
"Great College Towns" (#1)
"Intercollegiate Sports Unpopular Or Nonexistent" (#1)
"Class Discussions Encouraged" (#1)
"Long Lines and Red Tape" (#1)
"Students Most Nostalgic For Bill Clinton Politics" (#2)
"Least Religious Students" (#2)
"Nobody Plays Intramural Sports" (#2)
"Birkenstock-Wearing, Tree-Hugging, Clove-Smoking Vegetarians" (#3)
"Most Politically Active" (#7)
"Town-Gown Relations Are Great" (#11)
"Gay Community Accepted" (#13)
"Most Liberal Students" (#16)
"Students Dissatisfied with Financial Aid" (#18)
"Lots of Race/Class Interaction" (#19)

References

^ ^a ^b "History". www.newschool.edu.
^ "Message from the Dean". The New School. 26 September 2022.
^ "Enrollment Data". The New School. September 19, 2022.
^ The New School Brand Guidelines https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R7FzX1QRfaKZnilr-MMP0WCAwGDGxl2Q/view?usp=sharing ^{[bare URL PDF]}
^ "Where is Gnarls the Narwhal | Student Leadership". www.newschool.edu. Archived from the original on 2021-08-02. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
^ Princeton Review, The. "Location". Archived from the original on 2007-02-22. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
^ "The Tradition of the New: A History of Eugene Lang College". The New School. Retrieved 8 April 2026.
^ "Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts". Retrieved 2024-08-03.
^ "About The New School: History -- Nine Decades of the New". Archived from the original on 2007-05-17. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
^ "BA/BS requirements - Eugene Lang College". newschool.edu. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
^ "Course Catalog: Writing the Essay II - Eugene Lang College". newschool.edu. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
^ "Bachelor's/Master's Program - The New School". newschool.edu. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
^ "INPRINT". Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
^ "Inprint -- Student News". Archived from the original on 2007-05-18. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
^ Franek, Robert; (Firm), Princeton Review (1 January 2009). The Best 371 Colleges. Princeton Review Incorporated. ISBN 9780375429385. Retrieved 23 February 2017 – via Google Books.
^ "Making A Difference College & Graduate Guide". Archived from the original on 2002-02-08.
^ "Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts's Best 366 College Rankings". Retrieved 2008-05-15.

[Eugene_Lang_History-1] "History". www.newschool.edu.

[2] "Message from the Dean". The New School. 26 September 2022.

[Enrollment_Data-3] "Enrollment Data". The New School. September 19, 2022.

[4] The New School Brand Guidelines https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R7FzX1QRfaKZnilr-MMP0WCAwGDGxl2Q/view?usp=sharing ^{[bare URL PDF]}

[5] "Where is Gnarls the Narwhal | Student Leadership". www.newschool.edu. Archived from the original on 2021-08-02. Retrieved 2022-09-27.

[6] Princeton Review, The. "Location". Archived from the original on 2007-02-22. Retrieved 2007-05-07.

[7] "The Tradition of the New: A History of Eugene Lang College". The New School. Retrieved 8 April 2026.

[8] "Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts". Retrieved 2024-08-03.

[9] "About The New School: History -- Nine Decades of the New". Archived from the original on 2007-05-17. Retrieved 2007-05-07.

[10] "BA/BS requirements - Eugene Lang College". newschool.edu. Retrieved 2024-08-03.

[11] "Course Catalog: Writing the Essay II - Eugene Lang College". newschool.edu. Retrieved 2024-08-03.

[12] "Bachelor's/Master's Program - The New School". newschool.edu. Retrieved 2024-08-03.

[13] "INPRINT". Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2007-05-07.

[14] "Inprint -- Student News". Archived from the original on 2007-05-18. Retrieved 2007-05-07.

[books.google.com-15] Franek, Robert; (Firm), Princeton Review (1 January 2009). The Best 371 Colleges. Princeton Review Incorporated. ISBN 9780375429385. Retrieved 23 February 2017 – via Google Books.

[16] "Making A Difference College & Graduate Guide". Archived from the original on 2002-02-08.

[17] "Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts's Best 366 College Rankings". Retrieved 2008-05-15.

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Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	United States

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