• Digital Equity

    About

  • The Milano School of Policy, Management, and Environment is a practice-based and intellectually progressive graduate institution that prepares students for socially responsible leadership in the public, nonprofit, and private sectors. Following The New School’s tradition of reimagining existing social and economic structures and questioning the status quo, we produce innovative and mindful leaders that spearhead just, sustainable, and inclusive initiatives in organizations and companies around the world.

    Milano School students come ready to build on their previous professional experiences by delving deeply into a curriculum that blends theory and practice. Students participate in scores of client-based projects each year. They lead initiatives that tackle the challenges they’re most passionate about, from promoting racial equity in leadership to exploring sustainable methods to increase food production in developing countries. By honing skills like critical thinking, effective communication, analytical abilities, and cross-sectional teamwork, students learn to respond to today’s economic, environmental, and social challenges.

    In tandem with our master’s degrees, doctoral program, graduate certificates, and graduate minors, the Milano School offers career support services such as workshops and alumni networking events.

  • History

    About_History

    The Milano School of Policy, Management, and Environment embodies the guiding principles that motivated The New School's founders in 1919 when they set out to create an entirely new kind of academic institution, one that challenged conventions and supported critical thinking and social engagement.

    Robert J. Milano (1912-2000) grew up in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan and attended public school and university in New York, majoring in business administration and financial law. He later attended classes at The New School for Social Research.

    Mr. Milano served on the Board of Trustees of The New School from 1976 to 2000. Previously he had been a member of the advisory board of the J.M. Kaplan Center and was vice chair of the Visiting Committee to the Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy from 1975 to 1983.

    Mr. Milano was involved in transforming The New School into a major urban university with a distinct orientation to public service and the arts, providing financial support for increased undergraduate scholarships, paid faculty leaves, venture capital grants to stimulate innovative academic programs, a student residence hall, and an undergraduate student center.

    The Center for New York City Affairs was founded in 1964 as the first teaching and research center in the United States devoted to the study of a single metropolitan area. In 1971, the center launched the Graduate Department of Urban Affairs and Policy Analysis — among the first policy programs in the United States. In 1975, Urban Affairs and Policy Analysis became part of a new Graduate School of Management and Urban Professions. The school was renamed the Milano School in 1996 in honor of long-time New School trustee Robert J. Milano. The Milano School curriculum has always encouraged creative thinking designed to effect progressive social, economic, and political change. The school's nearly 8,000 graduates lead organizations, programs, and policymaking entities in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.

  • Administration

    Dean, Director, and Chairs
    Mary R. Watson, Dean
    Michael A. Cohen, Director, PhD Public and Urban Policy
    Abigail Perez Aguilera, Chair, Environmental Policy and Sustainability Management
    Oscar Sosa-Lopez, Chair, MS Public and Urban Policy
    Latha Poonamallee, Chair, Milano Management

    School Staff
    Lauretha Slaughter, Director of Student Affairs

  • Accreditation

    The New School is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE, 3624 Market Street, 2nd Floor West, Philadelphia, PA 19104; 216.284.5000). MSCHE is a regional accreditor and federally recognized body. The New School has been accredited by MSCHE since 1960. All degree programs at the New York City campus of The New School are registered by the New York State Department of Education (NYSED, 89 Washington Avenue, Albany, New York 12234; 518.474.1551). Both NYSED and MSCHE provide assurance to students, parents, and all stakeholders that The New School meets clear quality standards for educational and financial performance. For more information, visit Accreditation and State Regulatory Authorizations.

    The MS in Public and Urban Policy is accredited by NASPAA (Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration).

  • About the University

    Studying at the Milano School means being part of a progressive, socially engaged, and close-knit community at The New School. Milano School students have access to the resources of a renowned university that serves as a hub for groundbreaking ideas and the people that generate them.
    • Campus Information

      Campus Information

      Our campus in the heart of New York City's Greenwich Village allows you to study and live in one of the most vibrant and diverse cities in the world. Take advantage of the infinite opportunities to work alongside leading professionals, experience groundbreaking work, and absorb diverse cultural and educational opportunities.

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    • Mission and Vision

      Mission and Vision

      The New School's mission is to prepare students to understand, contribute to, and succeed in a rapidly changing society, thus making the world a better and more just place. As a university where design and social research drive approaches to studying issues of our time, we seek to provide students with the tools needed to grapple with complex problems facing society and to pursue more fluid and flexible career pathways.

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    • 100 Years New

      100 Years New

      A century ago, a few progressive scholars and thinkers founded what would become The New School. Discover some of the pioneers, movements, and events that collectively tell our story of creative and intellectual innovation. Explore the university's legacy and learn how 1919 was the start of something new.

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  • Take The Next Step

Submit your application

Undergraduates

To apply to any of our undergraduate programs (except the Bachelor's Program for Adults and Transfer Students and Parsons Associate of Applied Science programs) complete and submit the Common App online.

Undergraduate Adult Learners

To apply to any of our Bachelor's Program for Adults and Transfer Students and Parsons Associate of Applied Science programs, complete and submit the New School Online Application.

Graduates

To apply to any of our Master's, Doctoral, Professional Studies Diploma, and Graduate Certificate programs, complete and submit the New School Online Application.

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