SUNY Purchase College

The State University of New York at Purchase College is a state institution in the hamlet of Purchase which fuses liberal arts learning with conservatory training courses in visual and performing arts.

Part of the wealthy town of Harrison, Purchase is 25 miles north east of New York City, which is easily reachable by car or public transport, and just five miles from Greenwich, the other side of the Connecticut border. Around two-thirds of SUNY Purchase students reside on campus. It is just two miles from Westchester County Airport, which operates flights to more than 15 destinations across the US.

Established on the site of an old 500-acre farm in 1967 by then New York governor Nelson Rockefeller, a future vice-president, the master architect ordered “a city within the country” where fields and green space were preserved. Though the first batch of students enrolled in 1968, the campus was not completed until 10 years later. Subjects available at undergraduate level include dance, acting, arts management, photography, psychology, playwriting & screenwriting, new media, and various music disciplines, while art history and visual arts are among SUNY Purchase’s graduate programmes.

More than three in five of its classes consist of 20 students or fewer. A highly selective institution, fewer than 40% of applicants are admitted.

Singer-songwriter Regina Spektor, actor Wesley Snipes, who is well-known for lead roles in Blade, New Jack City and White Men Can’t Jump, and Susie Essman, most famous for playing Susie Greene in sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm, all went to SUNY Purchase.